JeffTodd:
Where do you live?
Carl, I have lived in Austin, TX for the past two years. I lived in NJ for the 39 years prior to that. Since I am willing to drive ~3 hours for a good game, NJ presented a lot of opportunities for very good golf that was accessible to the public; some of those opportunities were in neighboring states, of course.
The golf scene in Austin is very different than NJ. You can play a Doak 3 (using my own estimate) for half the price of a similar course in the northeast, but you are hard pressed to find a public 5 or 6, regardless of what you're willing to spend. The private side is obviously much more shallow, and many of the private clubs are on the "hills" side (west) of the city, and are essentially cart ball clubs. Those that aren't are not in my price range.