Home golf simulator build

[tluna010]

Hey guys,
like most of you on here I have been scouring the internet in preparation for my own home golf simulator build. We are moving Wednesday and of course I had to find room to put in a golf simulator. This will be going in the bedroom since it has a lofted ceiling. Dimension wise I am looking at about 8ft tall for the screen (A lot more room to swing the club) and 10ft wide. I have priced out the products I will most likely be purchasing (Amazon) and will be right at my $1600 budget. I am obviously looking for input, ideas, etc. to help make this build everything it needs to be. I will be using the optishot 2 for the affordability and overall I have liked what I have seen compared to SkyTrak. Here is a list of the equipment I was thinking about purchasing. Again I really appreciate any feedback at all and will upload pictures of the project when complete (best part of the forums, everyone's set ups).

- Carl's Golf simulator screen (4:3 , 7'9" x 10' w/ finished edges): $260
- Optishot bundle (PC & MAC w/ extra turf): $325
- Orlimar golf mat for optishot (4' x 5'): $95
- BENQ WXGA DLP short throw projector (3200 lumens, 1280 x 800): $570
- All sport systems Terra Shield projector enclosure (so I can put the projector on the floor in front of me): $254
- Pride sport practice foam balls (12 count) (x2): $15
- Kotap BB-6B bungee 6" (25 count): $8

I have not included the framing: What I have read and seen it looks like 1" PVC pipe will work as I do not plan on hitting real golf balls ever. The frame will be 8ft tall by 10ft wide and come out 3ft with the turf mat approximately 6 feet from the screen.

Any comments, questions, or anything at all let me know. Would love to save money on this if possible without building everything from scratch. Wondering if the products that I have chosen are good to use.

[Dan McWhirter]

I think 1" pvc may sag down with the screen weight and in with the bungees pulling on it.

[sherrow70]

I had a optishot and did enjoy it but I hear a lot of good things about the r-motion. When I got my optishot I bought a non 1080p projector big mistake. I recently upgraded my sim to a gc2 and software which meant I had to upgrade and buy a new 1080p projector. If your like me and fell in love with sim golf and used optishot as a stepping stone to better sims don’t go cheap on some stuff. Try to future proof as much as possible go with a really good mat, projector, computer, screen. You save money in the long run because when you become a sim junkie everything you went cheap or low quality will want to upgrade and basically be paying twice for. This happened to me.

[Golfbeat]

Is it possible to play real SIM golf with foam balls?

[Pat S.]

I played on my OptiShot for about 6 months but moved onto a Skytrak last year. If you are not planning on hitting real balls, you might like the Almost Golf Balls. Check them out. Much better experience than hitting foam balls. They work well with OptiShot and also won't break anything. You might also take a close look at the R-Motion. Similarly priced to Optishot.

In my opinion, you could save money on buying a cheaper impact screen since you won't ever be hitting real golf balls. Some people will disagree with me. A Supertex screen from Spectrum Golf would be cheaper and I think would work fine for you. A lot of the time there is a coupon on the website. Right now it looks like 25% off screens. I believe they sew straps into the edges of the screen rather than using grommets.

If this seems like a permanent setup, I would just ceiling mount the projector. That would get it out of the way and save you money on having to have a projector enclosure. It takes a little time to get it right but it would be worth it.

Some will say you absolutely need a HD projector. I'm not sure. Mine is XGA, 1024x768. I think your projector is fine.

I think hitting 6 feet from the screen would be too close for me. Maybe it'll be fine for you. It's personal preference really. I hit from about 8 feet. The magic number here seems to be 10' from ball to screen. I don't quite have the room for that.

My two cents. Hope that helps a little with your setup.

-Pat