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  • brnixon
    Member
    • Aug 2016
    • 49

    #1

    New Simulator Build

    Hello all,
    First time poster. I have been lurking here for a little while gathering ideas for a new golf simulator. I have a detached shop which used to house my tractor that I have since sold as most landscaping work is done on my property so I had some space and was wondering what to do with it. Well, I was in golf galaxy hitting a new driver (Ping G25) which I decided to purchase. I got to thinking later, what do those things cost I wonder and found this website. As I'm sure many of you can relate I "went down the rabbit hole." Now, I'm a high handicapper (mid 90's) and love golf but with 5 kids in sports, can't find enough time to play let alone practice, so I only get about 10-20 rounds a year. I thought, what better way to improve my game and have some fun with buddies than put in a golf simulator in my new space! Also, I live in Idaho so really hard to play Nov-March. Well, I read a ton on here and took the plunge! So I started by putting in better insulation in the roof of my shop to help keep it warmer in the winter. I bought a hitting mat from Allturfmats.com and then bought the gel insert to create the home-made truestrike mat. This turned out really nice. I also covered the floor with outdoor grass carpet from Lowes. The frame is made from 1”EMT pipe like most and got the 12’X9’ supertex screen. I covered the top and sides with a custom black tarp (ended up ordering the wrong size so it only covers top and right side currently.) Hung up a net from west coast netting behing screen to help catch shanks and protect screen. Projector I went with was a optoma GT1060. And finally, the heart of the system is a demo unit skytrak. I have been hitting for about a week and so far it is awesome! Had my brother in law over who is an excellent golfer and he agreed that shots seemed right on to real life distances/shape. Can’t say thanks enough to the people who have contributed here and helped provide a vast amount of information and ideas!

    Really main thing left is to add a graphics card to my PC and decide on a sim software. Any recent comments on JNPG vs TGC? Seems like JNPG has improved significantly recently and really like the idea of not having to lay down $1k upfront for software. At least with JNPG I can try it for a year and then move on if something better comes along? Would really appreciate some guidance here as I am really unsure which way to go here. Either way graphics card I’m thinking of is the GTX 1060. I see they have 3GB and 6GB and reviews from other games don’t show a vast difference. Anybody have any experience with the 3GB version? Good enough? Comments welcome on my setup. I do have to say my back has never been more sore! Might have to take a couple days off and recover!
  • aeroburner
    Extreme Member
    • May 2016
    • 1015

    #2
    I think you have a great set up and can improve as you grow your sim set up but you are honestly good to go with just that set up and leave alone, on the computer system you are above recommended setting and will have no issue with the software what so ever I am running the 1080 a lot more then needed but I am anticipating 4k in the future. on TGC VS. JNPG they are both good software but I prefer the TGC as I want to play the tournaments and with others and the amount of courses is amazing there are options for the costs but the 1000. pays for lifetime membership but you can do a one year and I know I saw something out there where you can do monthly, I can not remember where that was, some one on the forum can maybe give that to you. good luck and welcome

    Comment

    • penrose
      Super Member
      • May 2016
      • 754

      #3
      Have not tried JNPG - but TGC i2s pretty good. Putts, chipping, etc are good. I heard JNPG has tournements when can play but not sure how often. TGC/protee/hb studios seems committed to their online weekly tournements so that was the deciding factor for me. Yes, 1000 is a little high for a game, but when you spending 9-12 what is 1 more.

      build looks nice.

      Comment

      • A.West
        Member
        • Jun 2016
        • 88

        #4
        I suspect the 1060 will be fine. But I'd go with the 6GB version - is there really that much of a price benefit to go with 3GB?
        I play JNPG with SkyTrak, and think it's pretty good. I liked the idea of keeping my up-front costs low at $250, while keeping my options open next year if I see a reason to change my mind. So far, I don't see a reason to switch.

        Comment

        • FaultyClubs
          Super Member
          • Nov 2014
          • 635

          #5
          Originally posted by brnixon View Post
          ...Any recent comments on JNPG vs TGC? Seems like JNPG has improved significantly recently and really like the idea of not having to lay down $1k upfront for software. At least with JNPG I can try it for a year and then move on if something better comes along? Would really appreciate some guidance here as I am really unsure which way to go here...
          I think that choice is something only you can make. Do your research and pick the one you like best. Personally I wouldn't try to predict the future, decide based on what you have today.

          Also, despite the erroneous comments above, tournament play is thriving in both camps.

          Comment

          • brnixon
            Member
            • Aug 2016
            • 49

            #6
            I am still a little confused about the JNPG capabilities. I was on the *** and perfect parallel forum and it appears that people are already creating courses and can download them? Can someone with JNPG confirm this is true?

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