If you love to golf you already know that golfing several times a week at expensive courses can take a big bite out of your budget, especially if both of you are golf enthusiasts. Seniors looking for affordable golf retirement will find that Arizona is a goldmine. With more than 30 golf retirement communities to choose from in the Phoenix area alone, you’ll have lots of options if you want to actually live in a golf retirement community. The other option is to live in a community that is not directly associated with golf, and take advantage of the more than 200 courses in the Phoenix area with discounts and passes, like the locals do.

Let’s face it, golf in the summer in Arizona is cheap for a reason! Most seniors and tourists skip town during the hottest months of June-August, so the courses are deserted, and rates are dirt cheap. If you’re retiring here, you’ll most likely be looking a winter rates, which can be expensive, but you can find ways to save. Locals purchase annual passes, like the $175 Southwest PGA pass, which gives you up to 50% discounts at many of the area courses. Another way to save is with some of the online booking engines like Golfnow.com or GolfHub.com, which offer discounted tee times, especially for last minute bookings. Using the Southwest Pass and/or online booking, you can find green fees for $30-$45 during the winter.

Most of the large active adult communities in Arizona have a golf course. A few are private, but most offer public pay-per-play to keep the golf affordable for the residents. Famous for their cheap golf are Sun City and Sun City West. These are more than just “communities”, these are actual cities. Sun City offers 8 courses (three executive courses and five regulation courses), and Sun City West offers seven courses (three executive and four regulation courses) with “winter” rates for residents as low as $25 per round.

Sun City and Sun City West are older communities, so if you want a new home, you’ll have to look to one of the other Sun City communities currently being built.

The golf at the newer Sun Cities, is more expensive. These public courses are currently being run by Troon Golf, and the fees are higher. Sun City Festival Ranch’s course, Copper Canyon, charges residents $45 for “winter rates”, and Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch’s Poston Butte course charges residents $50. Keep in mind though, during the winter, high-end courses in Scottsdale and Phoenix can charge $150-$250 per round, so $45-$50 to play a good course are still great rates, but it’ll double your golf budget when compared to some of the already built, older communities.

If your goal is affordable golf retirement, you’ll find Arizona has a lot to offer. When checking out rates, be sure the compare apples to apples and always look at the “winter” rate” for a true comparison. If you’re thinking of golf retirement, be sure to check the rates of the areas you’re considering. Nothing’s worse than falling in love with an area or house, only to find you can’t afford to golf there several times a week.

Margaret Stephens is an avid golfer and full-time resident of the Phoenix area for more than 14 years. Margaret’s site, www.GolfAt55.com provides detailed information including photos, virtual tours about all of the Phoenix area Golf Retirement Communities and new homes in Active Adult Communities