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Hello all,
So just to get this started (with pics to follow of course as things progress) I am going to describe how my simulator will come together.
First, unlike most other simulators, mine will be located outside of my home on a large concrete patio (on the side of the house) but inside of a large (20ft x 10ft x 9ft + high) carport structure that was purchased at your friendly Costco here in the US. The structure has a strong steel frame (high end canvas cover) with a large closable entrance in the front (which I plan on keeping close most of the time) and then a separate side door opening with a built in awning to keep out the bad weather. The carport also has a total of 4 windows (2 on ea. side).
Rather than placing the structure directly on the concrete, I am building an elevated floor system beneath it which will be about 6 inches or so off of the ground so things like rain can easily pass underneath when necessary, plus having this elevated will allow me to do some other logistical things like cabling, electrical, etc. Rather than spend a lot of money on wood from the local Lower or Home Depot, I have acquired numerous pallets that are in great shape. All of them are the same size and fit together like legos. These pallets will serve as the base followed by plywood flooring and then covered with a thinner type artificial turf over the entire floor area. The pallets will be anchored to each other and then raised by adding in 2x4's throughout the floor structure so the floor is strong and will have no sagging areas. Using the 2x4s will allow me to level the floor if needed as well.
The carport will then be anchored to the elevated floor area and secured so she will not go anywhere when the winds pick up. This area I am building in is surrounded with 6ft fencing on two sides and the house on the other so I do not expect a lot of wind in this area.
Once the structure is secured, I plan on having the simulator portion of the build on the back end of the structure because there are no openings there and the area will be darker and a nice spot for an impact screen. The front portion will be large enough for seating, bag storage and other things like your typical golf decor.
The entire floor will also be a putting green with regular in-floor holes just like your local driving range including flags (when I want to use them). All of the cups will have lids on them that can be removed when I want to use the structure as a full size putting green. If I want to use flags, I can just break them out and then put them away when I am done.
The entire structure will also double as a movie room for the family (had to give the wife a reason to allow me to build this) when I am not hitting balls in it.
As far as what the specs are, here you go.
1. Simulator will the be the R-Motion from the same people that brought you SkyTrak.
2. Projector is a used short throw BenQ projector that will be on the floor of the simulator inside a home made protection structure of its own (complete with cooling fans)
3. Screen will be your typical impact / projector screen (size will be nailed down once I have the framing up of the carport structure and have tested the projector properly)
4. Backup netting may be used behind the impact screen (not determined yet)
5. Structure will be outfitted with a nice surround sound system (may be wired or wireless / yet to be determined)
6. Computer using the R-Motion simulator is an older Dell Precision engineering type laptop which runs TGC more than fine. The laptop will be able to connect to my home's wifi because the
structure will be only 10 ft or so from my wifi router. The laptop will be on a portable cart that has a large monitor (keyboard tray) connected to it which then connects to the laptop via an HDMI
cable an then the laptop will be connected to the projector. For security reasons, when I am done playing or practicing, I can simply shut down the projector and laptop, put everything on the
cart and roll into the house or garage for safekeeping.
Additional notes. My laptop cart is tall so you can stand in front of it or sit on a tall stool if you prefer. The cart is outfitted with a power strip so all I do is plug it in when I want to power everything up. I do intend to either have either fans mounted inside the structure for cooling during the summer months or maybe a portable AC unit.
The unused portion of the patio area will be used by some patio furniture and maybe a nice above ground fire pit or fountain. This leftover area will be just outside the side door entrance to the structure and next to the house.
At this point, the only thing I do not have is some plywood, turf and a little bit of hardware. Once the base floor is built, it's game on.
Just need some time and a shorter honey do list to get things rolling. Very excited about diving in and making this dream a reality.
In the near future I will pics coming as things progress.
Happy golfing !!!
So just to get this started (with pics to follow of course as things progress) I am going to describe how my simulator will come together.
First, unlike most other simulators, mine will be located outside of my home on a large concrete patio (on the side of the house) but inside of a large (20ft x 10ft x 9ft + high) carport structure that was purchased at your friendly Costco here in the US. The structure has a strong steel frame (high end canvas cover) with a large closable entrance in the front (which I plan on keeping close most of the time) and then a separate side door opening with a built in awning to keep out the bad weather. The carport also has a total of 4 windows (2 on ea. side).
Rather than placing the structure directly on the concrete, I am building an elevated floor system beneath it which will be about 6 inches or so off of the ground so things like rain can easily pass underneath when necessary, plus having this elevated will allow me to do some other logistical things like cabling, electrical, etc. Rather than spend a lot of money on wood from the local Lower or Home Depot, I have acquired numerous pallets that are in great shape. All of them are the same size and fit together like legos. These pallets will serve as the base followed by plywood flooring and then covered with a thinner type artificial turf over the entire floor area. The pallets will be anchored to each other and then raised by adding in 2x4's throughout the floor structure so the floor is strong and will have no sagging areas. Using the 2x4s will allow me to level the floor if needed as well.
The carport will then be anchored to the elevated floor area and secured so she will not go anywhere when the winds pick up. This area I am building in is surrounded with 6ft fencing on two sides and the house on the other so I do not expect a lot of wind in this area.
Once the structure is secured, I plan on having the simulator portion of the build on the back end of the structure because there are no openings there and the area will be darker and a nice spot for an impact screen. The front portion will be large enough for seating, bag storage and other things like your typical golf decor.
The entire floor will also be a putting green with regular in-floor holes just like your local driving range including flags (when I want to use them). All of the cups will have lids on them that can be removed when I want to use the structure as a full size putting green. If I want to use flags, I can just break them out and then put them away when I am done.
The entire structure will also double as a movie room for the family (had to give the wife a reason to allow me to build this) when I am not hitting balls in it.
As far as what the specs are, here you go.
1. Simulator will the be the R-Motion from the same people that brought you SkyTrak.
2. Projector is a used short throw BenQ projector that will be on the floor of the simulator inside a home made protection structure of its own (complete with cooling fans)
3. Screen will be your typical impact / projector screen (size will be nailed down once I have the framing up of the carport structure and have tested the projector properly)
4. Backup netting may be used behind the impact screen (not determined yet)
5. Structure will be outfitted with a nice surround sound system (may be wired or wireless / yet to be determined)
6. Computer using the R-Motion simulator is an older Dell Precision engineering type laptop which runs TGC more than fine. The laptop will be able to connect to my home's wifi because the
structure will be only 10 ft or so from my wifi router. The laptop will be on a portable cart that has a large monitor (keyboard tray) connected to it which then connects to the laptop via an HDMI
cable an then the laptop will be connected to the projector. For security reasons, when I am done playing or practicing, I can simply shut down the projector and laptop, put everything on the
cart and roll into the house or garage for safekeeping.
Additional notes. My laptop cart is tall so you can stand in front of it or sit on a tall stool if you prefer. The cart is outfitted with a power strip so all I do is plug it in when I want to power everything up. I do intend to either have either fans mounted inside the structure for cooling during the summer months or maybe a portable AC unit.
The unused portion of the patio area will be used by some patio furniture and maybe a nice above ground fire pit or fountain. This leftover area will be just outside the side door entrance to the structure and next to the house.
At this point, the only thing I do not have is some plywood, turf and a little bit of hardware. Once the base floor is built, it's game on.
Just need some time and a shorter honey do list to get things rolling. Very excited about diving in and making this dream a reality.
In the near future I will pics coming as things progress.
Happy golfing !!!
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