Bill,
I think the GBI guys are lucky - almost any great course over there is in play for the public and there are often tons of wonderful courses within a small area.
I agree that Americans are lucky to have a place like Bandon Dunes where you can play (soon to be) four of the best courses on the continent in one location. BDGR is world class.
But it seems like other great publics (or semi-privates) like Pasa, Wild Horse, Chambers, Bethpage, etc. are either pricey or isolated from other courses of similar caliber. Unless you can get on a few private courses, it seems challenging to put together a one week or two week trip containing great golf at the level you can get in Ireland, England or Scotland (if that is even possible over here).
What do you think?