Starting my build...looking for direction...check out my space!

[Jared Phillips]

Hi Everyone!

First time posting on here. I've been lurking since last summer --- and after some creative deal making with my wife I've been given the green light to proceed with a golf simulator build in my garage. I have a 3 car garage, and in the third stall there is an extra deep cut out which BEGS to have an enclosure built in it. It is a little bit of a tough area...only functionally 10ft wide by 10 ft high. I have more than 20 feet back from the wall to the front of the garage and electric is already run on the back wall (as shown in picture) and also on the ceiling (for projector) so that isn't an issue.

Only thing I've purchased so far is the mat. Caught a great deal on craigslist from someone looking to offload a True Strike so I scooped it in the fall brand new for pretty cheap. Less than $400 for a full set.

Ideally, I need this bad boy to be retractable...again, keeping the wife happy.

Launch Monitor: Most likely going with a SkyTrack, but if I can find a used GC2 for roughly $3000-$3500 I'll splurge.
Impact Screen. P2P looks like the leader in the clubhouse because of the retractable setup they have. Anyone else know of retractable systems that are out there?
Computer: Planning on building my own. Been doing it for years.
Projector: Not sure what to do here. I am worried that the 10x10 area will only allow for 4:3 aspect ratio and then I am not sure what my best option would be. I'd love to get a great projector so I can have it for other uses as well, but if my dimensions make it not worth it I would go with something more low level.
Enclosure: I'd love to do a DIY with side curtains that can roll up and down...anyone use this sort of a setup? Any links you can point me to?
Ceiling/Flooring: I am friends with many hack golfers so I need to be proactive about protecting the roof as well as putting something down on the concrete so balls don't bounce everywhere.

Any thoughts/tips would be greatly appreciated. I am a little confused on how best to position the launch monitor and mat so I am hitting directly into the screen as opposed to one side. I can't wrap my head around how to make that work.

P.S. I will be removing the shelving above the closet on the left side of the photograph.

Thanks!

Jared

[mmcfadin]

For computer you might want to look around for reasonable used machine. I found a HP Z420 workstation (Xeon processor) with 16GB ram, 500GB hard drive, Windows 10, and a Nvidia GTX 750 for $179.00. Could not have built one for that. I put a Nvidia GTX 1060 card in it and it runs golf sim software great. I noticed that there are quite. few HP Z workstations on the market. The Z420 has 2 6 pin power connections for graphics card.

[JiminSc]

Can you bring your screen forward of the concrete jut out on the right? If not I think your max diagonal is going to be in the 141" area 113" x 85".

[FirGir]

Hey congrats! Can't quite tell but any chance you have more than 10 feet of width at the hitting area-looks like you might? If not, you will be offset bc it will take 78 to 84 inches from your ball to the wall behind you to hit driver. Also, with that 10' height by 10' width you'll get approximately 20 extra inches of image height if you go with a 4:3 aspect ratio over 16:9. Your call, obvz. Are you or any of your buddies left handed? If so, that will make the decision making tougher. You're space looks familiar:

[Jared Phillips]

For computer you might want to look around for reasonable used machine. I found a HP Z420 workstation (Xeon processor) with 16GB ram, 500GB hard drive, Windows 10, and a Nvidia GTX 750 for $179.00. Could not have built one for that. I put a Nvidia GTX 1060 card in it and it runs golf sim software great. I noticed that there are quite. few HP Z workstations on the market. The Z420 has 2 6 pin power connections for graphics card.

That’s a great point. Been a few years since I built my last rig...I imagine the price point in a lot of these have plummeted. Thanks for the tip! Did you just pull yours off eBay or Craigslist? Or I guess just refurbished machines too would work.

[mmcfadin]

I got the computer off eBay. Biggest thing to look for in used machines is power supply size and the connector needs of the graphics card you want. High end graphics cards will need 8 pin connections and large power supply wattage. Sim software can run fine on a i5 gen cpu and Nvidia GTX 1050 or better graphics card. Because of bitcoin mining, graphics card is likely most expensive item.. You can find used graphics cards but I was leery of buying one. In addition to eBay, check if your state has surplus property auction online. My state does and they sell computers cycled off university campuses for really decent prices.

[Jared Phillips]

Can you bring your screen forward of the concrete jut out on the right? If not I think your max diagonal is going to be in the 141" area 113" x 85".

I hadn’t thought about that. I may be able to pull that off. I’ll measure tomorrow and report back.

[Jared Phillips]

Unfortunately, I don't believe this will end up working. There is a metal electrical tube that is mounting to the concrete there which pulls the jut out even further away from the wall. Great idea, thanks for pointing the possibility out.

[Jared Phillips]

Hey congrats! Can't quite tell but any chance you have more than 10 feet of width at the hitting area-looks like you might? If not, you will be offset bc it will take 78 to 84 inches from your ball to the wall behind you to hit driver. Also, with that 10' height by 10' width you'll get approximately 20 extra inches of image height if you go with a 4:3 aspect ratio over 16:9. Your call, obvz. Are you or any of your buddies left handed? If so, that will make the decision making tougher. You're space looks familiar:

First off, tremendous set up! I am jealous.

Second, yes I do have additional width in the hitting area. No issues there. I guess I didn’t really think about it, but the hitting area, the center of the screen, and the projector should all be perfectly aligned in the center for best results, right?

Do you use 4:3? The additional 20 inches would definitely be preferred but I’d really like the area to be as HD as possible.

[FirGir]

That's great that you have more room at the hitting area. Ideally, yeah everything would be centered but it's not a deal killer. My width at the hitting area is less than ten feet so I'm offset but it's all good. I can't accommodate a lefty without moving the SkyTrak to the other side for their shots so lefties don't get invited. With my space being so small, image maximization was a top priority so I used angle iron on the walls and top. Yeah, I use 4:3 and I like it. Here's a recent thread (post #9) that shows the difference of 4:3 and 16:9 side by side:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/176301-garage-build-1-1

[FirGir]

Regarding protecting your ceiling, I used this netting and ran it about 10 inches below the ceiling from the angle iron on the 4x8 at the screen to the hitting area (I think it used to be cheaper). I also painted my ceiling flat black to make it more immersive:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00768EVFE/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Jared Phillips]

Thanks FirGir. I will definitely be purchasing this (or something like it) to protect against sky shots. Thanks again!

[Jared Phillips]

Hi FirGir. I am putting the final touches on my build, and the netting is something that is giving me fits. I don't really understand what you mean by running it with the angle irons 10% below...I bought the net you posted above, I have purchased a few angle irons to put it up...but I'm a bit lost for how to do it...would you mind sharing pictures or thinking of another way to explain to a simpleton like me? haha.

[Jared Phillips]

Regarding protecting your ceiling, I used this netting and ran it about 10 inches below the ceiling from the angle iron on the 4x8 at the screen to the hitting area (I think it used to be cheaper). I also painted my ceiling flat black to make it more immersive:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hi FirGir, I was doing some searching on short throw projectors within the forum and I noticed you have a BenQ HT2150ST Projector. I saw the short throw distance calculator tool on projector central and I want to make sure I am doing this correctly and was hoping you could help. The first thing I put in was the projected width of my screen, 120", changed the toggle to 4:3 and selected ceiling mount. It is saying I would need a brighter projector to make this work. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks in advance!

[FirGir]

I think you have everything correct and the calculator is suggesting another projector may be better for you for optimal performance. If you think you'll lose any width attaching your screen, which most do, you'll notice that at 112 inches of width that 'recommend higher brightness' message goes away and the calculator then suggests mounting the projector at 9' 6" away from the screen. I don't know how much worse the image is when adding those 8" to get to your 120 compared to other projectors where that message doesn't appear, but it's worth consideration.