The best local golf courses hew to a simple formula: They offer a fair test at a good price, and if that trudge from the final green leaves us thirsting for a cold beer, so much the better. Meadowbrook delivers on all counts. True, it will never be mistaken for its blue-blooded neighbor to the south, Interlachen, but Meadowbrook possesses charms all its own. Here you will find a surprising number of skilled players among the usual assortment of beer-bellied duffers. The recent tenure of superintendent Rick Grannes has brought a good deal of refinement to the course itself, and that's where it counts. Greens are fast and true, and the fairways, as ever, sit atop some of the loamiest, most forgiving soil in the region. Factor in a gorgeous parkland setting and a few dramatic vistas and you've got a winner. Among the outstanding holes are the par 3 sixth, whose shallow slip of a green is guarded by bunkers and a stiff wind, and the dogleg-left 15th, where even the best of tee shots leaves a tricky approach to the multi-tiered putting surface.