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Ask Travelin' Joe: Arizona, Palm Springs, Boca Raton

Feb 8, 2011; 1:14 PM ET

Dear Joe,
I will be visiting Sun City West (Ariz.) and am looking for some courses to play within 30 miles and at a walking rate of under $40/round. With Sun City West being a retirement community, will they frown on a young 31-year-old walking in to play as a single?
Travis Olsen
Portland, Ore.

They'll frown on you, young whippersnapper, if you attempt to purchase property at your age. You still have to be 55 to do that. The good news is that golf options abound. Start with Sun City South ($35; 623-876-3015, sunaz.com). After playing it three weeks ago, I can say unhesitatingly that Sun City South is the best value in the Phoenix metro area. Architect Tripp Davis and his associate Gary Brawley transformed a mature, though tired 48-year-old layout into a strategic gem that's pure fun. Skillfully placed bunkers have created superb risk/reward opportunities, notably on the 2nd and 12th, a pair of beguiling short par 4s; the trio of par 3s asks for nothing less than crisply struck irons and the green complexes on the back nine would be right at home on a northeastern Golden Age classic. All this for $35? That's enough for anyone to feel young again.

Another option is an old favorite, Hillcrest Golf Club ($30-$49; 623-584-1500, hillcrestgolfclub.com), a 1978 Jeff Hardin/Greg Nash design that played host to the Champions Tour in its early days. It's more Florida golf than Arizona, with wall-to-wall grass, lakes, sprawling bunkers and towering palms -- and even some elevation change, but from start to finish the fun factor and the value are first-rate.