screen and netting questions

[schmidt61059]

I have a few questions about screens and netting. Of course, some of this is discussed in other posts, but I'd appreciate direct responses.

1. Hanging versus framed: I'd like to hear from people who have hung screens without frames. How well does that work? I realize there might be a loss in picture quality, but I'm more interested in not having a frame dominate my room than I am in clarity.

2. Quality of screen: I'm not sure how to understand varying quality levels, such as those offered at Carl's Place. What's really needed for pretty much daily use? Does anyone know how the Par2Pro screen compares in quality levels to those at Carls, AllSports, or other vendors? I mean: is it equivalent to "premium" or "preferred"? Milton, WI (Carl's) is about 70 miles from me, so I'd save on shipping or could even pick up stuff, but I like the idea of a "super quiet" screen (Par2Pro).

3. Using raw material: I think lots of people have done this. What are the advantages besides price? Are you all going ahead and finishing it, or is it practical just to hang it (ala question 1 above)?

4. Netting/quality of netting: There seem to be lots of options. Suggestions? Does anyone have experience with this option, suggested by Carl's Place?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DX3N0XK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DX3N0XK&linkCode=as2&tag=carspla0f-20

5. Using Photo Studio Backdrop Frames: Has anyone ever experimented with Photo Backdrop Frames for hanging a screen or netting? The would seem like a cheap and easily portable option. I mean something like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E6GRHBO

Thanks for any help.

[Pat S.]

I can offer my opinion on your first question about hanging screens. I've had two versions of hanging screens and never had a full frame. Here's my experience:

1. When I first started building and testing my simulator in my garage I had only a hanging Supertex screen from Spectrum Golf. This is one of the ones with a pocket in the top for a pole to hang from and a pocket in the bottom of the screen. The hanging screen works so much better when you add the conduit pipe into the sleeve on the bottom of the screen. The weight of the pole helps flatten the screen and get rid of some waves and wrinkles. With the sides not being attached to anything you can still get some waves on the sides of the screen. This may or may not bother you, partially depending on how much of your screen is filled up with your projected image. The best image quality/less waves was when the screen was hanging slightly above the floor. This also led to the most bounce back. But keep in mind that it was just a hanging screen without pads or netting behind it. That will reduce bounce back, as well. Once the screen was lowered so that the bottom pipe was just resting on the floor, bounce back went way down because the screen was not as tight but therefore had more wrinkling/waves. I found a compromise between the two that worked fine. I think the general practice is to cover these pipes with pipe insulation to minimize bounce back in case you hit a pipe. The insulation helps but you still get a pretty good ricochet. A few places sell foam padding you can place along the bottom of the screen to cover the pipe in case of a worm burner.

2. Now I have a SportScreen setup that manually rolls down from the ceiling. I have a Supertex screen attached to the front of the SportScreen but the same rules apply with the pipe at the bottom and the waves on the sides. Now I use 3 tarp clips on the sides of the screen attached to bungees on the walls of the garage if I want a really good image. Sometimes I don't bother with that because the image looks fine with a few waves.

I hope that helps a little.

Peace,
Pat

[jdgould]

I started with a 1" EMT frame and a Par2Pro HQSQ screen, thinking that I'd just lift the frame up and hing it to the ceiling when not in use (that turned out to be much harder than originally planned). Using the EMT frame, the screen was hung relatively tight as I had ball bungees tied to the EMT pipe all around the screen. The bounce back wasn't that bad and the picture quality was fantastic.

I have now switched to an automatic sportscreen with my Par2Pro SQ screen that is hung by velcro at the top and I used a fiberglass stick provided in my sportscreen at the bottom of my screen that is also bungee'd to the fiberglass stick to make the screen nice and tight at the top and bottom. When in use, I too am hanging my screen just off of the ground and the bounce back is perfect for my swing as most of my iron shots the ball slowly bounces back and rolls to around the spot I hit from. The bounce back is a little more with my driver, but not bad.

I can't tell you if the Par2Pro screen is better than Carl's or the direct from mill, but I can tell you that the I am very pleased with the picture quality (my projector is the Optoma Darbee 1080p).

I don't use any netting and haven't had any issues, as a reference my screen is 14' X 8'. In other words, no one has hit the top of the sportscreen 8' up and we typically hit from around 8 feet back.

I hope that helps.

Jeff

[triplebogeysrbetter]

I have the standard Carl's 8x10 screen. I hung a 1 inch EMT at the top of garage. The screen is hanging from the EMT with bungee balls. There are four bungee straps on each side.

The projected image is really good. I also use WGT and the graphics isn't the great from the game, but it's still great for me.

All in all its not 4K quality, but it's a game changer for me.

I loved the Carl's screen so much. I just purchased a backup this week. If you check their clearance you can find ones they are selling at a discount. Mine had a defect from the factory. I got both for 60% off. Basically, I two screens (standard and Preferred) for the regular price of a standard.

I love their impact screens. A lot of times I hit some balls in the garage then watch a couple of shows on Amazon prime.

[gnomike]

I found that Carl's clearance section as well... what a great deal on the premium i got! What was the defect on yours? I only did a quick inspection of mine, but couldn't find anything other than a bit of dust/debris as if it had been dropped on the floor. Could that be it? I figure I'll find out once I've hung it up.

[triplebogeysrbetter]

I spoke to them and asked before purchasing. The woman told me it was an oil stain. When i received it I open the box and inspected it. Found nothing. The screen has been up for three weeks now. I still haven’t found anything.

[schmidt61059]

Hey all, Thanks for the comments, and sorry for no reply. A few random follow-ups. I did get a discount screen from Carl's. The price was outstanding ($166 for 10x10 preferred and it shipped free in one day ... OK, I live about 60 miles from Milton, WI). It did have some marks from the factory, but it was fine for my purposes. I also got a 10x10x10 net. I used angle iron and hung the screen at about 8 feet up because of constrictions in my vaulted ceiling office. I put the net up, but I took that down pretty quickly because it felt very claustrophobic. As a result, I returned to hitting foam balls.

I have one main follow-up question: How high are you all hanging your screens? I see the example above of 8 feet, which is the same as where mine is at. BUT if I hit any kind of high shot (any wedge or anything popped up), the ball either hits above the angle iron or, more often, "climbs" the screen, hits the angle or ceiling, and ricochets back at me. I've been hit in the head and face twice, so I've pretty much given up on real balls for now, except for chipping and putting. I'm hitting from about 6 feet back. I'd really like to use real balls, but I'd also like to keep my skull intact. I could move the screen so that at least the middle 8 feet of it is at 10 feet high, but that would really wreck the look/feel of my office. Any thoughts?

A side note: I'd give a strong endorsement to Callaway HX balls, but an important warning: THEY WILL STAIN YOUR IMPACT SCREEN. I noticed this only after hitting quite a few. Now I've got orange marks on my new screen. So I hung a sheet, which sort of defeats the purpose. Otherwise, they work great with my SkyTrak, at least to a point. You can get reasonable distances, tho' the spin is much reduced. That being said, I'd really like to use real balls, if I could solve the problem above.

[Rbl]

Great post. Would love to hear more along these lines