(Business 2.0) – AUSTIN Forest Creek Golf Club Round Rock, Texas; $25-$59; www.forestcreek.com

THE COURSE: Tight fairways and ferocious doglegs (seven of 'em) keep players challenged; low greens fees keep them coming back for more. Appropriately for a course nestled in "Silicon Hills," just up the road from Dell headquarters, every cart carries a GPS receiver. (Alas, you're still on your own when it comes to finding your ball.)

19TH HOLE: Head back to Austin and the music-filled clubs of South Congress Street.

CHICAGO Cog Hill Golf & Country Club Lemont, Ill.; $35-$128; www.coghillgolf.com

THE COURSE: One of the nation's elite public venues, Cog Hill has been a favorite of golf-crazy Chicagoans since it opened in 1927. Menacing, tree-lined Dubsdread, one of the club's four 18-hole courses, draws a number of big-name players, including Tiger Woods and Nick Price.

19TH HOLE: The venerable FitzGerald's in nearby Berwyn is a quick drive for live music and cold beer.

LAS VEGAS Reflection Bay Golf Club Henderson, Nev.; $150-$260; www.lakelasvegas.com/golf_reflection.asp

THE COURSE: Jack Nicklaus plopped this beauty in the middle of the Mojave, but don't sweat: The course overlooks Lake Las Vegas, one of the area's largest manmade lakes, and is crisscrossed by creeks and waterfalls. Reflection Bay's brutal par-5 15th hole requires shots across two canyons.

19TH HOLE: The Strip's casinos are the obvious choice, but we suggest you head for the mind-bending solitude of Red Rock Canyon's sand dunes and eerie Joshua trees.

NEW YORK Bethpage State Park Farmingdale, N.Y.; $24-$78; www.nysparks.state.ny.us/golf

THE COURSE: When Bethpage hosted the prestigious U.S. Open last year--the first municipal course to do so--golf fans around the country learned what Long Islanders have long known: This is a great spot for a cheap round on the links. Bethpage's five 18-hole courses feature flat, elevated greens, thick grass, and more than 80 bunkers. Its Black Course, renovated for the Open with narrow fairways and high roughs, is for walkers only.

19TH HOLE: Two dozen of the best East Coast wineries are an hour's drive east toward the Hamptons. Our favorite: Sherwood House Vineyards in Mattituck. Try its 2000 North Fork of Long Island Proprietor's Reserve.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE University of North Carolina Finley Golf Course Chapel Hill, N.C.; $45-$77; tarheelblue.ocsn.com/finley/unc-finley.html

THE COURSE: Recently redesigned by golf course architect Tom Fazio, who also designed Austin's legendary Barton Creek, Finley retains its remote and isolated feeling--a big part of the original course's allure. Finley's terrain is marked by creeks, wetlands, and two lakes. Save your best for last: The par-4 18th hole is perhaps the most challenging.

19TH HOLE: Hit Chapel Hill's bustling Franklin Street. The East End Martini Bar serves live music and 100 varieties of the long-stemmed libation.

SILICON VALLEY Pasatiempo Golf Club Santa Cruz, Calif.; $135-$150; www.pasatiempo.com

THE COURSE: Don't be fooled by the stunning Monterey Bay backdrop. Alister MacKenzie, Augusta National's designer, made this the kind of place where handicaps go to get bigger. The third hole, a 217-yard bunker-rimmed monster, is one of the hardest par-3s you'll ever face.

19TH HOLE: The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a year-round, mile-long party.

--MATTHEW MAIER