Home shopping and planning for a sim room. Minimum dimensions?

[theizer]

We are beginning the home shopping process now. The way the market is, we have to be ready to move fast if we find something.
I'm trying to determine the minimum dimensions for a sim space. The space can be on the main floor, basement, 3rd garage, etc...I don't care, but I just need to make sure that it will work. I have a GC2 and will only be used by right handed golfers. What would be a good set of minimum measurements I should look for? I have to be able to hit driver and I'm 5'10".

[bubs3141]

9 ft ceiling, 12 ft wide, length at least 14, but could go less if you stand closer to screen

[p3eps]

My screen is just over 10ft wide - and I reckon I could get away with it slightly smaller if I had to. I am offset from centre though.
I'm 6ft 2" tall and my ceiling is 9ft 4" high - and I'm nowhere near hitting it (with a club)... and my mat that I'm standing on is over 2" tall!

http://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/build-your-own/enclosures/75415-my-golf-sim-build-v2-uk

[IAhawkeyeDDS]

My sim room is only 8ft wide. SkyTrak is against the wall and I'm able to swing driver (I'm 5'10"). If I get wild with a swing I sometimes hit the wall (behind me)on my follow through. But I put some padding up to soften that blow when it occurs. Shanks will pinball off the wall but then into the net. Irons I can move the ball 2-3 feet off the wall.

Not it ideal by any means but I'm able to make it work.

[theizer]

So far, all the houses have "9 ft" ceilings, but they are really 8'8". I have one home that has what looks like a perfect space... It is 8'8" high, 10' wide, 18' deep. I really need to go back with my driver and swing... But does 8'8" high work? Does anyone have that low and still hit driver?


Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[leoapd]

I'm in a similar situation now, as I have had to split my garage up. Did a wall divide in my garage, and left me with 12' deep, 9' wide and just short of 9' high. Only hitting into a net and TV setup, but I think I am going to run into screen size/projector issues as I continue my build... been very slow going on this. Also looking at GC2 going forward.

[Tonyd9366]

14 ft wide by 20 ft length. 9 foot ceiling min... this is optimal...

[leoapd]

The 20' length due to a specific LM requirements? How far from screen are you teeing up at Tony? What are issues with having hitting Area at 10-11' from screen? I guess I can understand overall room size for an optimal experience, but am I missing out on something by limiting myself to 12' ? I did not mean to hijack the topic, but curious on an answer also. Thanks

[Tonyd9366]

Leo, the sky track and gc2 both read the ball so I doesn't matter really how far are you are from the screen. You have to be far enough to swing obviously. But I was talking about the perfect room size because 14 ft wide give's you enough room for right hand and left hand players. And the reason I say 20 ft long is because to get the best effect for a sim in my opinion you have to be 9 to 10 ft away from teeing spot to impact plus you have to have enough room behind you for a proper backswing especially with a driver. In addition from where your screen is going to be to your back wall you need at least a foot to 16 inches of space so the ball doesn't hit the back wall especially with ball speeds of 140mph +++. My width is 10 ft and my length is 20 ft. I have a 3 car garage and I use the single car side. I have a right handed set up only so 10 ft of width is fine. ( sorry leftys). And a slight off set to the right. Also I had to take the rails for the garage door off in order to swing every club in the bag comfortably. Here's a pic of my set up to give you an idea. Not sure where your going to have your sim but mine is in the garage as I said before. Hope this helps.

[p3eps]

My room is just over 16ft deep, and my screen is over 1ft away from the wall. My tee is just under 10ft from the screen, and I have plenty room to swing a driver without it hitting the wall (garage door) at the back of the room.
In an ideal world, I'd had 30ft+ deep with couches and a bar at the end... and a huge 16:9 screen - but realistically, 10ft wide x 9.4ft high x 16ft deep is good enough for me!

[Tonyd9366]

Also think of it this way... if your too close to the screen when you hit... it's like going to the movies and you sit very close to the screen... the movie doesn't look right the perception is off... but if you sit a little further away from the screen then the movie looks right.. same thing apply's with the sim if you have an impact screen and projector set up like mine, which is the best set up for the best sim experience. .... hope this helps..

[Tonyd9366]

Mee to p3... lol.. but 16 ft of length is fine.. you have a nice set up as well... it depends on people's space... but 20 ft plus of lengh is really optimal to get the best effect.

[leoapd]

Mine will go into a three car tandem garage, and I will take up the tandem area. I had more room previously, but had to build a wall that separates the back area. The front portion of the garage had baseball/softball hitting stations put in, and last thing I need is some stray baseball going into my sim area. I am far from being done with the sim, but my max depth, and this is stretching every inch and not hitting the wall, will be just under 12' (with screen 1' off back wall) My width is maxed at 9' due to a work/cabinet area I have setup. As far as height, after installing subfloor and carpets/mats, I will be just under 9'. I plan on going with side barriers at 5'. Tony, yours is very similar to what I have in mind (nice setup by the way). Thanks for the info.

[Tonyd9366]

Your welcome Leo, I just wanna make sure that when you swing in the sim that you don't have to make compensations to your swing in order to use it. It defeats the whole purpose of having a sim in the first place. You should be able to swing the same in your sim as you do on the course. I've heard some guys having to alter their swing or set up in order to use their sim then they play on the course and use a different swing... golf is a very difficult game and everything should be consistent as much as possible.. Just something to keep in mind when doing your build. For example, I used to have the protee before my gc2. When I had the protee I was putting of the sensor mat. I had to alter my putting stance to accommodate the lights above so it would read the putt. Well by doing that when I played a real course my putting suffered... I had the worst putting year. Now with my gc2 or skytrak for that matter I set up normal when putting and my putting on the course improved. Just some food for thouhgt.. Good luck with the build and hope my advise helps.. Tony..

[leoapd]

Tony, on your setup, what is the size of the larger mat that is under your stance/hitting mat? It also appears there is no subfloor or padding to it?