Bama Gambler Golf Club - my sim project

[BamaGambler]

I've had a net return plus skytrak for about 6 months. I decide to start small to make sure I would actually hit balls at home. I love it! Time to upgrade. I'll post my progress in this thread.

Here is my net return setup.


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[vadawg]

Looks great and thanks for sharing all of the steps. I would love to see a list of everything you ordered to make this happen and your total cost.

[BamaGambler]

Here is everything I've bought and some comments on each.

Skytrak $1695 - I bought a demo unit. I've been happy with the skytrak, but I've had some connection issues lately. I think it is due to spotty wifi in my garage. Sometimes it is great and other times it is slow. I will probably upgrade to the ES16 if it gets good reviews. Otherwise I'm looking at a GC2 + HMT (I would love club data).

Skytrak Game Improvement $100 - required for simulator play.

Skytrak protective case $130 - I recently bought this because now that everything is setup I know my friends and family will want to play. I'm glad I did because my father in law hit the skytrak with his club today. The case did its job. The skytrak was unharmed.

The Golf Club $995 minus $100 cash back = $895 - I love, love, love this simulation software.

Perfect Golf $250 - I like everything about TGC better (expect this has multiple tee boxes). If I had to do it over again I would not buy Perfect Golf. If I want to play with my wife then I'll just play a shorter course.

Computer $1490 - I decided not to go cheap on the computer. I wanted the software and future software to run well. Should be good for awhile (maybe have to swap the graphics card).

Country Club Elite strip $50 - It is 10"x30". I'm glad I got a strip vs. a 3'x5' mat. The strip makes aligning the skytrak really easy. Plus the strip kinda acts like having alignment sticks down. I just made a cutout in the turn and the CCE strip just fits in there. Works great. I love this mat, but it does kill you if you hit it fat.

Projector $900 - I got the BenQ HT1085ST. I can't compare to any other projector, but this one seems nice.

HDMI cable $20 - I got a 25ft at first, but had to get a 40ft one.

Receiver $220 - I had some old speakers from when I upgraded my home entertainment setup. I needed an audio receiver to use these speakers with a computer. Computer surround sound speakers would have been fine too. I got a refurbished Denon AVR510BT-R from Amazon.

Sub cord $10.

Speaker mounts, wire and clips to hang $40.

Bosch laser level $65 - I use this to align the skytrak.

Bluetooth keyboard and mouse $120 - I got the K810 and M535. I also needed a Bluetooth USB adapter.

Power strip and extension cord $20.

Tee claw and tomahawk tees $25.

The following stuff I got from Par2Pro. I really like Par2Pro and will work them again in the future. Preston was very helpful and answered all my questions. He even got on FaceTime a couple of times to help me. I couldn't figure out the projector mount and he showed me on FaceTime and it took me like 5 minutes after that.

Padded turf $980 - my turf is 14' x 15'. $980 is a lot for something you aren't even hitting off of, but I like it a lot. Makes it feel like I'm on a golf course.

Underlay foam $1050 - this goes under the turn. Again it is expensive but it makes walking on the turf so nice. Feels amazing.

Pipe frame $1010 - 9'9" high x 15' w x 12'd.

Blackout cover $1120 - I was a little surprised at the expense of this, but it really makes the screen pop.

HQ2 Impact screen $1200 - 8'2" h x 14'6" wide. The screen is awesome.

Black netting $960 - If it was just me hitting I probably wouldn't need the net. I always hit the screen (expect maybe a LW shot). Bad players hit the netting all the time lol.

Projector mount $85. It is a universal mount and it works great.

Shipping $445 - $315 discount = $130. The turf was heavy as hell.

Total cost = $12,565.

I also got the mini split AC unit installed. IT IS AMAZING!! It gets my garage cold very fast. This was $4500 and money well spent!

[vadawg]

Thanks for posting this, very helpful. I am getting closer to pulling the trigger. On the CCE hitting strip, I am curious, is there a benefit other than alignment. I guess I am trying to figure out if I should do a cut out or just get a matt where I take my stance and hit from. Will you post a pic of the hitting strip?

[goatbarn]

Nice post. Also, makes me feel good that I spent <40% of that on my GC2 setup!

I'd be in real big trouble if I spent that kind of money.

[Ironstrokes]

Excellent breakdown of the numbers! Great to see it all spelled out like that all the way down to the tees and even the keyboard. Great work and the room looks fantastic

[BamaGambler]

Here is a picture of the hitting strip. Another big advantage is I can place the ball before the laser comes on. I can eyeball the center of the strip and that is where I have the skytrak setup for hitting.




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[BamaGambler]

That's a great deal! I really enjoy hitting off that mat.

[vadawg]

Bama, you have been very helpful in me getting my set up going. Is your mat and CCE strip sitting on the bare concrete floor or do you have additional padding?

[BamaGambler]

IIRC, it is sitting on the floor. There is padding under the turf, but when I put the strip in I had to cut the padding for the strip so that it would match the height of the turf.

[BamaGambler]

I moved some recliners from a room we rarely use and now my boys are using the sim garage to play video games. My wife said our garage feels like a basement now. She even picked up some rugs to cover the concrete. I'm very happy with how things turned out.




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[CBDBOZ]

Great set up!!

Is screen relatively tight?, and what distance do you have from the back wall?? Bounce back looks perfect


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[BamaGambler]

I have 18" from screen to wall. If I push on the screen it doesn't feel tight at all. If moves very easy.


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[BamaGambler]

Forgot to mention my iPad holder. It wasn't cheap but I love that I can roll it around wherever I want. Also a breeze to adjust the height.



LEVO Deluxe iPad Floor Stand for all Best Tablet PCs, iPads, iPad Mini, New iPad Pro, Galaxy, Nexus, Xoom, Surface Pro, Miix, Nook, Fire, and Other Tablets and e Readers Gunmetal Color - G2 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DYTM9K8..._4e0vxbA1QXH59


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[vadawg]

What do you use the iPad for?

[BamaGambler]

Remote keyboard screen. Love it! Here is the thread:

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-brands-and-types/the-golf-club/58143-tgc-remote-keyboard-screen

[JV17]

Bama, that's the best garage simulator I've seen... Kudos and congrats! I also use my setup for video games and family movie night with Netflix or Amazon movies. Definitely multi use.

[BamaGambler]

Thanks JV17! I had a lot of fun and a little blood and tears getting it all together lol. My favorite part is my two boys are very interested in golf since getting everything setup. I look forward to playing golf with them for the rest of my life. 👍


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[BamaGambler]

Shot 74 today IRL with two three putts. Lowest round ever. 😀


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[BamaGambler]

Forgot to mention in this thread that I sold the skytrak and bought a GC2 + HMT. 👍


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[TheCoupe]

Hi @BamaGambler... can I ask what device you've noticed the biggest improvement to your irl game from? Outside of sim issues etc, is there much difference between your skytrak and gc2 experience?

[Ironstrokes]

Shot 74 today IRL with two three putts. Lowest round ever. 😀


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Congrats on that! With 2 three putts as well, I know your pissed a bit about that now haha. Nevertheless, awesome round, not easy to put up those numbers in real life

[BamaGambler]

Thanks! The first three putt wasn't too bad. It was 45ft up a big slope and then back down a slope. I just barely carried the upslope and it stopped halfway down the downslope. Let me with a really tricky second from 5 ft. I read it to go right and it broke left.

The second three putt was from 40ft straight up a hill and I left it 7ft short. Overall I putted pretty well.


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[BamaGambler]

I've made a couple of changes with my driver that is REALLY helping me.

1. I switched my loft from 12 degrees down to 10.5 degrees. I was hitting it too high.

2. I figured out that the longer the club the quicker I swing. I get really quick at the top. I read this book called "Tour Tempo" and it really helps. I got the iPhone app and I was hitting balls today with the 27:9 tempo music and wow what a difference.

3. I got an TaylorMade M2 three wood about a month ago and I've been killing it. So I went to the PGA SuperStore to compare the M2 driver with my R15. I couldn't hit the M2 driver well at all. Last week I got to thinking maybe the shaft in that M2 wasn't right for me. So I bought an M2 head (just the head on eBay) and attached it my current shaft. Love that combination.

Today I decided to do a little test with the R15 vs the M2 (using the same shaft). I hit 10 balls with the R15 head and then switched to the M2 head using the tempo timer with both. I hit the R15 pretty bad (lots of shots were 30+ yards left or right of target). For some reason the M2 head just looks better at the ball and I swing better. On average I hit the M2 20 yards longer.