GCHawk set up

[Shep12]

Just wanted to share my new Hawk sim. So far, I've been pretty impressed overall having not used a simulator much. I'm a low handicap and accuracy was very important to me and this has lived up to expectations so far on that end. I'm still figuring out the software side of things and working my way thru all the data and what is actually important. Still a couple things to finish up on it but any tips, tricks, fun things to do or courses to purchase are welcome. Any questions about the Hawk fire away...

[mthunt]

My projector is above me. It's not in the plane of the swing.

[JonH59]

A very nice looking sim, Shep.

I have a couple questions about your setup.

I have a Hawk coming and reading the installation instructions tells me that the hitting area is almost directly below each end of the Hawk. That is to say, if I'm a righty, I'll be under the RH end of the Hawk (facing the screen). But looking at your install (and your RH clubs and the wear spots) it looks like your're hitting from almost the center of your mat and into the center of the screen. Can you comment on this? Am I looking at the pics wrong?

The second question is about lighting. I didn't see anywhere in the install instructions about lighting. I would have thought that Forsight would want the hitting area lit at least a little bit so the Hawk can pick up the ball and club...with the cameras being 9-10+ feet away from the hitting area. Do you have any specific lighting to help the Hawk see you ball and club?

Thanks in advance,
Jon in American Fork

[JonH59]

About the hitting area, is there a blue light on the Hawk that tells you that you're in that area?

[Shep12]

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get back with you. The dead space in the middle is only an inch or 2 wide. I can hit just barely right of center as you can see from wear marks. I have 2 LED recessed lights directly above the hitting area but rarely use them and have never had a problem with the Hawk picking up the ball. I do have other lighting behind hitting area over the bar that is always on. Let me know if there is anything else. Congrats I think you’ll love it.

[Shep12]

Yes there is a blue light on the hawk and screen that tells you you’re in hitting area. It recognizes the ball very quick.

[Shep12]

New pics with carpet tiles installed. Really makes the screen "pop" now.

[John.Lorimor]

Hi Shep12, can you tell me where you got the carpet tiles from and any info on them? Thanks!

[Shep12]

They are 5/8" 2x2 Eco Soft Carpet tiles. Purchased them from Flooringinc.com. I "liquid nailed" them to wall and ceiling and everything turned out great.

[Tonysmjc]

Very nice set up

[JonH59]

Shep12, thanks for the reply and no worries on the long time to reply....look at me, it's been a month and I've finally found this post again!

Really like your setup. It looks like a bunch of pros did the work. Thanks so much for the info on ball position, that helps a lot.

Right now I'm trying to figure out my hitting mat and surrounding "grass." This is with the idea that the ball will be putted and the Hawk will "see" the ball as it heads towards the screen. I'm under the impression that the Hawk needs to see the ball for about 18 inches. Does this sound right?

I like the way your mat and surrounding grass looks and that's what I want mine to look like. I'll assume that it works well for you with putting and the Hawk? Could you tell me the what mat and what grass you ended with? I'm heavily leaning towards Fiberbuilt for a mat as I already have back and elbow issues and from what I've read, FB will cause me little grief. If the mat will be too thick, I have a (maybe) plan to build a sub-floor too and this will allow me to put in some putting cups and also bring a hitting mat and the surrounding grass at the same level.

Thanks in advance for the help.
Jon in American Fork

[Shep12]

Here's a couple of in-progress pics of the floor install. The hitting mats are CCE. I used 3 3'x5' mats so that they can be interchangeable over time. The mats sit directly on the concrete and are surrounded by Dricore subfloor. With the mats sitting on the concrete and the putting turf on the subfloor it is as close to flush as can be for putting. My plan is to put some cups in but I just haven't got around to it. As far as what the Hawk needs to "see" the ball, I'm not really sure but it's definitely not more than 18 inches.

[JonH59]

Thanks again for the info and pics. They're worth a thousand.
Jon in American Fork

[SBMIKE]

I'm getting a Hawk and I'm not sure about the projector I need ... Since the Hawk is pretty close to the screen, seems I would need to do something like what you have over the hitting area. I want to fill a 4:3 screen. What projector do you use and does it have any zoom capabilities? Do the projectors if you're using a Hawk have to be over the hitting area?

[Shep12]

The projector I have is the Panasonic VZ580. It is located 5.5 ft behind the center of the hitting mat. I don't think it matters where the projector is as long as it works for your room set-up.

[mwh1023]

Nice set-up! I’m guessing both lefty righty play is seamless? You also don’t need any dots or attachments to your clubs with the Hawk? Final question is you need a computer hardwire connection to the hawk as it does not work via Bluetooth?

[Shep12]

Correct, correct, and correct. The only thing you do need the dots for is club head data.

[Rusty Casino]

Any issues with the CCE? I had to make it my stance mat and change the hitting mat to a TrueStrike. The CCE was a painfully low misread on slightly fat shots. My guests hated it.

[Shep12]

The CCE mat definitely does punish you for a fat shot, which I personally like. I think it has helped my ball striking, but I do have some friends that struggle hitting on it. It definitely requires ball first contact.

[jkplaxman]

Hi - Great build. I'm considering a Hawk. The width of my golf area is 12' 8''. A selling point for the Hawk I the wide hitting area. With a 2' hitting area on each side of the 2'' center dead space, it appears you could hit both R and L with a centered hawk in my pace and still have 8' from ball to wall. Does this seem right? How well does the ball get picked up if it's 2' off center? Thanks. John.