New Sim Room critique

[SwingHarder]

Hey all...Long time listener, first time caller.

I've been following this forum for a while getting ready for my sim room. I thought I was good to go but panicked a bit when I saw the total cost after I added some stuff to cart on Par2Pro. While it doesn't challenge my budget, I figured it's expensive enough to seek some professional opinions before pulling the trigger.

Background - Room dimensions 16.5' wide, 13.75' deep, 8.75' height. The room is in the basement and has walls on 3 sides. I'm leaning towards hitting into the wider wall as that is the side that has no wall behind the hitting area (the limitations for room depth come from an I Beam at that distance 7.5' off ground) meaning its easier for people to watch. Based on some rough tests, my hitting distance to screen would be about the either way (approx. 9'). I've already moved some ductwork in the room so that the ceiling is flush - Starting cost $315.

Initial Plan: Screen - 14' x 8.5' HQ2, 12.5'x8' Net, 2 memory foam pads. I'm not good at sewing, so I'm planning finished product for screen, not raw. Cost - $1200 screen, $150 net, TBD on pads and shipping.

Floor - ST12P Padded Turf from Par2Pro 12'x17'. Attached directly to concrete. Cost - $935 plus shipping.

Hardware - I won't have room complete until late January at best, so I'll have more info about ES16 before I buy, but I'll either get GC2 (used) or ES16. TGC for software. Cost - approx. 5k.

Projector - Benq HT1085ST. Everyone seems to love it, It looks like it would work for me if mounted 12 feet away in overhead. Cost - $900.

Computer - No research done yet, I'll probably use my old desktop on low settings for this season, upgrade next year for max settings on TGC. Initial cost - $0.

Hitting Platform - Undecided, I like the look of TrueStrike but am open to suggestions as it has a high price. Assuming I get that - Cost $825.

Room and Screen Protection - 4' Black Floor to Ceiling Curtains on each side, 4' of Acoustic Foam on ceiling (Might switch to baffles after seeing what aja did). Estimated cost - $200.

Misc - Drywall, Angle Iron, Bungees, Paint - Est Cost $300.

Total ballpark cost - 9.5k
Initial budget - 10k.

Does anyone see any glaring weaknesses? I know its a lot to ask for a first time post, but I'm planning on keeping this up to date w/ pictures/progress so that hopefully somebody can learn from my stuff down the road.

I'm planning on ordering the screen, net, and flooring (and maybe hitting platform) before Christmas based on estimated lead time. Does anyone know if Par2Pro does any specials if you order x amount of stuff?

Also, does anyone have experience with the Par2Pro flooring (ST12P Padded Turf)?

Thanks all for any help provided!

[fortysixandtwo]

I'm currently building a sim in the garage and just adding some finishing touches, here's what I've come across in my travels. I am on a budget, so I try to cut costs as much as possible. To me the most important thing in order was:

A gc2. I got a nice deal locally with some extras. It came with the basic range and one course which was a bonus, any pc made the last few years can run it pretty easily. Also came with an impact screen..more on that later..

A decent hitting mat. I was lucky enough that my son's golf practice facilty replaced thier already nice hitting mats. I got 3 of them which are 5x5 for 40.00 total... only really needed one but ya know...backups..

I could've been done, and just hit into a net...and look at the laptop or ipad for data, but I found this site so it's expanded my sim horizons...so

A good impact screen. I'm sure par2pro screens are nice, but all screens are gonna wear out. The one I received happens to be sold on ebay where you can frame it up with pvc and strap it to your actual frame. For my size, they're around 160.00 I went with a 9x8.5 1" emt hitting cage for the garage. I couldn't do angle iron type of setup. I have noticed that for me, I have an issue with lw hitting higher than the screen so I'm trying to protect the ceiling with draping a golf net above the cage and over the back of the screen.

I already have a benq w770st 720p projector from last year, messing with optishot and kids summer movies. Still debating if it's worth the upgrade since pp, tgc, protee, and fss, all look pretty darn good from 10 ft away. If I was looking for a replacement,and the budget allowed, I'd go with the benq 1085st, Did I mention sim software already? oops

Desktop- If your planning on running tgc, you will need a i5 or i7 with a gtx 970 or 980. I only had a laptop so I went and bought the last demo i7 dell that costco had for a great price and I have a evga gtx970 on the way from amazon to change out the video card and power supply..

sim software- well if you get a gc2 you might find one with software already to get you going, otherwise its signing up for the perfect golf beta, or the tgc/protee.

I added to my software collection and got the bundled tgc/protee a couple days ago. I think the protee software is very easy for my kids to use while I learn which courses they can play on the golf club for their length.

I'm adding the finishing touches now to the garage...I just went to Lowe's and bought some green outdoor carpet for the garage floor. 12x18. It was 5.06 per linear foot. :-)

Anyway all your materials look great, but I'd be sure to get all the hardware first, gc2, hitting mat, pc and projector. Then you might decide to go other directions for screen and/or building materials...

[SwingHarder]

Providing a little update

First, fortysixandtwo, thanks for the reply. You got me looking at ways to cut some costs and helped me shift the budget to other areas (particularly w/ screen and turf).

Got a little busy over the holidays, but now the project is moving along. I'm doing all the work myself, so it means that I keep changing things on a daily basis. I'm now converting the bulk of the basement into a large man cave (approx 800 sq ft) with home theater, wet bar, half bath, and golf sim. I've finished all the framing and should have electrical and plumbing roughed in by the end of this weekend. If my building permit gets denied, then I'm gonna be up the creek without a paddle.

As far as the golf sim goes, I'm still undecided on the launch monitor. The ES16 pricing w/ TGC is within budget, but it needs to be better than a GC2 (tall order) for me to buy it. That should be figured out within the next few weeks.

I've ordered 15 ft of Raw HQ2 from Par2Pro, but I guess it's on backorder. I ordered it in December before it listed as backordered, but haven't received it yet, so I'm assuming it's not coming til mid Feb. It's a little annoying that I haven't been contacted by them regarding this (I wouldn't even have known about the backorder if not for the forum). I also ordered netting from them at the same time. I know I initially said I'd go with finished screen, but Grandma promised to help me sew it, so I'm all set there.

Projector and flooring are both sitting at my house waiting to be installed. I went with the Benq HT1085ST and Grand Synthetic Turf from AllTurfMats.

The MK7 was backordered so I bought a Country Club Elite sample to try it and liked it. I'm waiting to see if CostCo has a sale on the 5x5 between now and when I need it.

A couple questions for the experts:

1) Does the GC2 require/work better with lighting? The sim room will be pretty dark, but while I'm wiring should I throw in a few lights on a dimmer or at least a spotlight on the hitting area?

2) Any recommendations for getting the floor turf at the same height as the hitting mat? I've looked at DriCore tiles underneath the turf and they would be about the perfect height, I just don't know if they are too firm to be realistic.

3) This might be better served in the computer requirements section, but my old computer has an i7 3820 quad core with ASUS 7870 2 GB graphics card. Is that acceptable for TGC? I've done the graphics card comparison with a GTX 970 and it seems ok, but if I need to update, I'd rather do it now.

Again, thanks all for the help.

[Godfather]

We need some pics. The open end part sounds ideal. I wouldn't build up the mat too much with the ceiling height you have.

[SwingHarder]

I'll try and get some later today, the ones that I have are too large to post. Also, the hitting mat is gonna sit directly on concrete, I'm looking at building up the putting surface around it to be flush. Looking for ways to that while still maintaining realistic roll.

[fortysixandtwo]

I picked up a cce 5x5 mat a couple weeks ago, very nice. I ordered direct and there's a 15% off coupon code, maybe it still works. I think it was usgolftv

I also upgraded my projector to the 1085st, works pretty well in my garage. I just use a torch light well enough for a gc2

I don't think that video card will handle tgc as well as you would like..I would get the gtx970 since you already have an i7..

I'm interested in how your sewing goes once you get the material.

[goodmatt78]

You can get putting turf pretty close to equal height to the CCE using carpet shims. It makes a really nice transition for only $50. I am quite happy and it secures the mat as well.

[goodmatt78]

A few other thoughts.....

1) 10k is plenty. I have a few grand less in my total setup, but I really planned things out and saved a bunch on the screen and turf without skimping on quality.

2) your room is about the same size as mine. Don't over think the wall and ceiling protection as you will only be hitting from about 7ft away.

3) I made my net slight larger than the screen. You want a uniform backing to your screen our you will see it. I used archery netting from west coast netting. It wasn't cheap (around 350), but it's heavy duty enough that it allows my screen to only be 8 inches from wall.

Here is a short walk through of my setup

DIY golf simulator build: https://youtu.be/Mwqa_z10IgE

Good luck!

[SwingHarder]

Couple photos added.

First shows the space. I took this pic standing by where I will be putting a bar. The I beam runs right across the backside of the room. I'd be hitting at the window (its an underground window, so I don't lose any view or anything once it's covered)

Second shows the layout with rough dimensions.

[Godfather]

Looks great!