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[Indy Anna Jones]

Dave, the designer ISN'T easy, but it's a lot easier than the AP Designer, that's for sure. We gave up on that real quick. But once you get a handle on this designer and learn how to avoid the pitfalls that will ruin your course, it's pretty easy to turn out a class "A" course in a relatively short time (how some people can do it in a few weeks still escapes me, but my hat is off to them.) (My favorite part of the Palmer Designer was how it'd build the plot for you. That was great.)

The designer tutorials have some outstanding stuff, and there are still several active designers here at the clubhouse to answer your questions and assist you as needed. My major suggestion to any aspiring (or experienced) designer is to save! save! save! your work with multiple file names (ie, MYDESIGNhole12a... 12b...) whenever you're starting on a new section of your work, especially an area using a lot of detail (greens, traps, water.) There's nothing more frustrating than having spent a couple of hours building a beautiful green/water/bunker complex, then doing that ONE more little thing... and watching it all shatter (ie, your course looks like someone dropped a mirror that broke) WITHOUT having previously saved your work.

Also, when you are ready to compile your course, save it first then reopen it, then compile it. This prevents "sun spots" (ie, brightly lit areas that look like sunshine hitting random parts of the course on a partly cloudy day. Sounds attractive, but it's not.)

[stillgolfing]

Thanks for the info Indy. I probably will download and play courses for a while, but inevitably I will need a change and will take a look at the designer then.
Cheers, Dave