Machinery
-If you need to clear a lot of woods, i recommend a T-300 forestry cutter by Bobcat. i love this machine. I have used a similar machine made by Takeuchi and it was a major disappointment. Even if you have limited funds, this piece of machinery will save so much time and additional work. Rent equipment on the wknd and get a better deal than through the week. Dozers and track loaders are great, but the forestry cutter turns everything into wood chips so there are no piles pushed/carried to side, no root balls pushed up leaving extra grading work, no stumps to be tripped over in fairways, no need for a chipper and having to load it, and it carves through material so quickly that you could have a hole cut out in as little as minutes or even hours.
Routing
-use a topo map in the beginning to learn the land better. when laying out your course on paper, print off several google maps and just mark the best holes on the maps. then try to figure several different routes using best holes but don't worry about if route is complete and draw your different routes out. Have 2-3 routes that you really like and look for the best balanced course. Once you have several routes figured from your google print outs, you are now ready to use your topo map. Designate each route a color ie yellow, orange, pink. Cut each hole out to the scale of the hole using the key on the map and the chosen color. this will help you get the distances you want on the course. Also make sure that you cut the paper as the hole would play-meaning the paper strips are not just straight. On each piece of colored paper you cut out, write the hole number on it. because with so many colored papers overlapping, it can get confusing. now you have a really great puzzle with pieces that can move around.
Wood holes
-flagging tape is best for designing wood holes like so many have mentioned. I will use pink to mark trees that i will possibly remove and this helps create your throw lanes as your eye is able to almost see thru the trees. then i mark with green tape(and tell park guys that green means to be Earthy/environmentally green and do not cut) on the trees that will line the fairway. this helps volunteers or park employees if coming in with brush hog/weed eaters and a lot can be done with out you having to cut it out
-once a wood hole has been marked with flagging tape, look at the hole backward from the basket and it is amazing how much easier the hole might appear, but also spend a lot of time in middle of hole looking back and forth at tee/green to ensure angels/lines are correct.
-designing woods holes in winter is best like mentioned before, however, be sure that you wait till spring or even summer to make sure the integral trees are still alive. it is hard to tell if a tree just died recently in the winter
-for woody holes, use a long extendable pole like a pool skimmer or telescoping pole(ie like a hand tree saw ) to mark your tee and basket location and tie several pieces of your flagging tape to one end of it. the more tape the better, because some pieces might get tangled in branches or blocked from view obstacle in the line of sight.
Open holes
-for open holes use stake ( i like to use 5 foot 1/8 inch rebar poles) to mark baskets and tees in open grassy fields. As mentioned before, small ground flags will soon be engulfed by the grass and get mowed over. find an object that can be pushed into ground like metal poles vs something needed to be pounded in and then you have to carry a mini sledge. take flagging tape and wrap around the end of pole. use different colors for basket/tee
-on more open parts of the course, strive to have tees angled in different directions if possible to have the wind come into play differently, vs 9 holes with the wind at back and 9 holes with wind in face
-sometimes you have to have a junk/open hole to link two great holes. however, plant flora that grows quickly ie eastern red cedars, or build a mound for basket or elevate the basket, have someone bring in large round hay bales or RR ties and place near tee or around basket
- short holes in woods, open fields, or water behind in front can be the best risk reward holes, even if they are just a link hole. put some OB in front and behind basket on super short holes. if you make a island placement, put basket to the back of island so a circle 3 is harder if they go OB
-borrow appropriate tools or invest in your craft-buy a telescoping pole chainsaw from Stihl(so you can do all the ceiling work vs the park dept trying and messing up the ceiling, buy a good mid range chainsaw, and buy a lazer range finder so you know exact distances when working on angles. plus saves you a lot of time walking back and forth stepping off the hole
-after cutting and removing flora, treat it with Tordon to ensure that it never comes back. Yes Tordon is super hard core stuff, however, enthusiasm and volunteerism can dwindle and course will quickly close up by obnoxious plants. ask part departments to give you the chemicals, they all have it and do the job right the first time
-have a trusted group of folks that you bring in after your route has been determined-find a bomber, a skilled line thrower, a wise crafty veteran, a woman who all can offer feedback and they will tell you how they would play the hole
-when working with park departments, always ask for more in the beginning, than having to go back later and ask. don't be afraid to shoot for the moon, cause you might still get the stars. yes they are busy, but they want the best for the park as do you. they may have limited resources/manpower, but they do have slower parts of the year and do need work at times so projects may be needed.
-you will make mistakes, do not beat yourself up. you will get better with time and your mistakes will be valuable experiences in your future endeavors. don't take it personal when people hate holes. folks will beat up your course but you are only human and you can't please everyone. you have to be thick skinned.