Braiden, here's my two cents worth.
I joined in November and as soon as I could I purchased the level 33 2010 Raptures - I am now shooting around a 71. I absolutely loved the clubs, one of the slower meters and big forgiveness WHICH I REALLY NEED. Precision is low but I still put most of my shots where they are supposed to go so I'm not really sure how precision works. Even more forgiving are the level 36 Ping K15's - read the reviews they are all very positive.
Couple of weeks ago I bought the Level 59 Ping G20's - faster meter, less forgiving! First game I shot an 81! Took a while to get used to them but I am back down to a 70 average. I too don't ding very often and find when I miss the shots with the G20's they go a lot further astray than the Raptures.
I guess it depends on what you want out of the game. I enjoy the camaraderie of alternate shot so I don't need the best balls and clubs. If you want to get to Legend and shoot in the low 60's or even 50's I presume you will need some high level gear.
As far as the putter goes, I am still using the Ghost Spider (800 points) and have played against a couple of masters still using the starter putter. I'm beginning to think putting is way more about reading distance and break than it is about the actual putter.
Don't know if this helps you at all but thought I'd share my early experience with this game.
You might want to check out jeffmatulich, he posted something similar a couple of weeks ago and ended up going with the K15's.