With the golf season imminent, most of us are feeling the pinch in our wallets as we contemplate greens fees or ponder the new set of irons we’ve eyed all winter long. But take a look around: There are some fantastic deals for the consumer right now. In fact, in a recent New York Times article, Joe Beditz, president and chief executive of the National Golf Foundation, said that for golfers, there couldn’t be a better time. Some private courses are now opening their doors to the public or, like Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough, N.J., offering memberships with no initiation fees and no commitments beyond the first year.

And so, for golf enthusiasts who remain unsettled about hitting the links this spring, this issue of Garden State Golf is chock-full of ways to get your golf fix without breaking the bank. We’ve talked to golf clubs statewide about their plans for the spring, and we’ve discovered some of the state’s best and affordable courses to add to your must-play list this season.

Vacation locally this season at Crystal Springs Resort, the state’s ultimate resort retreat, or check out the courses along the South Jersey shore. Thanks in part to the growing strength of the dollar against the British pound and the Euro and greater availability due to decreased demand, now might also be the best time to play those overseas courses you’ve been dreaming about. If so, then our nuts-and-bolts coverage of the British Open courses might be just the thing for you.

Over the centuries, golf has endured many ups and downs. PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem summed it up best when he recently said of the economic challenges facing the tour this year: “It’s like worrying about the weather to some extent, but you’ve certainly got to have your raincoat on. You’ve got to work harder to deal with it. You’ve got to make sure that you’re doing what has made you successful before, because we’ve been through these before, and we’ve come through them quite well.”

So for now, we may all have to make sacrifices to get through these tough times, but sacrifice golf? That I won’t do.