Which irons should I buy?

Take the Taylor made. They don't include the 3i that you admittedly will not use. As a beginner you will not need to use every club in your bag anyway.

Buy the sand wedge but forget the hybrids. With what you described plus the sand wedge you will have everything you need for a real long while. Save your money for balls, gloves and lessons. Concentrate on having fun, "B.Sing" w/ your pals and making a few good swings. It all falls into place after a while and with a little effort you won't be "B.Sing" anymore and you'll see just how quiet a round can be as you start to meet the level of competition your pals are already at.

Hit 'em straight!

Well, on valueguide.pga.com, the Ping Eye 2 iron sets are the most popular pre-owned set.

Which set would last longer?

TaylorMade RAC = 2 years now in Production

Ping Eye 2's = 23 Years in Production

Give more consistent feel?

Both are cavity-back designs, thus both would be forgiving. The Ping's while old are extremely forgiving on mishits and whatnot.

Be more valuable in say 5 years or so?

Adams = $50 in 5 years (based on Tight Lies)

TaylorMades = $75 in 5 years (based on Burner)

Pings = $150 after 23 years and now on the rise.

The reason for pushing you in this direction is it is just smarter IMO. You can't ever tell what may happen with the RACS in time or the Adams for that matter as far as value. TaylorMade is the way to go in the driver dept, don't get me wrong I am not just anti TM.

Let's face it though, you can get Adam's at Wal-Mart now!!! Not the way to go IMHO.

GO GET SOME PINGS....YOU WON'T REGRET IT.

And if you are stuck between the TM's and Adams...go TM.

Look at the forgiveness of the irons if you are a beginner. A good iron for you would be one with a cavity back and a wide sole. Taylormade are better clubs overall, but only if they fit your game. A player that has trouble breaking 80 shouldn't have a lob wedge --- these are specialty clubs for advanced players. A good sand wedge of 56 - 59 degrees is so much more useful. Very smart of you to take out the 3 and 4 irons.

If you are a beginner, absolutely none of that matters until you learn how to swing the clubs. How's your grip is the real question? Quality clubs help but only if you know how to strike the ball properly. Those who swing the club correctly could win with just a K-Mart 9-iron and putter against an inexperienced player with a brand new set of Titleists.

Being that you are new to golf, It really doesn't matter which set you choose. You won't develop a "feel" for any clubs until you can at least hit the ball somewhere near where you would like it to go. It's going to take years to develop a good swing. As far as value, when you buy a set of new clubs, they depreciate immediately. and you'll be lucky to get 25% of what you paid for them. My advise to you is to spend you money on good lessons and study the game. Practice the proper way to bring the club back, what it should look and feel like at the top of the swing. and how it should be brought down the to ball. Golf is the hardist game in the world to learn and do well at. Study it and condition your golf muscles. Don't try to learn the game by yourself. If you do, you will be known as a hacker! and develop bad habits that will be very difficult to break.

You are getting hi end starter sets. Go for the RACs! Dont worry abotu custom fitting them like the post above. if you are a little short you can choke up, there no point in custom fitting the length unless you are very tall or very short.

I would choose taylormade myself....make sure wherever you buy them, they custom fit your length or you will be shoveling sh.. against the tide as it were....good luck and par out.....