Yea, head down to several golf stores and find a putter that makes you feel confident when you are using it. I had a cheap $30 putter that didn't feel right in my hands. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and tried a bunch out. There were a couple that felt real good and one that felt great when I was using it. I obviously got that one and my putting has gotten much better because of it. One of the most undervalued traits when putting is confidence in the club and in yourself when you are putting.

Some of this stuff makes me laugh...
Advice on how to fix your slice? There a lot of things you could be doing wrong that could cause a slice, even with a strong grip and hands played forward, you can manage to slice (trust me)
So, without seeing your swing its not possible to tell you exactly what to do. Try out a few of the things posted and see what might work best and work on that, but none of them is a guaranteed fix.

I like Cider's club suggestions but, I'd look for a set of used high end irons rather than new shitty irons. (There is a HUGE difference)
I am a bit OCD when it comes to my clubs I mix and match like crazy and never stick to just one brand. I have (titleist, ping, cleveland, and mizuno all in my bad atm) Go to a golf shop and ask to hit some of the used sets in their simulator and see what YOU like. Hell, you might like blades (although almost always harder to hit) or you might need a lot of offset... just depends.

I realize the advice given in this thread is not a guaranteed fix. However, being knew I am taking all of the advice I can get to try to help myself improve. I will be headed to some sporting goods stores to check out more clubs within the next few days. Though I think one of my better bets would be second hand stores and pawn shops

Good luck

crusing pawn shops would suck

Yeah... need to go to a Golf Galaxy or Golfsmith of something like that.

yea it's nice because they have demo's of everything. you can try tons of clubs and it doesnt cost anything

Don't buy into any of the corporate marketing with golf clubs. Sure they put a lot of technology into the clubs, but the changes year to year are so miniscule that only the top 1% of players will even feel the difference with solid contact.

My advice: Get a used set of clubs online (or in a store if you can find them) and have them properly fit. Properly fit clubs are much much more important than anything besides what clubs or what ball you have.

As for what ball to use: This is where I tell you to go see a pro and get a lesson or two. you can find them on google easy. Don't settle with someone on price alone, look for someone who speaks about the golf swing in a way you can understand it. The pro should be able to give you statistics about your swing; most notably, swing speed. Swing speed will tell you everything you need to know about distance and control.

Most importantly, don't just jump into the big courses. Start out by going to the range multiple times and then going to your local muni course - the par 3s in the city. Don't worry about score, just focus on controlling your shot. You don't get better at ANY sport by going out and playing the game, the range is there for practice and that is how people get good.

I'd like to tell you to get a book too. I read The Secrets of Scoring by Raymond Floyd. It's a good book for beginners and teaches how to approach the golf game - mentally.

And an ending note: Golf is not a game of linear progress; that is, your scores will not keep going down and down as you get better. You will shoot a 90 one day, then a 93, then a 89, then a 120. But as you improve your scores will get lower. Your high scores will be lower and your low scores will be lower.

Keep at it, it takes people lifetimes to be decent at this sport.