First of all: Congrats to your first eagle!
kappy1:so as I level up and get experience points, I should be able to get better clubs for free,
No. Equipment costs credits. Levelling up by XPs only gives you the opportunity to spend more credits for better equipment :)
You'll have to "get credits" to get new equipment - see at the left of the top menu. Some credits cost your precious $$, some cost your precious time, doing the "vid & survey" thing.
My recommendation towards equipment is, buy late - there is always better equipment coming up. My 1st choice would be two short wedges, from Ping up, and perhaps a Lynx or WGT Pro driver if you can't hold yourself back. For other equipment, wait until level 30-40, coming soon if you play every day.
kappy1: what advantage does he have when we play each other?
It's fun, it's company, you can aid each other learning...
Some ppl use phone or Skype or Teamspeak to talk to each other during games, you might wanna try it.
Feel free to ask more questions!