Using Excel is not cumbersome at all VHL! I use Excel to keep notes on WGT friends as well as specific notes on specific notes. Nice to be able to recall a real first name when I need it, or what state/country that friend lives in. (I'm terrible with names and places)
Keeping Excel open in a window behind the game client presents no problems for me. I doesn't use much memory or CPU (its open as I type this and using a piddling 25K of memory and 0 CPU time). Switching between the game client and Excel is a breeze using either the task bar or if I'm on the reduced screen game client a click of the mouse on the proper window.
Both of the images below are compressed, just right click on the image and select View image to see the full sized image.
Here a screen shot of my Friends info. Its a simple Contact List format with room for adding notes. Each friend has its own tab at the bottom. I use macros to create new worksheets, name the worksheet with the friends name, and sort the sheets alphabetically. I hope WGTAlex doesn't mind being used as the example.
If you're interested in playing with it there's a link and instructions on getting a template of this spreadsheet for yourself on my profile blog.
For course notes, I have a separate spreadsheet for the front and back nine of both stroke play courses, most sets of tees. And a separate spreadsheet for all the CTTH challenges. Each hole has its own tab. The notes I keep can be specific results of shots for specific conditions. And I can put notes for what to hit for specific spots that I typically can find myself. Like the front bunker on BP #5 for example. Easier to show you an example from my notes on Kiawah Back9 Gold tees, hole #17:
As I move from hole to hole I merely click the lower tab on the spreadsheet to access my notes for that hole. If I hit a good shot I can enter conditions, all the shot parameters used and the result. I even have included some screen shots showing how a particularly common but tough putt breaks.
This works well for me and perhaps gives others ideas on how they can keep their notes organized.
If sometime down the road WGT implements notes on players, then I may switch. Notes on courses and holes though would be a different story. My needs for hole notes are too varied and specific to expect WGT to meet them.
Right now I have what I need. I'd rather see WGT working on new courses and fixes to problems than implementing notes on players and courses.