New Golf Sim Build - Mike80 is BACK!

[Mike80]

Hey! I'm finally back to sim golfing! Just finished my new build! I moved to a new house and haven't had my golf sim for a year or more. A lot of work has been done to finally get to this point. I added an epoxy floor, insulated/drywall and painted entire garage. Added a gas heater and AC unit. I had to change my garage door openers and track. I changed them to the LiftMaster where they are mounted on the side and had high tracks installed. This allowed me to save a ton of space in the garage. I was then finally able to start my sim build.

Sim Build Dimensions: Width: 15 ft - Height: 10 ft
Screen: SQ Screen from Par2Pro (15 ft wide x 9.5 height)
Nylon Turf: 1/2" thick 12' x 15' roll from TurfAvenue.com
Hardware: GC2 and TGC software

I want to throw a big shout out to Par2Pro! They have been amazing to work with. I originally ordered a 12ft wide screen and then later during the build I realized I needed a wider screen. They allowed me to return the screen and upgrade and pay the difference for the wider screen. I can't say enough how great they are to work with! I am using the SQ Beta Screen from Par2Pro. This screen is amazing! It has a nice and quiet sound with ball impact. The material allows for a great High Definition picture quality. I was super impressed. This screen blows away my old screen I had. I highly recommend this screen to everyone! You won't be disappointed. Thanks again Par2Pro !!!!! I'm finally back! Yeah!!!! Also looking forward to TGC2019. I'm hoping to get the email for Alpha Testing! Check out the attached pics of the sim build. If anyone has any questions let me know.

[langnolen]

What kind of turf did you use? I already purchased the tiles, unfortunately I already bought the kee lamps to go the emt route:/. Great looking build..I’m trying to build my first one and congrats you are my first post.

[Mike80]

langnolen I purchased the Nylon Turf: 1/2" thick 12' x 15' roll from TurfAvenue.com - I've tried many different turfs in the past including 3/4 inch turf, ect. I've never liked the thick turf because it grabs your club and really reduces your distance on thick/fat shots. The 1/2 inch turf seems to play more realistic like a fairway. I did the gel pad under turf and that also grabbed the club heavy. The best experience I've had is the standard nylon 1/2 inch turf. I bought this from TurfAvenue.com - It is over 25" x 25" interlocking floor padding tiles. I used double sided carpet tape to secure the turf down to the padding tiles.I am very happy with the turf and feel with the padding. Also congrats on your first POST! Many more to come

[fraserjr]

Mike80 If I didn't have the floor padding tiles and was just going to have turf over the concrete floor (looking for something that can be rolled up so I can still pull my car in) what would you suggest?

[gnomike]

Great job on the new build! Looks awesome. Must be nice to be back after such a long hiatus!

[langnolen]

Thanks for the info..my plan is to get hitting mats and do the turf to fill in the sim area. Will post photos when I get it completed.

[Styxman11]

@Mike80: Great post and super looking room. I"m getting ready to buy my projector but have information overload. I've seen your post on the BenQ HT2150ST but have a couple questions.

My screen will be 8.5h x 15w
Will be hitting 8ft from screen
Have 11 foot ceilings to work with

1) How far are you hitting from screen? How far back is your projector (10ft)? How high is it mounted? Are you getting any shadows? Does the keystone allow you to square up the image satisfactorily?

2) As far as lighting: with 2200 lumens, do you have to keep your garage completely dark to prevent washed out image or can you have some ambient light/lamps on?

Thanks so much for your help and reply

Regards

[Mike80]

Styxman11 My projector is mounted about 9.5 ft high and is about 10 ft back from screen. It is mounted using a mount that was made for the model of the projector. I have two lights mounted above the projector almost pointing down on top of projector. The light comes down toward hitting area good. I have slight shadow but nothing bad. Since I have two lights it washes the shadows out because the lights compete against each other. I have the lights on a dimmer switch so I can adjust the lighting perfectly. I recommend a warm light bulb and not the white light. The LED white light is so white it makes the turf look fake. Warm is more comparable to outside sun.

I don't use keystone. If you mount the projector too high then you will need keystone, but I tried to avoid using it because you lose a little bit of image quality using keystone. My projector is 9.5 height and right above the golfer so the swing goes around and doesn't come close to hitting it. If you mount yours at 11 ft height then you will probably need keystone. My projector is also zoomed in to increase the size of the screen. So you should have some room for adjustment using the zoom. I moved my projector mount 3 times before I was happy. Best advice is get your screen and everything setup. Then hold your projector in many positions until you are happy with the position. Then permanently mount it there. Also make sure your projector is mounted exactly in the middle of the screen or you will get a little skewed image.

I don't have to keep room completely dark. The image still looks good with some other lights on in room. But what I found best is, I have my two lights pointing down and then have another light pointing up out toward the room away from screen. All three lights are on a dimmer. I found I can have these lights very bright and turn off all other lights in room. It lights up room away from screen and gives plenty light where you are hitting. That setup gives the best image for my setup.

I also recommend you install "ReShade" software on the computer. I just did a couple weeks ago. This program adds a ton of bright color and sharpness to the TGC game. It increased the image quality 1000%. Search for a post in this forum on ReShade.

Oh and I am hitting 11 ft from screen, right below projector. You mentioned you are hitting 8 ft from screen. That should be fine. But the closer you are to a big projected image the less quality it looks. Further back you are the better it will look. If you can squeeze to hit at 11 ft it will look a little better. Good luck!

[Styxman11]

Thanks again Mike80. One follow up....when I asked about shadows, I was referring to shadows cast by you onto screen when you are making a swing. Do you get any of that?

[Mike80]

I don’t get any shadows on the screen with where I have the projector positioned. If you have projector more behind you then you will get shadows. Best place is directly above the golfer.

[bubs3141]

Is it only for tgc2019?

[Randwik]

Awesome, love this SIM

[NovaGolfer]

This looks amazing! I am trying to do something similar myself where the hitting area is integrated into the overall area. I had read your prior postings and I am not sure that I understand your comments from above. Did you not put a gel section under the turf this time? Are you just hitting off the turf over the floor tiles? I am concerned about the stress to my shoulders and arms without padding. Thanks in advance fr your help!

[Mike80]

My previous simulator I had the thicker turf and then added the Gel insert below. This new sim setup I wanted the 1/2 thick turf. If plays more realistic like a fairway. I didn't add the gel insert below this turf. I have the interlocking padded tiles for my floor base and then have the turf carpet taped down to the padding. Yes, if you severely hit down fat and hard it may hurt your wrists. So far I really like how it plays and haven't had any problems with hurting my wrists. Since the turf is 1 giant piece of turf I hesitate to cut an insert in. But someday in the future if the turf wears out I may consider adding an insert. If you are worried about hurting your wrists, many people are highly recommending the FiberBuilt turf. I've tried it. Very forgiving. Almost too forgiving.

[NovaGolfer]

Thanks for the response - again, your build looks amazing!

[Lefty71]

Dude, looks amazing! Question, do most of the players out there have the netting in front of the screen??

[FaultyClubs]

I doubt anyone with front projection does, it would look pretty bad. Some rear projection setups do though.

[Mike80]

Dude, looks amazing! Question, do most of the players out there have the netting in front of the screen??

I would say no. I have the netting behind the screen. It does 2 things. Help take some of the impact off your screen. It also is there when you get a hole in your screen so you don’t have balls flying 100 mph through the screen..haha. That wouldn’t be a good thing.

[kbombbbb]

Thanks for sharing all the information! Could you share the following information:
1. My sim frame is 9.5' height x 10' width x 5' depth. I could take it out to 12' width, if necessary. I haven't purchased projector yet and was wondering if a wider screen would provide a better image at 9.5 x 12? I am planning to hit from 8 feet away from impact screen and hang the projector from the 11' ceiling.
2. In your previous builds, did you ever off-set your screen from the frame? Not sure if I should consider that. I will have a net fully enclosed on the outside of the frame. Still debating what kind of cloth or tarp over the net. Any thoughts?

There is so much great information here but it is hard to decide what to do. Thanks for your help!

[Mike80]

Thanks for sharing all the information! Could you share the following information:
1. My sim frame is 9.5' height x 10' width x 5' depth. I could take it out to 12' width, if necessary. I haven't purchased projector yet and was wondering if a wider screen would provide a better image at 9.5 x 12? I am planning to hit from 8 feet away from impact screen and hang the projector from the 11' ceiling.
2. In your previous builds, did you ever off-set your screen from the frame? Not sure if I should consider that. I will have a net fully enclosed on the outside of the frame. Still debating what kind of cloth or tarp over the net. Any thoughts?

There is so much great information here but it is hard to decide what to do. Thanks for your help!

If you are able to go 12 ft wide it will be better for a couple reasons. You won't need to offset your center as much as on a 12 ft wide screen. Also with 12 ft wide you can either go 16:9 OR 4:3 aspect ratio. With your 10 ft you probably would only do a 4:3 ratio so you still get good height of the image. But still at 12 ft wide, you will sacrifice a little height of image to go 16:9 to make it wide screen. I prefer 16:9 because it feels more realistic. The 4:3 feels like everything is scrunched in tight. I did offset my old sim build and it worked, but now having a wider sim setup makes a big difference. For your sides I know some people ordered black curtains from Amazon. If you have a net behind the curtain then you don't need to get the super expensive heavy duty curtains. Just get black out curtains. Make sure you get the round foam padding to cover any metal poles. You don't want a ball to hit and bounce back at you.

[kbombbbb]

I appreciate it!