10 TIPS TO REMEMBER WHEN DESIGNING YOUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD or PARK GOLF COURSE:  For the first few years of almostGOLF's existence, we were like many dot.com'ers, we worked (no...slaved) out of our house in Santa Monica, CA., but that had some marked advantages. First I was able to turn our front yard and neighborhood into the almostGOLF testing laboratories. I could walk out the side door and hit shots across the yard during breaks with employees. It was an awesome way to regenerate our batteries during the work day. Then, during weekends and off hours I walked across the street to my park and played my own 'golf course'. What I didn't realize was that my experience of learning golf was so much easier, convenient, creative and fun then what most people go through. Check out my Parking Lot Golf Driving Range entry to see what I mean.

OUR FIRST COURSE: I created my first 18 hole golf course with great fondness because there is nothing like taking off the headset, turning off the computer, grabbing a pocket worth of balls, a shag and my favorite golf club (Cleveland TA5 8 iron) and being able to be hitting balls and sculpting shots within five minutes. So here are  few tips on creating your course.

10 TIPS TO REMEMBER WHEN DESIGNING YOUR OWN GOLF COURSE:

1. LOCATION: Find a park or area of the park/schoolyard/neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of pedestrian traffic. You'll find this well help with the flow of your course and speed of play.
2. COURSE ETIQUETTE: l ways almostSHAG or pocket shag to reduce neighborhood divot damgage, because park rangers hate the TWO D's: Divots and Damage. If they see you being cool with the shag, life will be better for everyone.
3. INTER PARK DIPLOMACY: Befriend the park ranger and make sure it's cool that you play there. Though it's traditionally illegal to play golf in parks, you will be surprised how many park rangers are not only cool with your playing, but want to play along with you. Also, if you are going to hit into an area where guys are playing catch or the like, ask them if you and your crew can hit through before spraying them with balls. Especially at the beginning of this new sport.
4. USE THE RIGHT GOLF BALL COLORS: When playing an open course, (off-course) use yellow, orange or blue balls because most people flip out when they see white golf balls flying around where they think they shouldn't be.
5. PARK GOLF COURSE DESIGN: Create challenging course elements like hitting over fences or around obstacles. Also design your course to start and finish at the same location. That makes it fun to 'take a lap' around the park and end up where you started.
6. WIND DESIGN: The almostGOLF ball handles the wind far better than most non-urban golfers think. Since it's got a 386 dimple pattern it cuts the wind quite well. So now you can design your course to take advantage of side winds, tail winds and the head wind. Design your course so if you have a right to left side wind, you have to draw a shot around an obstacle right to left. Now the wind becomes your friend and cutting, fading and working the almostGOLF ball is what this sport is all about. (I will definitely write an entire entry about working the wind and course design. So stay tuned.)
7. CREATE A COURSE CLUB STANDARD: Determine the standard club you are going to use for your course. I am a big fan of the 8 iron. It allows you to hit high, low, long and short shots. If you don't set the club, your crew will come along with a 4 iron and over cook your course. Remember, almostGOLF is about accuracy and shot making not distance.
8. CREATE THE PAR FOR YOUR COURSE: This allows you to create a bench mark that you can now begin to whittle away at. It's amazing how you can smoke your course after playing it several times. It feels good to go into red numbers after a hard day of work.
9. PIN PLACEMENT IS EVERYTHING: A lot of times the hole is a fire hydrant, sign post or the pitchers chalk. You can make your pins easy or difficult, depending on your skill level. Determine your pars according not to standard distance, but to difficulty getting into the greens and the holes. Sometimes a green can be so impossible to land, you should turn it from a par 3 to a par 4 because of its difficulty factor.
10. BE FLEXIBLE AS YOU PLAY YOUR GOLF COURSE: Remember you can change your course at any moment, especially if there are pedestrian or automotive hazards in the way of your fairway or on the green. If a pedestrian has decided to become a 'picnic hazard' or 'soccer hazard', change your hole and steer clear. If you don't, you could spook them and cause all kinds of negative vibes...and no one wants that. Remember, you are un-extreme...so act like it.  Steet golf / urban golf rules