New guy - a few preliminary questions

[Cheesesteak]

I’ve decided to build a simulator in my garage. Just sold the boat - I’ve got a 35’ deep, 12’ high, 12’ wide clear area, with a smaller garage stall adjacent (9’ ceiling). More on that later.

I think I’m going to order a Skytrak. I’ve been golfing for 20 years, but the sim thing is new to me. I figured I’d start with Skytrak and see how it goes. I’ve got a few guys I play golf with - I’d like to be able to have a few guys over, play golf, drink a few beers, whatever.

I’ll have a screen / projector. I built a theater room in the house - like it so much I bought everything for an outdoor theater too. So I’ve got a couple projectors and will just dedicate my BenQ to the Sim.

I’m a Mac guy. Haven’t had a PC in 20 years. I’ve watched some videos of E6 on an IPad - and I’m unimpressed. Frankly - the whole software / subscription thing has my mind bent a bit. I need to buy Skytrak, buy one of the Skytrak subscriptions, and the buy sim software (E6, TGC2019, etc) - correct?

with the Mac performance issues - I’m thinking about just buying a gaming tower (maybe locally used) so I get better graphics, speed, etc - just get a BT mouse and keyboard and go from there. Does that make more sense than being limited to E6 running on my iPad Pro or MacBook (boot camp)? It just seems easier.

I’ll have questions about my layout in another thread - need to take pics of my space and add some measurements.

Thanks!

[Sixmudd]

I’ve decided to build a simulator in my garage. Just sold the boat - I’ve got a 35’ deep, 12’ high, 12’ wide clear area, with a smaller garage stall adjacent (9’ ceiling). More on that later.

I think I’m going to order a Skytrak. I’ve been golfing for 20 years, but the sim thing is new to me. I figured I’d start with Skytrak and see how it goes. I’ve got a few guys I play golf with - I’d like to be able to have a few guys over, play golf, drink a few beers, whatever.

I’ll have a screen / projector. I built a theater room in the house - like it so much I bought everything for an outdoor theater too. So I’ve got a couple projectors and will just dedicate my BenQ to the Sim.

I’m a Mac guy. Haven’t had a PC in 20 years. I’ve watched some videos of E6 on an IPad - and I’m unimpressed. Frankly - the whole software / subscription thing has my mind bent a bit. I need to buy Skytrak, buy one of the Skytrak subscriptions, and the buy sim software (E6, TGC2019, etc) - correct?

with the Mac performance issues - I’m thinking about just buying a gaming tower (maybe locally used) so I get better graphics, speed, etc - just get a BT mouse and keyboard and go from there. Does that make more sense than being limited to E6 running on my iPad Pro or MacBook (boot camp)? It just seems easier.

I’ll have questions about my layout in another thread - need to take pics of my space and add some measurements.

Thanks!

If you have friends who are left handed ( assuming you’re right handed ) then you’ll need to set up the skytrak again after each player. That might be a pain to do. And yeah skytrak has annual subscription you need to get if you’re buying any type of sim software. But their “play improve” plan (the one that costs $199/yr) includes WGT. But I think wgt is pretty bad and don’t recommend it.

[Shankz]

Frankly - the whole software / subscription thing has my mind bent a bit. I need to buy Skytrak, buy one of the Skytrak subscriptions, and the buy sim software (E6, TGC2019, etc) - correct?

Cheese, I think you understand it correctly. Made no sense to me either. That is one reason I and others went with the mevo+. You get the unit and free apps and sim software with courses and no additional fees. If you want to get more courses you can do a subscription thing or buy software if you so choose. It’s a great way to get a basic sim set up without having a continued monetary obligation. From my understanding a few other sim/launch monitors also charge software licensing fees just to use their equipment after you by it, maybe I am wrong but it seems that way from what I have read.

[3on3putt]

1.) Skytrak is great. But as Sixmudd mentioned, it's not ideal for both righties and lefties playing at the same time. If all your friends are righties and you don't anticipate any lefties really being in there, go for it. But if you think you'll have some lefty friends in there, you may want to consider a Mevo+.

That being said, if the 12 feet of width is all you have to work with, you won't be able to have righties and lefties hit from the same spot anyway and I believe the field of vision for the Mevo+ is maybe around 2 feet? Someone else should be able to answer. But if the width you have to work with is 12 feet than a Mevo+ might also need to be moved for righty / lefty play. Again, not a Mevo+ owner here so I'll let someone else give you a better word on that.

2.) As far as the subscriptions and stuff .....

Skytrak and TGC2019 = $900 one-time purchase for TGC2019 plus $99 per year to link it to the Skytrak

Mevo+ and TGC2019 = $900 one-time purchase (no annual subscription)

Mevo+ and E6 = Comes with 5 courses but if you want more courses and the ability to play in tournaments I think it's at least $300 annually for a subscription. Personally, I can't imagine being satisfied with only 5 courses.

Skytrak and E6 = Same annual pricing as with the Mevo except it doesn't come with the 5 free courses in addition to like a $1,500 upfront purchase.

(Hopefully I got all these right)

As you can see, TGC is way more cost effective than E6 unless you're satisfied with only 5 courses. Just 3 years of E6 subscriptions is equal to the lifetime purchase of TGC2019. The Skytrak website gives all of the pricing info for TGC and E6. And I'm 99% certain those prices are the same for Mevo+.

3.) As far as the computer goes, just invest the money in a good gaming PC. You can easily spend less than $1,000 for a good gaming PC tower that will run TGC very well. I don't know what your overall budget is for the build but a computer is not an area to skimp out on in my opinion. Good luck!

[Cheesesteak]

Thanks for the quick responses. I don’t like the idea of having the Mevo+ on the floor behind the players - seems like it would just take up too much space. Too bad you can’t ceiling mount it.

Anyway - seems like Skytrak and a gaming PC is in my future.

im not really limited to 12’ wide - it just depends on which way I want to build the sim. That’ll be the subject of another post in the build forum later today. And - no lefties in my crew - thanks!

[Golfallday1983]

If you want something good I’d say go for the uneekor qed cost more but way better
I got a skytrak it’s ok for the price but i hear full swing coming out with something that looks better and only costs a little more might be worth looking into it’s 4K

[3on3putt]

Based on all of your other posts it sounds like you aren't actually hitting any balls yet??

[Golfallday1983]

Waiting for my net on the skytrak have been using foam balls which surprisingly been picking up my distances well
I was lucky I was in an area this week that wasn’t on lock down so I got to hit an amazing sim all week was $50 an hour but we’ll worth as it made me realize I don’t love simulators for the game more just the driving range so went with a cheap skytrak saved a lot this forum has been an invaluable source of information!

If I end up liking the skytrak I figure can upgrade later