Well after over a year of research and planning, I have finally completed my Garage Build. I don't think I could have done it without the information and wonderful people that provided all the answers to my question on this forum, this is truly a great community! Although my checking account would be a lot healthier right now without this form... I am so excited to finally be able to enjoy some indoor golf here in Wisconsin...although of course it is just in time for outdoor golf season, but I still think I will find plenty of excuses to go use this as well.
I just really picked up the game within the last few years and with having a stressful job, it just really became a place I could get away for a few hours by myself and not have anyone to bother me; I certainly wish I would of played more at a younger age. Anyway, after coming across this forum and getting the thought of having a Golf Sim at home really seemed more like a wish until actually suggesting it to the other half and not being completely rejected was promising enough to me. I just turned 40 and also became a new father within the last year, so the space I use to have in the basement is slowly not becoming mine.... and what other way to get my son interested in the game of golf down the road than having our very own place to play year around?!?! Well, it worked... so let the fun begin.
I have a 20' X 30' Pole Shed that I visioned as the place, but I had trusses that were laid out every 10 feet and limited that area to 8' in height, so I decided that my only option was hitting towards the wall and being able to avoid the truss with my swing arc. At first I thought the best option would be to set it up directly between the trusses and I would be limited to a 10' wide Sim, so I purchased a 10' X 7'9" Preferred Screen from Carl's Screens, but after doing the build, I realize I can go wider eventually down the road when that screen wears out, but for now, it works for me. I framed the screen about 16'" out from the wall and hung moving blankets behind it, but after my first weekend, those moving blankets look like a cannon blew through them...
I wanted something that I could fold up in order for me to retain some garage storage space when not in use and that is really where I found this forum invaluable and piggy backed my design off of some members here, but I wanted to save on height as much as I could, so I ended up laying down the 2X4's and put 5/8" plywood over top for my platform. The platform is 12' X 6' as to leave a little more width for a down the road expansion. I liquid nailed some 1/2" mats down and rolled out a 6' X 10' mat I had ordered of amazon as my putting service. This platform is attached to the frame and I bought a winch from harbor freight to lift it up when not in use.
For the hitting mat, I chose a 4' X 6' Fiberbuilt Studio Mat with the original intention of making it friendly to both Right and Left Handed Golfers, but that probably isn't going to happen and I had to let my Lefty Friends know they can always be great moral support, but right now the clubhouse isn't open to their liking. I like the quality of the Fiberbuilt Mat, but quickly found out it wouldn't be very friendly for moving around much, so I ended up putting that on a platform I built and screwing it down to that so it stays secure and I am able to slide it out of the way when not in use.
For the projector, I went with an Optoma Short Throw 1080 Darbee and I bought a Legion Gaming Laptop with a GTX 1060 Graphics Card for TGC. For the launch monitor, I purchased a used GC2 off this forum and am certainly glad I did over the Skytrak since I am still working on a way to get a stronger internet signal out in the shed and on that I can at least play offline for now.
I added a 32" TV with a Receiver and 7.1 Surround Sound system as the final touches so I could finally open it up this week with some March Madness and Indoor Golf!!!
I just really picked up the game within the last few years and with having a stressful job, it just really became a place I could get away for a few hours by myself and not have anyone to bother me; I certainly wish I would of played more at a younger age. Anyway, after coming across this forum and getting the thought of having a Golf Sim at home really seemed more like a wish until actually suggesting it to the other half and not being completely rejected was promising enough to me. I just turned 40 and also became a new father within the last year, so the space I use to have in the basement is slowly not becoming mine.... and what other way to get my son interested in the game of golf down the road than having our very own place to play year around?!?! Well, it worked... so let the fun begin.
I have a 20' X 30' Pole Shed that I visioned as the place, but I had trusses that were laid out every 10 feet and limited that area to 8' in height, so I decided that my only option was hitting towards the wall and being able to avoid the truss with my swing arc. At first I thought the best option would be to set it up directly between the trusses and I would be limited to a 10' wide Sim, so I purchased a 10' X 7'9" Preferred Screen from Carl's Screens, but after doing the build, I realize I can go wider eventually down the road when that screen wears out, but for now, it works for me. I framed the screen about 16'" out from the wall and hung moving blankets behind it, but after my first weekend, those moving blankets look like a cannon blew through them...
I wanted something that I could fold up in order for me to retain some garage storage space when not in use and that is really where I found this forum invaluable and piggy backed my design off of some members here, but I wanted to save on height as much as I could, so I ended up laying down the 2X4's and put 5/8" plywood over top for my platform. The platform is 12' X 6' as to leave a little more width for a down the road expansion. I liquid nailed some 1/2" mats down and rolled out a 6' X 10' mat I had ordered of amazon as my putting service. This platform is attached to the frame and I bought a winch from harbor freight to lift it up when not in use.
For the hitting mat, I chose a 4' X 6' Fiberbuilt Studio Mat with the original intention of making it friendly to both Right and Left Handed Golfers, but that probably isn't going to happen and I had to let my Lefty Friends know they can always be great moral support, but right now the clubhouse isn't open to their liking. I like the quality of the Fiberbuilt Mat, but quickly found out it wouldn't be very friendly for moving around much, so I ended up putting that on a platform I built and screwing it down to that so it stays secure and I am able to slide it out of the way when not in use.
For the projector, I went with an Optoma Short Throw 1080 Darbee and I bought a Legion Gaming Laptop with a GTX 1060 Graphics Card for TGC. For the launch monitor, I purchased a used GC2 off this forum and am certainly glad I did over the Skytrak since I am still working on a way to get a stronger internet signal out in the shed and on that I can at least play offline for now.
I added a 32" TV with a Receiver and 7.1 Surround Sound system as the final touches so I could finally open it up this week with some March Madness and Indoor Golf!!!
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