While Disney has some great courses, they do charge TOP TOP dollar to play them. Some of that is because they are championship courses, but mostly because they are Disney and they are on site ( so the charge extra for the convenience), if you're not staying on site IMHO it doesn't make much sense to pay over the top for "convenience" when it isn't really that convenient.
At the south end of I-Drive (just past SeaWorld) is the International golf course (
http://www.internationalgolfclub.com ). This is a decent course and a sensible price but it is a bit bland and it's closed until Jan 2004. It's not a course I'd pick if I had the choice of where I could play. It has a "sister" course called Metro West that I haven't played but I know is 5-10 minutes drive from IDrive.
IMHO if you're going to go to the bother of taking your clubs and you have a car you might as well make the most of it and pick out some really good quality, spectacular golf courses that also let you know that you're in Florida not the UK. A reasonable rule of thumb is the further you will travel from WDW the better value the courses are for the same quality.
These are some courses I've played and that I think are well worth the journeys.
http://www.southerndunes.com (30 minutes from IDrive, 15 from WDW)
http://www.ocngolf.com ( 25 minutes from IDrive 10 from WDW)
http://www.falconsfire.com (20 minutes from IDrive, 5 from WDW)
http://www.deerislandgolf.com ( 40 minutes from IDrive, 55 from WDW)
http://www.highlandsreserve-golf.com (same as southern dunes)
http://www.golfhawkslanding.com ( 15 minutes from IDrive 5 from WDW)
A final thought would be to look at
http://www.progolfguides.com this is a fantastic service and by UK standards incredable value. It gives you the chance to have a playing round with a PGA teaching pro. It gives a keen golfer a great chance to get tips on how to manage a round and Phil will help to try to correct any major faults in a players swing or give some ideas on how to work over the long term to iron out smaller ones. The pro will share his time between however many golfers ( up to 3) share the round. For 2 golfers he would probable play 6 holes to assess the pair of them then spend 6 holes with each giving tips and gentle suggestions. I really like Phil's style on this, he realises that in one playing round it's impossible for him to take someone's game apart and rebuild it ( in the way a local pro can do if soemone has the time to take 6-9 months of lessons), but he can give a lot of help as to how a pro approaches a course, minimises mistakes, make the best of what a golfer already has and fine tune his game without breaking down what a player has that actually works. I can't recommend this service enough, I thought it was the best lesson I've ever had and brought my game on by 5-6 shots a round at the very least.
Costs
Disney courses are in the $150+ range to book at "peak time" about $80 at twilight
Courses up to 10 minutes drive from Disney $100-120 at peak time , about $60 at twilight
courses 15-30 minutes $80-120 at peak times , you can pick them up for $50 and up at twilight if you're lucky
Courses an hour away somewhere in the $50-70 range if your lucky with twilight you might get them for $30 All prices include use of electric carts, almost all Florida courses insist on electric carts.
Particularly the courses a little further away you can get a good rate if you'll play midweek as the courses don't get much use when the locals are at work. Around WDW the courses rely a lot more on tourists so they don't usually offer midweek "specials" .
Hope that helps
