SlimStoney:
Thanks, flatstick96, I think I will "scuffle along" with my Sub Zero, lol. It is a good club; I think what was making me miss dings with this club (and the L59 Ping irons) is that I "upgraded" to the Starter Plus Set with an increased meter speed of 5.0. The thought that the Plus Set might maladapt me to the meter speeds of later purchases did cross my mind, but my thought process was that I would ignore my meter skills/practice in the beginning and just focus on learning shots, distances, wind, etc.
Although I have been using a 2-meter ball the last few days, I've been better enjoying the Sub Zero and especially the Pings. I've been making some really good shots with the Pings and even pulled out a 1st place finish in last week's mobile 9-hole tourney with a score of 30. It was definitely a mistake buying those high-meter starter clubs, but I think I'm getting better at hitting center swings (or maybe I'm just a noob who uses 2-meter cheater balls, lol).
As for my wedges, they've been alright, but I just rented one of the mid-60 level Mack Daddy's and it was nice. (Probably going to hold on to wedges for a while, though, like you said)
As for my putter, I've been beasting it with the starter putter, and then just rented the L59 Sabertooth and didn't really like it. Don't know what to do here. Thinking about the L70 Versa. Afraid to commit to an increment system that I might have to change for my end putter (apparently the last Sabertooth is the best?).
Glad to hear you're getting used to the Ping irons; they're really very good. Use them until you can buy the Rogues at L85.
You may be seeing a pattern emerge here; starter gear generally gets you through the first 50 levels or so, at which point you really benefit from making across-the-board club improvements to continue to stay competitive (this is where you are now; L55 driver, L51 3W, L59 irons) - then, the next round of worthwhile improvements will come when you get into the L80's. Don't waste money on drivers, 3-woods, or irons until you get to the L80's. Once you do get there, you'll hopefully have credits saved up, and you can buy the equipment that will get you to the high L90's. Be advised, it takes roughly the same number of XP to get from L1 to L82 as it does to get from L82 to L90, so leveling up slows down tremendously around the time you will next be upgrading your gear.
Re: wedges, nearly everyone will tell you that the only wedges you should buy are the Cleveland wedges that you'll unlock in the late L70's - I don't completely agree. I opted to combine the 80 and 100 yard mid-range (L60's) Mack Daddy wedges (4.0 meter) with the top-end 60 yard Cleveland wedge (3.5 meter), because I wanted as much 4.0 meter consistency across the set as I could get (my driver, 3W, and irons are all 4.0 meter), and because I actually wanted *less* spin with my longer wedges (I don't want my 65-100 yards shots backing up any appreciable distance - I want them hitting and stopping on a dime - and the L60's MD wedges have enough spin to achieve that in almost any conditions). I do like having the higher spin of the Cleveland on my shortest wedge, because it comes in handy on less-than-full shots around the green (but I still wish that club had 4.0 meter instead of 3.5). If the game ever gets with the times and adds a 64* 60 yard MD wedge (with a meter that is 4.0 or slower), I'll buy it to replace my 60 yard Cleveland. But for now, I'm stuck with the Cleveland, which is fine.
There's a good thread on the forum here about putter precision, where guys have actually mapped putts with a variety of putters; look through it, and you'll understand the limitations of the starter putter (hint: where it really struggles is consistency). I used the starter putter until I got to L55; when I got there, I did a free rental on the Daytona, and bought it immediately. Used it right up until I bought the L98 sabertooth that is all the rage among the top players. Actually, when I got to L98, I rented the sabertooth...and compared to the L55 Daytona, I hated it, so I didn't buy it. But every time I'd play against someone who had the L98 sabertooth I'd pick their brain, and every one of them said it took awhile to get used to it. So when a free rental weekend came up, I rented it again for two days and played a ton with it, and bought it. And now that I'm used to it, it's all I use. But I still kept the Daytona, because it's so damned good, and so damned cheap. Fun fact: if you go look at the list of the highest earners in WGT history, the guy at the top of the list uses...the L55 Daytona. :-)