Really is a personal preference - you need to cast the rod to find the rod that feels best to you. I've had 10X more fly rods than girlfriends, some good, some very good, some real dogs. Price point and name brand don't mean crap when it comes to how a rod actually performs for an individual angler - it's very easy to get wrapped up in the idea that it MUST be high dollar to cast well, fish well, or perform well. I have a G Loomis "5" weight, that fishes best with a 6 weight line. A true to weight 5 weight is too under gunned to load well, unless you're trying to cast the entire line. Sage rods are not all that and a bag of chips for everyone. They're beautiful rods and made in the USA, but that only goes so far - Sage makes some dogs that they charged an arm and a leg for. All rod makers have rods that were / are clubs compared to others. Plenty of Asian made rods exceed them in castability and fishability (and keep in mind that the rod that everyone raves about that constantly scores well in the Yellowstone Angler shootout is a Hardy that is made in Korea)
I just recently traded a Loomis spey rod for a pair of Penn Gold Medal IM6 rods from the 1990's - two piece, moderate action rods. A 6 and a 7 weight. The 6 weight Penn is more fun to cast than the Loomis 5 weight, using the same lines. They also cast farther for me, using the same lines.
Get a rod that works for your budget, that you enjoy casting. Cast at short, medium, and long distances.
"Get a Sage" or "Spend your money on the rod" nonsense is as bad as saying everyone should be fishing 9 foot 5 weights, and anything else is silly - which is typical of most fly shop employees, or people who put their ego into the price tag of their gear. If you've got money to burn, so be it. But if you're working on a budget, don't feel the need to exceed it because of brand envy or what someone on the internet, or in a fly shop says. You're a lot better off with a good LINE, on an average or above average rod, than the other way around.
Of the current production crop of graphite rods - the ones *I* like casting include the Redington Vice, Scott G-series, TFO Finesse. Of those, I like the Scott G-series the best. I like modern fiberglass rods even more though - and my favorite trout fishing rod is a $70 Cabela's CGR rod. I'm also in love with the Orvis Superfine Glass, and Echo Badass Glass rods right now - but I don't need another fly rod right now.
Don't get caught up in brand names - get the rod that works right for you. And if you want a Sage, look at one of the previous generation rods. Sage One's can be had for less now than when they were the flagship rod. Same with the Mod rods. RPL's can be had for very reasonable prices, and they were probably the best rods Sage ever made.