Extremely Green

[midwesterner]

So I am building a new house and am in the market for a golf simulator. I am a little overwhelmed by the process.

Here is what I want:

Range practice with flight tracer, distances. (i don't need spin rates, AoA etc.)
Play on courses with friends.

What is my cheapest yet accurate options?
What is my medium cost option?

[andygg1986]

Two other pieces of info that would be helpful is how good of a golfer are you and how important is accuracy?
Also, are you envisioning a dedicated room with artificial turf on the floor, projector on the impact screen, etc.? Because you can easily spend more on the room setup than any of the hardware options below.

Optishot is the cheapest but least accurate option. You can pick one up on ebay for a couple hundred dollars, and a basic computer can run the software. It just has sensors that see when the clubhead goes over them and uses them to attempt to measure the clubface direction, speed, and path. Then it estimates what a ball would do from that. It can't tell if you top the ball so even a bladed shot is going to fly like a well struck one. If you just want a simulator as more of a video game and aren't too serious, that will get the job done.

You can spend two or three times that on a P3Proswing which works on the same principle but has more sensors and should be more accurate.

After that, you are looking at either a Skytrak or Protee system to have what most golfers would consider a "realistic" experience. Skytrak measures the ball directly so the ball flight is pretty accurate. Hitting on a range is included, but you are looking at a yearly fee to play courses. Protee has a mat to measure the clubhead like the first two options, but it combines that with one or two cameras that trace the path of the ball to get an accurate ball flight. The advantage of Protee is that you get clubhead data which is helpful if you are trying to improve. You also don't have to worry about yourself or your friends shanking a ball off of it like a Skytrak, and there are no yearly fees. It works for left and right handed players which may come into play with your friends. The downside is it takes more time to initially get it set up and requires a dedicated space. Both Skytrak and Protee systems need a good gaming computer (around $800) to run the better software options smoothly.

[midwesterner]

Thanks.

I have a dedicated room. I play to about a +.7 handicap.

I've heard that skytrak worked with Jack Nicklaus perfect golf, but Skytrak only has The golf Club listed on their website. A little confusing

[sherrow70]

I'm believe that JNPG is no longer available for new users with Skytrak.

[simmb]

Thanks.

I have a dedicated room. I play to about a +.7 handicap.

I've heard that skytrak worked with Jack Nicklaus perfect golf, but Skytrak only has The golf Club listed on their website. A little confusing

Trackman bought JNPG and it was removed as an option for Skytrak users. Any existing subscriptions are still being honoured so you will still see Skytrak users on JNPG but it's no longer available to buy. Not sure why but JNPG is still available to use with GC2, probably becasue it was never a foresight certified option in the first place.

[andygg1986]

With a +.7 handicap, I wouldn't mess with the first two. You should have no problem getting a Protee system dialed in since you clearly know your ball flight and can feel when you miss. The main issue with a Protee system is when a 36 handicap thinks he hits his driver 300 yards and boosts the heck out of his system to match that. Then he is shocked when he goes to the course and all of his shots come up short and blames it on an inaccurate simulator. Skytrak will also be accurate enough to help you work on your game. With either one, TGC is going to be your cheapest option to play courses.

[midwesterner]

Great thanks!

[Papaduke]

👆I second that! GC2.................skytrak

[simmb]

ROY has just posted a Skytrak for sale that includes JNPG. May be an option if you were desperate for JNPG on Skytrak. Trackman will honour any active subscriptions as long as they are renewed every year.
TGC for me though is better value with the one off lifetime payment and the promise of free upgrades to TGC 2019.

[midwesterner]

Is JNPG a yearly subscription? how much? I'm definitely looking for a skytrak with JNPG

[simmb]

Is JNPG a yearly subscription? how much? I'm definitely looking for a skytrak with JNPG

It was about $250 or £224 if I remember correctly. That price included the user created courses as well. I think there were cheaper options but they wern't worth it from what I remember the lowest price one only gave you a range and the mid price one was only the official perfect parallel courses. Some of the best courses are user created so top package seemed best.