Considering Mevo+: space concerns

[Antneye]

Hi all, I’ve been lurking and learning a ton from you all and am finally making my first post. I have started to build my sim in my garage and want to go with the Mevo+ but am worried about the conflicting information I have read about distance requirements for short indoor mode.

I have 12 foot ceilings and alll the width I need but am worried about length. I should be able to get the minimum 8x8 that is spec’d by FS but I’ve read that could cause inaccurate driver readings. Should I be concerned by this?

I have a few options to squeeze out an extra foot or two but am wondering how viable they are:

1) I can place my screen closer to the wall. I have ordered the Carls premium screen and am wondering what you all would consider the minimum safe distance to be away from the wall. I have absolutely no idea how much a screen will flex upon impact.

2) the area behind me has a 2’ deep table that I could theoretically place the Mevo under by an extra foot or even two but I am wondering if something being over the Mevo would impact its performance. I would think that a foot or two of an overhang 30” above the unit would not impede its radar but figured better to ask than make a poor assumption. I’ve already had to rearrange a lot in the garage and the storage the table provides is needed but I could probably figure out how to lose it if push came to shove.

I am prepared to settle for a skytrack if I have to but I really would prefer the Mevo +.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

[bubbtubbs]

I wouldn't put the screen any closer than 12" from the wall without padding of some kind, definitely no less than 8".

Driver isn't very accurate (for me) until at least 10' of flight, more is definitely better. Iron and wedge play is far more important to the game so I wouldn't call it a deal breaker if you can only manage 8-9' but it may impact your ability to do online tournaments if you're interested in that.

Not sure about the table thing. I've always left my unit unimpeded just to be on the safe side.

[tcb121]

You should be fine with 8 x 8 unless you have crazy ball speed with driver. I would say if you swing driver over 105 mph and generate 160mph ballspeed, that is where Mevo will struggle with only 8 feet of space. Plus, you can always set mevo to ball distance at 7 feet vs 8. A lot of folks do that with little to no difference. I've messed around with different distances between mevo to ball and ball to screen. No issues with a table being over the mevo. Mine sits under a small table and I've had no issues. Many others have theirs under chairs or have purchased mevo protective cases that cover the top.. No issues to worry about there.

In general, mevo is on the spinny side with driver no matter what indoor setting you are on. Outdoors it's hard to beat and is darn accurate. So you will likely lose 10 - 15 yard on Driver vs what you would get on course, but in the grand scheme of things it's not terrible. Putting on Mevo+ is no good for me, but others seem to get decent results. If you plan on playing a lot of sim golf and putting is important to you you may want to look at photo based units like Skytrak or GC2 / GC3 / Bushnell. Otherwise I'm happy with mine and use it almost daily.

Good luck with the build.

[xfactor989]

For the radar to measure the spin it needs to 'see' atleast one revolution of the golf ball. At impact and right after there is a lot of 'noise' as there is a ball, club, tee and/or dirt all flying at the same time in the same area. This is why the club speed and acceleration profiles don't start show any data from impact to about 2ft after impact.

The attached chart for minimum distance is from one of their FAQ emails after a Flightscope webinar a year or two ago. If you do the math their recommendation is a minimum of 2 revolutions.

My driver ball speed is typically in the 150s, spin in the 2000s. I have 13 ft ball to screen and 7 ft Mevo+ to ball in indoor mode. I typically have measured spin, but still have some estimated spin. I use one dot per FS recommendations. It has measured my driver spin as low as 1700 and as high as 3500 and I believe those numbers.

I have 10" from screen to wall and havent hit the wall yet, I dont think I would go closer.

In general I think photometric devices are better for indoor as there are not ball flight distance or potential interference issues. The fan on your projector can cause some interference, it was the cause of ghost puts for me a few firmware versions ago. I placed metal mesh around all sides but the front and it solved my problem. I also dont like to putt on the sim.

It is hard to beat the value of the Mevo+. 2k or less and you get ball data and some club data, free sim courses (iOS) and no subscriptions/recurrring costs.

[Antneye]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I was away for a bit and am just getting back to this. I have the enclosure up and things are a bit tight so I think I’m going to try to create a little more space if I can.

one other question regarding the Mevo plus that I’m struggling to find info on, has the Fusion Tracking upgrade helped at all with short indoor mode relative to Skytrack? I am hoping that the inclusion of using the camera along with the radar would help with some of the challenges. I’ve gone back to research both options and I just feel Mevo + is a better value and I’m not sure if the differences are enough to overcome that.

[tcb121]

A lot of us have made the same value proposition between Mevo+ and Skytrak. No doubt Mevo+ is better value. Other tipping points are the portability of Mevo+ vs Skytrak. While I have a dedicated sim room I often take my Mevo+ to the course and driving range. It draws quite a bit of attention and it's so easy to setup in an outdoor setting. If you are going to use the Mevo+ in any outdoor environment you can't beat the value of it. I still think sim golf putting is the weakest part of Mevo+. For me that's my only gripe with the unit, but after owning it for multiple years now I've come to terms that sim putting is not worth the effort anyway. It does hurt with some of the TGC 2019 tours where you have to putt, but I've managed to make it work for the most part. I would say if you are never going to take the unit outside or to the range and playing simulated tournaments is a priority I would look at Skytrak for that over Mevo+. Otherwise Mevo+ is your clear winner.

[Mirek_62]

Skytrak putting is not much better than Mevo+.

[Antneye]

I still think sim golf putting is the weakest part of Mevo+. For me that's my only gripe with the unit, but after owning it for multiple years now I've come to terms that sim putting is not worth the effort anyway. It does hurt with some of the TGC 2019 tours where you have to putt, but I've managed to make it work for the most part. I would say if you are never going to take the unit outside or to the range and playing simulated tournaments is a priority I would look at Skytrak for that over Mevo+. Otherwise Mevo+ is your clear winner.

I am looking at putting as an “it would be nice” kind of thing. I’m not spending all of this money to practice my putting. I am willing to settle for just OK on that front. The goal for me is game improvement and after that simulated rounds with friends and family.

[bubbtubbs]

I look at it like this:

Can I take my Honda Odyssey to the track? Yup.
Should I? Nope.

Just because it has the capability to do something passably doesn't necessarily mean it'll work terribly well.

[xfactor989]

The Fusion made a huge impact for me for chipping and pitching.

I had access to a Skytrack when I first received my Mevo+ a couple years ago. The numbers, carry, ball speed, spin and spin axis where all very close on shots over 20-30 yds. Carry was usually within a yard or two, ball speed within 1 MPH, spin and spin axis within a couple percent. Where I say the differences the most was horizontal launch angle and lateral distance and chipping. The Skytrack I think is plus or minus 2 degree on horizontal launch, which is a pretty big range. They used to not have spin decay, which made my draws look like hooks. I believe they have updated that since then. The club speed is an algorithm based on the launch conditions

The Mevo+ was horrible at shots say under 20-30 yds. Since they added fusion I can now chip it 4 yds and it picks it up fairly accurately. my screen is 13 ft and when the ball lands just short of the screen it will read between a 4 and 5 yard chip. Makes sim golf more enjoyable.

I dont enjoy putting on the sim and my setup for putting is not great, left to right sloping garage floor. So I skip it. If you do want to practice putting indoors, I enjoy the Exputt. My lag putting has never been better.

I would look hard at the GC3 over the skytrak if you go photometric. I dont know if I could justify the cost difference but would definitely consider. I would take Skytrak over nothing or the Garmin

[bubbtubbs]

Used GC2 all day for photometric if you're not lugging it back and forth to the course frequently.

Quad level data for under the price of a new GC3, even with an HMT purchase.