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Hey everyone -
I wanted to share the build-out of my Skytrak golf simulator at home. I’m living in Belgium (Europe) and during a work hectic, wet and cold 2017 autumn with no time to get to the range or course I decided to try and build my own sim.
Had been thinking about the garage a lot, but that would be too unpractical and not ideal measurement wise.
We do have an attic which was stuffed with junk really and very disorganized. In December 2017 I started cleaning up, which made me feel really good actually. It feels good throwing stuff you haven’t looked at for years away and bring things back in order.
Once that was done I started measuring. The big disadvantage where the roof ceilings obviously. Despite having a nice space, the roof shape quickly causes you to loose in width or length. The height was also a big issue.
Luckily above the plaster ceiling, was unused space, and my idea was to remove the ceiling and heighten it up. I had several contractors come in and quote, but it was far from cheap! Luckily my father (70) is just an incredible DIY person and he said he could pull it off. And he did! I am so grateful having a dad like that
!
I would be left with a usable space of about 3 meters high ( ±10 ft), 3 meters wide ( ±10 ft) and 5 meters ( ±16 ft) deep.
I am 1.85 meters (6.07 feet) tall and a right handed golfer. I was not intending a setup to accommodate for lefty’s.
I am teeing up the ball at approx. 2.70 meters ( ±8.85 ft) from the screen.
What did I decide on:
What do I like on my setup:
What I don’t like:
I hope you find this information and photos useful, including my metric to imperial conversions for our US friends
.
I hope to get some advice from the community in return;
I wanted to share the build-out of my Skytrak golf simulator at home. I’m living in Belgium (Europe) and during a work hectic, wet and cold 2017 autumn with no time to get to the range or course I decided to try and build my own sim.
Had been thinking about the garage a lot, but that would be too unpractical and not ideal measurement wise.
We do have an attic which was stuffed with junk really and very disorganized. In December 2017 I started cleaning up, which made me feel really good actually. It feels good throwing stuff you haven’t looked at for years away and bring things back in order.
Once that was done I started measuring. The big disadvantage where the roof ceilings obviously. Despite having a nice space, the roof shape quickly causes you to loose in width or length. The height was also a big issue.
Luckily above the plaster ceiling, was unused space, and my idea was to remove the ceiling and heighten it up. I had several contractors come in and quote, but it was far from cheap! Luckily my father (70) is just an incredible DIY person and he said he could pull it off. And he did! I am so grateful having a dad like that
!I would be left with a usable space of about 3 meters high ( ±10 ft), 3 meters wide ( ±10 ft) and 5 meters ( ±16 ft) deep.
I am 1.85 meters (6.07 feet) tall and a right handed golfer. I was not intending a setup to accommodate for lefty’s.
I am teeing up the ball at approx. 2.70 meters ( ±8.85 ft) from the screen.
What did I decide on:
- SkyTrak (Masters promo including metal case protector and 1 year game improvement license)
- Acer Predator Helios 300 i7, GTX 1060, 15.6 FULL HD, 16 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD (Amazon promo)
- GSK2000 Home Enclosure 2.55 m high (± 8.4 ft) x 3.00 m wide ( ±10 ft) x 130 m deep ( ±4.5 ft) (new)
- BenQ TH671ST 1080p projector (second hand)
- 3 meter wide by 2.5 meter deep Eagle putting turf, 0.8cm (±0.3”) thick
- 1.5 meter by 1.5 meter Eagle hitting mat, 1.5 cm (±0.59”) thick
- Underflooring of 12 mm (±0.47”) thick
- Small stuff such as ceiling beamer mount, long power extension cable, long USB 2.0 to Micro USB cable, long HDMI cable.
- To be done: install blinds to darken the window behind the impact screen.
What do I like on my setup:
- Separate hitting mat; when done, I just flip it over on the turf. Saves some space. If it gets worn out it will be cheaper to replace then a whole hitting turf. It also allows me to move the mat (and Skytrak) further to the right to accommodate for driver / woods.
- The laptop is awesome. While building (which took a good 4 months) my kids confiscated it to play Fortnite. Lol, they are not happy I took it back 😊. After hitting a shot, the shot is displayed in less then 2 seconds, the delay doesn’t bother me at all. I actually like this delay somehow. It gives you a moment to reflect on what you think the outcome will be. Only bummer is that the Skytrak does not have USB 3.0, that might have made things even better.
- The impact screens is quite quiet. I expected it to be worse.
What I don’t like:
- I should have not gone with a short throw projector, I first put it on the top of the cage , but that felt quite uncomfortable, always had the impression I just missed it with the driver. I then decided to mount it on the ceiling, but I noticed I couldn’t go back as much as I wanted as the projected image would quickly become way to large (zoom set to minimum). I’ve mounted it at the max distance, which is slightly in front of me. I’ve hit it with a wedge once already! Luckily it was not at full speed and not on the lens. Nothing was damaged.
- Something I never though off, being off center. I somehow never stood still with the fact that I would not be hitting at the center of the screen. If I would like this, the wall (chimney) behind me would be too close. Especially with longer irons, woods & driver. So I need to line up more to the right hand side. With an open club face or a sh*nk, I miss the enclosure. Happened already by accident
!
I hope you find this information and photos useful, including my metric to imperial conversions for our US friends
.I hope to get some advice from the community in return;
- Is offset that important? On the practice driving range, I have set the offset further to the right, in order to sort of line up with my tee position. But it’s not really bothering me (yet) if the center line remains centered while I am lined up to the right of it. What’s the implication?
- I have not yet invested in a Golf Simulator Game. Any suggestions? JNPG or TGC? Taken into mind that I am aiming to the right hand of the enclosure. Would it impact my game experience?
- What are your thoughts on ‘almost’ golf balls. I got a dozen and they are quiet and safe. But the feel, sound and distance is not the same (though pretty close I have to say!)
- I’ve only started hitting some balls for a few days, and I have trouble getting good shots. I.e. in real I hit it further and straighter. Is it the ‘indoor swing syndrome’ ? When really going for it, I often get ‘no read’, like I am too fast for Skytrak (but that is very unlikely as I am not a fast swinger at all)
- Is there quick ref card somewhere that lists the ideal backspin, side spin, ball speed, launch angles etc that I can have handy. I’m obsessed with data and that is one of the reasons I wanted this 😊. I have no idea what's a good shot and a bad shot measuring wise.
- I am trying to find a permanent distance for a driver swing toward the wall behind me. I am 6.07 feet tall. How much space do you guys have behind you and did you ever hit the wall? In over exaggerated slow motion swings I can hit the wall, but I think in reality a swing arc is much more compact. I am looking for what you have left in free space behind you when addressing the ball with the driver. I’ve read that 2.8 meters is the minimum (±8.9 feet), but that feel like very generous even with a super flat backswing.
- Is it ok to move the Skytrak around, i.e. to accommodate for irons / longer clubs? I’ve seen a video recently of guys lining up there Skytrak with lasers, is it really that important? I’ve never done a setup really of the SkyTrak, just launched it, registred, set the metric, played with offset and started hitting balls. Is that ok?
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