There are also brands like Stick, Tour Edge, Robin Golf that have good value sets. Cobra included. Some shops will even have Callaway sets. Wilson is another one that comes to mind.
I suppose I'm real enough a golfer to say that I started with a Wilson Prostaff set (woods, hybrids and irons, had to buy a putter and bag separately)—minimal investment at the time. I took it to my teaching pro. He took a look at them and said, "Yep, these are definitely good enough to get you started."
If I were to do it again, I'd probably go about it the same way and get a Wilson set. I recall it was cheaper than other OEM sets. I remember Rick Shiels saying something about how OEMs take past designs and apply them to their complete set offerings, so I'd definitely go with any of those guys.
