I'm 10 miles from French Creek, but that's 10 miles on a rural state highway.
When I lived in Portland, OR, I was 17 miles from Riverside. I lived on the west side of town (Beaverton), and Riverside was toward the east, near the Portland airport. I needed to drive right through downtown to get to Riverside, because back in the 1980's, most of Portland's best courses were over there. (Portland GC was 5 miles away, but way out of my price range).
I think that the weekend trips to the course were fine, it's that post-work 9-holes that was tough.
I like getting range time or playing a few holes after work, and it'd be tough if the course were too far away.
And, on the non-golf side, you don't want to be hit with a big food minimum if you're too far away to use it during the week or during the winter months when there's snow on the ground.
That said, some clubs will work with non-locals. Unfortunately, I don't think Augusta National is taking applications at this time
