Ask Travelin Joe: Palm Desert, California and High Point, North Carolina

If you want to ask Travelin' Joe a question, e-mail him at askjoe@golf.com.

Dear Joe,
We're taking our annual buddies trip to Palm Desert, California this year. We're open to all types of courses and price ranges, but we like to play the best courses in the area when we travel. Any recommendations?
-- Martin Tardif, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

You definitely won't suffer a drought of quality courses in this desert. Start with PGA West's Stadium course ($99-$159; 760-564-5729, pgawest.com), a brute that will give you bragging rights back home.

La Quinta Resort's Mountain course ($89-$139; 760-564-5729, laquintaresort.com) is another Pete Dye test worth seeing.

Desert Willow's Firecliff ($110-$145; 760-346-7060, desertwillow.com) is a great upscale muni.

Finally, check out Indian Wells Resort's Celebrity course ($120-$155; 760-346-4653, indianwellsresort.com).

Hey Joe,
I'm going with the family to High Point, NC for a couple of days. What are the best courses within about 20 miles? The budget will be about $200 for both rounds.
-- Jesse Whitmire, via e-mail

Play Tanglewood Park's Championship course ($28-$48; 336-778-6300) in nearby Clemmons. This tough, 7,000-yard Trent Jones Sr. effort hosted the 1974 PGA Championship, when Lee Trevino edged Jack Nicklaus to win. Its sibling, the Reynolds, is shorter, tighter and even cheaper — pocket the savings!

Ask Travelin Joe: Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail and Las Vegas

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Hi Joe,
We've played part of the RTJ Golf Trail in Alabama, and loved it. Which courses would you recommend from the Audubon Golf Trail in Louisiana?
Mark Skipper,
Cedar Park, Texas

Make Gray Plantation ($50-$65; 337-562-1663, graywoodllc.com) in Lake Charles your first stop. The Rocky Roquemore layout is a top value, especially during the week, when you can play this well-bunkered test that skirts the Calcasieu River for $50.

Near the heart of the city is the short but affordable Audubon Park Golf Course ($30-$40; 504-861-2537, auduboninstitute.org), a par-62 track.

Fifteen minutes from downtown is the TPC Louisiana ($110-$169; 866-NOLA-TPC, tpc.com/louisiana), a flat, 7,500-yard Pete Dye design that hosts a PGA Tour event, but at twilight can be played for less than $100.

Dear Joe,
I'm going to Vegas next month and would like to play an affordable course within a short cab drive of the Strip. What do you think is the best bargain in Sin City?
Chad Hartman,
via e-mail

Thanks to the stagnant economy and a dearth of giddy gamblers, Las Vegas is awash with ever-changing golf deals right now. (See, the recession isn't all bad!) Of the fistful of solid second-tier courses, I think The Legacy Golf Club ($75-$119; 702-897-2187, thelegacygc.com) in Henderson meets your criteria. This burly but playable 7,233-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills design is lined with houses, but mountain and desert vistas, quality service and facilities and a memorable stretch of holes (Nos. 10-13) are highlights. Plus, it's only a 15- to 25-minute ride from the Strip, and even closer to the airport.

Ask Travelin' Joe: Chicago, Washington D.C. and Las Vegas

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Hey Joe,
A group of 8 of us are going to Chicago on the September 19 weekend. We were looking into a golf course to play that Saturday morning but haven't made up our minds yet. I was wondering if you could give me some suggestions as to where we should try. My criteria would be: public, $100 or less, relatively close proximity to Chicago because we won't have our own vehicles. Our handicaps range from 2 to 20. We want to play something quality and memorable.
Jordan Lund
Canada

Jordan, it would take Solomon's wisdom to find a perfect answer here, but you're stuck with Travelin' Joe, so we'll forge ahead with compromises. The Glen Club (847-724-7272, theglenclub.com) almost fits your bill. It's only 15 miles north of O'Hare, it serves up a handsome, tournament-tested Tom Fazio design and it's got all the service bells and whistles you could ask for. Unfortunately, they're asking $175 to play on a September Saturday.

Ask Travelin' Joe: Oregon, Colorado and Cape Cod

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Dear Joe,
We are a group of eight golfers traveling to Bend, Oregon in September. Do you have any recommended courses accommodating four rounds of golf?
Carl Miller
Kansas City, Mo.

Hopefully you saw our feature on Bend in the August 2009 issue, but either way, here's a quick recap. Mike Reid certainly can vouch for Crosswater at Sunriver Resort ($109-$175; 541-593-4402, sunriver-resort.com) having walked away with a Champions Tour major there this past week. You don't have to be quite as straight as the man they call "Radar" to enjoy Crosswater, but you do have to be a guest of the resort to play it. Book your stay -- because it's the best course in the area. Ranked No. 33 in our 2008-09 Top 100 Courses You Can Play, this Bob Cupp/John Fought design is edged with wispy fescues and sports countless holes that skirt ponds, wetlands, the Deschutes River and the Little Deschutes River.

Ask Travelin' Joe: Golf Magazine's 50 Greatest Courses of the Last 50 Years

GOLF Magazine's World Top 100 Course Ranking Panel has compiled a list of the 50 greatest golf courses of the last 50 years. Course Rankings Editor Joe Passov joined this forum to answer reader questions in a live chat.

Tom B. writes:
The biggest crime to the game of golf is the fact that the truly great golf courses OUTSIDE the U.S. are accessible for anyone to play without much difficulty. In the U.S. sadly that is not the case. Reading a story about Sand Hills is a waste of time for those who love the game and wish to play a course like it. Go travel outside the U.S., like I have, to play some of the great courses, where the members also love the game enough to share their course with those who also have a love of the game.

Ask Travelin Joe: The Ozarks, Los Angeles and Montreal

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Dear Joe,
I am taking a trip to the Southern Missouri/Northwest Arkansas Ozarks and would like to play a few rounds of golf. I am open to all types of courses and price ranges, but usually like to get the best bang for the buck. I will be traveling with my wife, 9-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son, so resorts with amenities other than golf would be great, too. Recommendations?
Loyce Smith
Junction City, Kan.

To compensate for those guilt pangs of being without the family for 6 hours, I'm sending you straight to the best course in the area, the Tom Fazio-designed Branson Creek Golf Club ($90-$99; 417-339-4653, bransoncreekgolf.com), a rolling track with lakes, hills and mountain vistas. Fortunately, Branson's myriad attractions will allow your family to forget all about you-for 6 hours, anyway.

For lodging, check out the Westgate Branson Woods Resort and Cabins (888-808-7410, wgbransonwoods.com), an affiliated partner of Branson Creek, which offers indoor and outdoor pools, a lighted playground, bike rentals and plenty more.

If you'd prefer the prices and tranquility of Arkansas, don't miss Stonebridge Meadows ($30-$54; 479-571-3673, stonebridgemeadows.com) in Fayetteville, a testing Randy Heckenkemper creation near the University of Arkansas that might be the region's top value.

Ask Travelin Joe: Wisconsin, Illinois, Scottsdale and British Columbia

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Dear Joe,
I will be spending 3-4 weeks in Southeastern Wisconsin and Northeastern Illinois in late May and June. The past few years I have enjoyed playing Thunderhawk in Beach Park, IL. Are there any courses you would recommend at a similar price point in the region?
Nick J.
Gilbert, Arizona

The Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed Thunderhawk ($52-$85; 847-968-4295, lcfpd.org) is pretty strong, but if you're craving variety in an area roughly one hour north of Chicago, start with Stonewall Orchard Golf Club ($70-$95; 847-740-4890, stonewallorchard.com) in Grayslake. This 7,074-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills creation, situated almost due west of Waukegan, between Libertyville and McHenry, boasts a formidable 140 slope, owing to water, wetlands and a superb set of par-3s.

Next, check out Shepherd's Crook ($42-$55; 847-872-2080, shepherdscrook.org) in Zion, an open, prairie-style Keith Foster product that sports wild, wavy greens and a wildly low price tag.

Ask Travelin Joe: Myrtle Beach and Louisville

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Hi Joe,
My foursome will be in Myrtle Beach in mid-June and we'd like to play five days -- 36 holes per day. We're thinking the Legends Moorland and Heathland courses, Barefoot Resort's Love and Dye courses, and Tiger's Eye/Leopard's Chase. What others do you recommend?
Tom Karalis
Tulsa, Okla.

Dump Legends' Heathland for the Parkland layout, then get a double dose of Mike Strantz at Caledonia (843-237- 3675, fishclub.com) and True Blue (843-235-0900, fishclub.com). You can do both for $167 total.

Finally, try Barefoot's Fazio course ($105; 843-390-3200, barefootgolf.com) and Tidewater ($129; 843-249-3829, tidewatergolf.com), both among the best in town.

(Read Travelin Joe's Guide to Myrtle Beach for more information.)

Dear Joe,
I'm traveling to Louisville in early June. I'm a 9-ish handicapper looking for a well groomed, challenging, reasonably priced course. I have all day to play, so I don't mind extra travel time -- anything inside an hour.
Alex Nosevich
Framingham, Mass.

Ask Travelin Joe: Flagstaff, Arkansas and Toronto

If you want to ask Travelin' Joe a question, e-mail him at askjoe@golf.com.

Hello, Joe,
I'm going to Flagstaff, Arizona this week. Can you give me any recommended courses? I don't have any club affiliations.
John G.
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Not many folks beyond the state lines realize that in a little more than two hours up Interstate 17, you can leave the triple digit temperatures of Phoenix behind for the 75-degree days, 80-foot-tall Ponderosa pines and 7,000-foot elevation of Flagstaff. Unfortunately, the great golf in the area is confined to private clubs, notably at 36-hole Forest Highlands, whose Canyon course is often ranked as Arizona's best and at Pine Canyon, one of my favorite golf communities in the nation.

Basically, you've got three choices for public access golf. First -- and closest -- is Continental Country Club (928-527-7999, continentalflagstaff.com; $43-$69). Formerly known as Elden Hills, it's reverted back to an earlier name and at 15 minutes from virtually anywhere in Flagstaff, it's all about convenience and value. Expect play to be slow, with lots of once-every-six-months kinds of players swinging away on vacation, but the waiting isn't all bad. Roughly half the holes are of your basic meadow/pasture variety, with ill-defined landing areas and water hazards, but the other half are pure pleasure, with a handful framed perfectly by pines and backdropped by the San Francisco Peaks.

Another option is to drive 45 scenic minutes south and tee it up at Sedona Golf Resort in Sedona (877-733-6630, sedonagolfresort.com; $69-$105). It's lower in elevation, 10-20 degrees warmer and features sagebrush edging the holes, rather than pines, but the stupendous red rock scenery, memorably at the 210-yard, par-3 10th, makes it worth the journey. Gary Panks, who authored Twin Warriors near Albuquerque, did Sedona as well.

Finally, you might try a cool time warp 30 miles due west of Flagstaff at Elephant Rocks in Williams (928-635-4935, elephantrocks.net; $29-$54). Panks created nine new, tough, meadowy holes here in 1999, but the old stone clubhouse and the lay-of-the-land, pine-lined holes (1-5 and 15-18) date to the 1920s.

Ask Travelin Joe: Florida Panhandle, Scottsdale stay-and-plays, and Charlotte

If you want to ask Travelin' Joe a question, e-mail him at askjoe@golf.com.

Dear Joe,
Are there any must-plays in the Florida Panhandle?
Dave S.
Via email

I'm a big fan of the whole Sandestin set-up, whether for family stays or buddies trips, and that includes the golf, which boasts tremendous variety, including a couple of all-stars in the Raven and Burnt Pine. Frankly, the whole region boasts a surprising number of worth-your-while layouts. However, the feeble economy has rendered two "can't-plays" into two "must-plays."

Shark's Tooth ($90-$150, 850-534-5000, sharkstoothgolfclub.com) in Lake Powell and Camp Creek ($125-$145, 850-231-7600, campcreekgolfclub.com) near Panama City Beach are two dynamic St. Joe-owned layouts that have dropped their "private" status in recent months. Shark's Tooth is a pristine, low-profile Greg Norman design with minimal rough, with some unforgettable back nine holes that skirt the vast Lake Powell.

Camp Creek is an equally tranquil Tom Fazio test with wide fairways, massive, undulating greens and an abundance of hazards that drive the back tee slope to a whopping 152. You shouldn't miss either of them if you're in the region.