First build... New construction... Help

[sulli182]

I am building a house and was able to talk the wife into allowing me to sink 1/3 of the basement an extra 2 feet deeper to get an 11 ft ceiling in a gym/simulator area... I've attached the plans for the area and some potential layouts... I really want this area to function as a both a gym and golf Sim area... I plan on using a GC2 HMT, and a ceiling mounted projector... I want the whole floor to be rubber gym flooring on top of dricore with the 4x5 mat flush mounted in the floor (if possible). I was hoping you guys can give me some of the pros and cons of the layouts below...

Based on my lurking I have deduced the following:
I would prefer to use the 12' side since the biggest
Pro would be
- more room on the other side of the room for gym space/equipment
- 8 ft wall on the right where I could put carpet tiles on the wall for s***k protection
The Cons would be:
- I would probably need to run it as a 4:3 (~12x9) screen...
- I would have to offset the hitting area...

The 16 foot side pros/come as I see them are:
Pros:
- 16:9 screen that could also be used for watching TV while working out.
- no need to offset
- more wow factor when you enter the room...

Cons:
- takes up more space
- only five feet of wall space to a right handed hitters right for s***k protection ( I would probably have to put up a moveable curtain)
- relatively more expensive but not much

I guess those are enough questions for now... I will certainly continue in this thread to discuss this whole build throughout the process...
Thanks in advance
Sully

[Lynchdpm]

16 x 9 without question! It is visually awesome an without a doubt such a different gaming experience. If you are going to drop that kind of money go all in. As far as s***ks (lol)not sure the level of golfers will be playing but in my experience with single to 14 handicappers its never happened in my sim. Now that being said I have 10 x 8 projected in 4:3 and hit from 7 to 7.5 feet away offset from center and probably 3 feet from wall on right side...Still no one has hit the wall. I envy those that have the space for 16 x 9.. its the only way to go and as for TV there is nothing like it, Good luck. Looking forward to seeing the finished pics

[tron]

I have a 16 x 9 setup and would agree with Lynchdpm: 16 x 9 is much more immersive. Also my kids play their Nintendo Switch on it and love the wide screen format.

[gnomike]

I will agree that the bigger space would be better overall if your #1 main objective was the golf sim alone. Since you've got multiple uses in mind, though, I'm going to advocate for the other side lol... By necessity when I built my sim, it was either make a small space work, or no sim at all. No brainer, of course, but initially I was bummed because of all the comments saying how much more immersive a big screen is and how much better 16x9 is etc etc. That has not been my experience. My sim room dimensions are very much like your 'small side' space, and I am thrilled with the result. I take lessons in a sim facility with a great space and massive screen, and honestly... I actually find MY sim to be way more immersive. I think the key isn't so much the size of the screen alone, but the size of the screen in relation to where you'll be hitting from. I have no choice but to hit from 7' from my screen, so a 10' W screen in 4:3 looks huge and awesome! The offset hit aspect isn't a big deal, IMO. You get used to it very quickly and after that you never think of it.

Either way, you win!! Enjoy your project and good luck... it's a very fun ride

[DannyMRICS]

For me, it would depend on what gym equipment I’d want to put in. If it’s just a power rack, then that would fit nicely in the 12x5 area; if there are two or three pieces of equipment, then it looks to me like you’d need the larger area for the gym.

You can have a 4:3 simulator to maximise the size of the image, then 16:9 for movies if you get the projector and screen set up right. I’m going for an impact screen that covers the whole of my wall and will project 4:3 onto it, then a separate higher quality pull-up projector screen for movies and games in 16:9. According to the ‘experts’ your projected image for movies can be too big (‘cos your eyes can’t take in the whole image)! So you’d still be able to watch movies if your golf sim was in the smaller area. A 12’ wide screen for movies is huge! According to THX the closest you should view a 12’ wide screen from is 18’.

I’d play around with the layout, putting the equipment in place (on paper). If you could have a sofa for watching movies too, that would be a real bonus.

Dan