Hey etay0330, welcome to the WGT land.
Alosso, our forum man already gave a good answer to you. :-)
If you allow me to add some more...
etay0330:First of all, I don't get to do any surveys so the only way I can get credits is by watching a lot of videos. I'm not sure of the reasons but I usually only get to watch less than 5 videos and will run out of videos to watch. Therefore it's very hard for me to get credits so budget is a big concern for me.
Yeah, I know... It sucks, doesn't it? For players like you and me living in a non-American soil, it is darn hard to get free credits and purchase decent equipment with them. So here is what I do. Basically two things : 1) I spend some money on the game in a monthly basis. The amount I spend varies depending on the need at the time, but it doesn't exceed USD 100, usually around 20-50 bucks. I guess it's quite reasonable for a hobby I enjoy and in comparison to other hobbies, I think it is very cheap ; 2) I don't know if you're a PC or mobile player, but I'm sure you have a smartphone. Install the WGT app to your phone and you may earn more free credits by watching videos from there. The only problem with this option is that it's not really reliable, too much variations with timing and regions. Here in Seoul, sometimes (very seldom) I get lots of videos all at once and other times (vast majority of times) I get just a few. I don't know about your region, though... You may get better luck than I do.
etay0330: I've probably progressed too fast and it feels like my skill level is not indicative of where I am in the game. I haven't mapped any of my clubs since I'm still using mostly starter sets.
With starter clubs and ball (aka 'stone'), you don't need to map anything right now 'cause it simply won't stop... just rolling and rolling and rolling. Greens will dictate the distance, not you with starter sets. Mapping comes in when you get your ultimate (favourite) clubs and ball, finding the true distance of the combiantion. Focus more on learning (I guess you already know pretty well) effects of winds, up/down hills, green contours/undulations, green speed. Take notes of certain holes as the indicated distances do not always match with the actual ones.
etay0330: The only club I've bought that I've used a lot is the 3w and I've just recently purchased the R1 TM driver that comes highly recommended by you guys. The next purchases that I know for sure I will do is the L59 Ping irons.
Not a bad choice. One thing useful to remember is no matter which clubs you play with, try to match them with the same meter speed. From what I've experienced, this is extremely important if you want to play consistantly well.
Regarding the wedges, Alosso has well explained, but I really suggest you consider Cleveland 588 series. They are what I have and I don't regret keeping them in my bag. And these are what many high-level players play with. Actually I once asked a similar question here when I was a newbie. It might be helpful to you as well.
etay0330: 2. When it comes to the putters I think I'll just get the L55 Daytona Rossa, which seem to be the best bang for the buck option.
First, ask yourself what type of putter you are. I mean... Are you a ding putter or a miss-ding putter? If you are the former, you should go for Odyssey Versa #1 Black Putter (L70+). From where you are, level 70 isn't really far away to reach so I suggest you hold on. Versa #1 Black Putter is the one that will serve you all the way up to L96 throughout your legend, tour legend and champion tiers and this putter with great balance will remain effective even on icy greens you will see from legend tier. Just take a look at the top players below L96 (even above) and see yourself how many of them still use it. There should be a reason why, eh?
etay0330: 3. Because of my budget I won't be splashing out for balls at the moment. I'll probably stick with the starters or at best GI2-S or Tour-SD.
Stick with the stone until you reach legend tier. I only played with the starter ball up to tour master and never felt the need of better balls. Starting from legend tier though, some par-4s become unreachable in two and greens get concrete hard so the stone will not stop only with the spin rate from your club. That's when you need advanced balls.
etay0330: I rarely ding the meter as well, not sure if that will affect my choices.
Whether you like it or not, you really gotta work on dinging. This is the essence of the game. I'm not saying I ding all the time, but trying so, I end up being very close to it, minimizing the margin of error for both direction-wise and distance-wise. FIrst of all, you've got to figure out your tendancy. I bet over 9 out of 10 times, you will hit late so try to draw an imaginary line in front (on the left) of the actual ding line as much as you miss on the right side. It works very well for me.
etay0330: Here's probably a more important question though. I've looked up people who does well in the tournament leader boards. I've noticed that some are still using starter putters, some are using starter wedges, some are using starter irons. Maybe I should just stop spending time and money watching videos and buying clubs, and instead just learn how to play the game properly? Is it possible to shoot well and be competitive in tournaments by using starter clubs?
Some players like myself fill the bag with the starter clubs after playing at the end of the day so don't get fooled by that! Why do I do it? It's a kind of ritual thing for me refreshing everything by setting them in a default mode... I know it's silly, but as long as I feel stable and satisfied, why not?
So far, I've never met a single player who can shoot super low and be competitive in tournaments by using starter clubs. I'm not saying there's none, just that I've never witnessed one (yet).
etay0330: Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I apologize if I've asked any stupid questions. Thank you for your time.
This shows that you're from my neighbourhood, SE Asia. Being humble and apologizing for nothing. :-) There is no such thing as a stupid question if it's sincere. Better to ask now than to stay ignorant and make stupid mistakes.
Cheers!
Simon