Deciding what sim to buy

[MrGeorge]

Had originally seen a YouTube video for the garmin r10 and thought i would get one because of the low price. Now some people have suggested if i can up the budget to 2k i should get a skytrack.
Looking for peoples opinions on what would be best for me. I am a new golfer been playing just under 1 year currently 24 handicap. Was looking at getting a home sim just basically to see my shot shape and distance for each club plus would be fun to play a bunch of courses. Thats pretty much all i am wanting out of a sim, also the cartoon look of the garmin won’t bother me at all. So would i be better getting the garmin or the skytrack what are the pros and cons of both please?

[MarkSC]

I’m not very familiar with the Garmin, but I love SkyTrak. I am a 13 handicap. If you have the budget, for a few hundred dollars per year you can add TGC2019 to get some club face data as well. It is calculated rather than directly measured, but I can tell you it is quite accurate in most cases and useful to improve your swing (I can finally draw the ball at will). Plus, being able to play in online tournaments and such will keep you motivated.

[MrGeorge]

With the skytrack does that need a powerful pc to run ? I was planning on buying just a ipad for the garmin not sure if a ipad would work with the skytrack?

[bubbtubbs]

TGC 2019 does.

[COgolfengineer]

MrGeorge what's the size of your room? That will determine whether you have the room for a radar unit such as Garmin or Mevo+ or if you need a photmetric unit such as Skytrak.

[MrGeorge]

Length in 5.4m width is 4.2m and hight in 2.8m it does have a sofa in the room, i will attach a photo. I ordered a screen thats 2.5m x2.5m and 1.5m deep.

[aussiebenny]

Tbh, garmin is great value, but so far going by all the reviews I've watched, it seems just not consistently accurate enough for me to rely on its data for practice or simulation golf. Maybe it will be after some firmware updates, but yeah, that could be many months away.

I was in a simlar situation few weeks ago, and I went with Mevo+. Basically, if you have at least 8 feet away from ball to net and have at least 7 feet of room behind your hitting position (which you do), then I highly recommend the Mevo+ which is of similar price to SkyTrack. It measures more ball and club data, and I feel it's more accurate overall. Also, if you have left & right hand players who will use it and you have enough room to have a central ball position, then Mevo+ shines also as you won't even need to move the Mevo+ at all while taking turn which is huge. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to stand SkyTrak's 3-4 second shot to screen delay. It would really annoy me to no end. Meanwhile, Mevo+ is practically instant with near zero shot delay which is great.

btw, Mevo+ also comes with free E6 Connect Basic Mobile licence for IOS that has 5 course and 17 ranges. So that's a big plus also and means you can play top-grade course simulation without any extra cost on top of the unit purchase. And the free FS Golf and FS Skills apps (on Android or IOS phones and tablets) are great also for practice with no suibscription fees to worry about.

[bubbtubbs]

You still need to pay a few hundred dollars for an IOS device if you don't already own one, but I otherwise agree with your points. Even with a compatible iPad purchase, it's still cheaper than Skytrak + metal case and it has sim software included.

Edit: at least, it's cheaper in Canada (by about $300). US prices for the two devices are equivalent for reasons I'm not aware of.

[JWheazy]

I have been looking for a sim for the last 2-3 months and have looked into just about every sim out there. I initially purchased the Garmin but ultimately cancelled that order after reviewing all of the data and seeing some of the problems associated with radar based launch monitors. I think for indoor sim play, a camera based unit is better so I ended going with the skytrak. I have only had the unit for a week now but have hit around 300-400 balls with it so far and it certainly appears acurate to my shot shape and distances. I am a 9 handicap and golf 2-3 times a week and am very honest and familiar with my distances, shot shapes and my misses. I wanted accurate ball data and the garmin just didnt provide that. Ive heard skytrak doesnt account for spin degradation so you might get a more exaggerated shot shape at times but i think overall its within 2-3% of something like a GCquad or a trackman so i spent a little bit more for that. If you want to use it on the range, i think the mevo+ will be the better option but radar based units need much more space indoors

I love the skytrak as it helps me dial in certain shots to achieve specific distances. the range on skytrak will let you map you bag and the skill set game is nice as you can learn to dial in your short game. It also comes with a free course from E6 and a couple driving ranges. I think you are going to want to go with The Golf Club 2019 anyways as that seems to have the most courses and a large online community. Good luck deciding which unit works best for you, either way, i think it will help improve you game

[MrGeorge]

Ive been watching a bunch of YouTube videos today. Definitely between the garmin r 10 and skytrack, wont be buying the mevo+ as im about on the limit for space. About the skytrack how many course are available? I see garmin has 42,000 does skytrack have the same ?

[GungHoGolf]

Ive been watching a bunch of YouTube videos today. Definitely between the garmin r 10 and skytrack, wont be buying the mevo+ as im about on the limit for space. About the skytrack how many course are available? I see garmin has 42,000 does skytrack have the same ?

The R10 has similar space requirements as the Mevo+ (17' of room depth) for accurate reads, as they're both radar-based and need to follow the ball flight for at least 9 feet for good results. That said, the R10 is currently far less accurate than either the SkyTrak and Mevo+ when measuring spin rate and axis.

SkyTrak doesn't come with any courses. Would need to add the $100/yr Game Improvement Plan in order to then get either E6 Connect ($300/yr for 27 courses, $600/yr for 96+ courses) or TGC 2019 ($895 one-time for thousands of courses). There's also WGT, included with the $200/yr Play and Improve plan, but it's iOS only, single-player only, and not really in the same class as E6 Connect and TGC 2019.

[JWheazy]

Ive been watching a bunch of YouTube videos today. Definitely between the garmin r 10 and skytrack, wont be buying the mevo+ as im about on the limit for space. About the skytrack how many course are available? I see garmin has 42,000 does skytrack have the same ?

Garmin's courses are like a Mario Golf type of course. They have 42,000 "real" courses that are based on the info used for Garmin's on course GPS devices. That is a pretty cool feature if you are looking to play a practice round before actually playing the course in real life.

[aussiebenny]

Ive been watching a bunch of YouTube videos today. Definitely between the garmin r 10 and skytrack, wont be buying the mevo+ as im about on the limit for space. About the skytrack how many course are available? I see garmin has 42,000 does skytrack have the same ?

Well, if you are considering the radar-based R10, then that means you have enough room for the Mevo+ also.
Minimum Mevo+ needs is 4.5m in total (15 feet) length. So your 5.2m (17+ feet) room is very good actually.
I use my Mevo+ on a 5m long room and it works perfectly.

SkyTrak doesn't come with any courses for sim play while Mevo+ comes with E6 Connect basic license out of the box for the iPhone/iPad.
SkyTrak also has a yearly subscription fee ($100/year) just to be able to use it. Mevo+ does not. So that played key part in my decision also.

TGC 2019 software is approx. $900 USD for both Mevo+ or Skytrack and is the best if you want proper sim play with most courses.
Garmin R10's Home Tee Hero is pretty darn cool I must admit. Though it won't really feel like a golf simulator as it's very simple.

[MrGeorge]

I am trying to work out the costs of having the 3 different sims, have i got this correct?

1. garmin r10 $100 a year

2. skytrack $100 a year plus another $300 a year then a one off fee of $900

3. mevo+ no yearly fee just a one off payment $900

is this correct?

[aussiebenny]

Here's a quick summary. Hope it helps.

Garmin R10
= No cost for advanced driving range
+ $100 a year (to Garmin) for Garmin Home Tee Hero virtual golf.
+ $300 a year for E6 Connect Basic with 12 courses (optional)
* it's new, so there may be some extra apps later down the track

Mevo+
= No cost for advanced driving range + FS Skills combine
= No cost for E6 Connect on IOS with 5 courses + range
+ $300 a year for E6 Connect Basic (optional)
+ $900 once off for TGC 2019 (optional)
+ $349 once off for Awesome Golf (optional)
+ (there are other sim apps also at various prices)

Skytrak
= No cost for basic driving range
+ $100 a year (to SkyTrak) for advanced practice + support for playing simulation software listed below, or $200 a year (to SkyTrak) for WGC on top.
+ $300 a year for E6 Connect Basic (optional)
+ $900 for TGC 2019 (optional)
+ (there are other sim apps also at various prices)

[MrGeorge]

Decided on the garmin r10, seen enough reviews now and it seems perfect for what im after.
Can someone recommended me a projector and how exactly do you get it to project onto the screen can i use an ipad and if so does it connect by Bluetooth or does it need to plug into the projector?

[aussiebenny]

Most stable way to connect to any projector or monitor / TV is to get a HDMI cable for the iPad. Either lightning to HDMI or USB-C to HDMI adapter (adapter is better than an all-in-one-cable) depending on your iPad model's connector type. You can just find them on Amazon for cheap. Then with that, you can plug in your own HDMI cable of whatever length from your iPad/iPhone to the projector. Or you can wirelessly mirror your ipad screen to the projector if you get somethinig like Amazon Fire TV stick. (unless your projector already has AirPlay etc. support built in which most non-HT projectors do not)

As for the projector, a popular value projector used by many golf simulator setups is the Optoma GT1080HDR for its short throw capability (meaning if can be on top of you closer to the screen instead of being behind you creating shadows), good brightness, and price. Of course, there are better ones that are brighter, higher res (4k), and with better contrast (laser projectors) but expect to pay 2-7x more for it. (e.g. BenQ LK953ST)

[ThunderCatsHo]

Does the SkyTrak need to be adjusted for iron vs driver shots?

Does Mevo+ have PC support for sims? I have a gaming PC but dont have any iOS devices.

[tnodd]

From what I understand, you need to have IOS to run the 5 E6 courses that come with Mevo. If you choose to buy the E6 Connect Software with all the courses, the gaming PC will work.