DIY Garage Sim, new at this. I've been reading but would not mind some direction.

[Livermore-Dad]

I was hoping to do one in the house, but the wife has nixed that idea, and said the pool table stays. So I'm headed to the garage.

So I've got a 3 bay garage, but the single bay only has 8' roof and not tall enough. I was thinking about raising a portion or the ceiling (have a few feet above the drywall), but that entails sprinkler line moves as well as main water pipes (while it would be ideal in that bay, it's not really something I want to take on).

So that means the 2 bay, which has a solid 9.5' ceiling height, however I do have a car lift that I'd like to keep available, which means i'm looking for something that can be brought down and put back up when not in use. You can see there is a large beam that I was looking to mount a screen too. I was looking at some of the remote screens, but they seem expensive too me. Excuse the mess we are doing an annual garage sale/donation run..



So garage space: I have this Beam/upper support for the 2nd floor and it's above the garage door area. So I was thinking I'd find something I could attach here and drop down when needed.



I've moved the garage opener to the side, so my ceiling is clear. the only sprinkler would be behind the screen so no big concern there. The screen would also protect the windows (have already taken one out with a practice ball while cleaning the garage (smash!). I've got plenty of power, and lighting, but I may have to add a canned light or something over the hitting area (can do).

I've got a free standing net, but I think I'll have to sell that and get a screen PR-40 or something that is recommended, but the big issue is allowing a semi perm installation, that I can move in and out to allow the garage bay and thus the lift to be free..

I've decided on the tech: Skytrak used + TGC/TGC2019 so roughly $2500

I need something that can be easily raised/moved when not in use, but I don't want to sacrifice quality, but everything I've found is like $1900+ for a retractable screen and that feels wrong

So thoughts? Say I want to be under $5K..

I know I'll need a beefier pc with a quality video card, so figure that is $800 (give or take $200).
i'll need the screen
I'll need something to roll out for the floor, to handle putting (can't think turf costs that much)
I'll need a better hitting surface (I've got something but I think it's a bit small for what I'm trying to accomplish) ( $750 ish)
Misc pads or black out material, netting etc $xxx.xx
Communities help, priceless..

So what are ideas on making this nice, but allow me to have a usable bay for my car hobby as well?

Maybe I've not found the holy grail of retractable screen manufactures that someone can point me to. Custom size at $1000 may not be horrid, but they seem to get to $3500 really quickly.

I've considered a static screen that is just lifted and clipped into the ceiling when not in use (that may be an option, but it would take up some precious space when i'm lifting cars up.) that would be a 9 1/2' screen by 10' wide. doesn't include any side protection (already have 2 ball marks in the house from my son when I setup the net)

I'm still reading and checking out others setups, but many while super nice, seems quite permanent, even the garage installs. I really do need access to my lift so this has to be retractable or somewhat easy to tear down/put back up.

Please share links, and I will peruse.

Thanks for the assistance!
-Tory

[Livermore-Dad]

Okay I hadn't seen it before, but thesportsscreen has an option for 10' or 16' both including a golf screen from par2par for under $1000, seems like a no brainer. So screen is taken care of. But now i'm using much larger piece of my garage for this, should be fine, but the rest may be easier to figure out

[Andrew Shallow]

You are starting just about the same project as me, and have close to the same cost estimates. I love how you moved the door opener, my project will be in 3rd stall and requires me to raise the track and replace the opener - so I have $1,000 spent before I even get into the project itself.

Anyway, I will be talking to Par2Pro about the sportscreen as it seems like a no-brainer.

Good luck.

[Smudge7204]

i bought the exact same sportsscreen from a local hockey store for $200 (it was on sale), i then attached my par2pro screen. No need to pay $1000.

https://www.thesportscreen.com/

[Livermore-Dad]

Smudge7204 ya I tried to see what it would cost to buy them separate, but based on what I chose the screen material itself was $895 and the screen was $595, so seemed like a better deal to buy it together (It's possible I selected the wrong raw material) . But anyways that trigger has been pulled.

I've got a new PC with a GTX 1070 8gb, but my son said he's stealing it and giving me his 980gtx, which should still be plenty.
I've just purchased my skytrak
now I need to figure out what turf to use for in front of the hitting mat (padding or not).
Then I'll figure out a hitting mat, although I've got something that will work for now.
Then I'll figure out where to mount the projector, won't be able to determine that until everything is in place (to prevent shadows).

Now it's all about getting it all here and getting the garage setup. I do see that the middle of the 16' (I went bigger, decided to just take over the entire garage!) of the screen will sag due to the length, and weight, so will probably have to figure out a custom center mount to prevent the sag (unless they resolved that in house already).

So I'm on my way!

Thanks for the conversation!

[nickro]

You are on just about the same journey I started about 5 or 6 months ago. I needed my garage to still function as a garage while still wanting a full size golf simulator. The SportScreen solution, namely the Stealth setup from Par2Pro, was the best thing I could find to help accommodate my situation and Par2Pro was great to work with. I also took a lot of time studying others builds with the SportScreen and really patterned mine after the build that p3eps shared on this forum. https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...th-sportscreen



As of about 3 weeks ago I have turned my garage from this...




Into this....and I love it.

[Livermore-Dad]

nickro yep that looks good. Can you tell me what you used for turf up front? Also have you used it enough to know if it's helped or caused issues with "real" game? I really am weary of mats, just seems after hitting off mats and I go to the course, things go south. So I wonder if I should concentrate on getting different types of mat for different lies (obviously at my $$$ spend, I'm not getting something that will modulate to help me to remember which way the ball goes when it's under or above be (Always ask my friends to remind me which way it's "suppose" to take off..

[nickro]

Livermore-Dad I looked around a lot but ended up taking a chance and ordering the turf from Amazon. It is from MegaGrass called MegaGolf platinum. I ordered a 14 x 7 foot and it was much cheaper than what is listed here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...0?ie=UTF8&th=1 I think it will go on sale as winter gets closer. I added it to my amazon wish list and checked in on it everyday for months to see if the pricing would go down. When I am done with the sim I roll it up with a piece of PVC pipe in the center and then hang it low on the wall using some straps to keep it out of the way.

My mat is one of the Rawhide used mats in their "A" condition. It was probably where I cheaped out the most on my build figuring I could always update that easily down the road. Eventually, I want to get a fiberbuilt mat as that seems to be the overwhelming favorite here on the forum but downside is putting is iffy. But i have found putting is kind of a crap shot on the simulator anyway. I'm not worried to much about that though...I'm interested in getting full swings in.

I have only used the simulator about 4 times in the last 3 weeks since I finished it, so its too early to tell yet if its really helped or hurt my game. What I can say is that I seem to see the same results between playing real golf and in the sim regarding distances shot shapes etc. I'm not the best ball striker yet to really be consistent enough to tell a definite difference between the two for sure.

FYI, you are just over the hill from me....I'm in Manteca. If you are ever in the area and want to check out my setup let me know!

[jc523]

I'm curious about how you roll up your turf, as I will have to do something similar. Can you share any pics of how you store it when it's not in use?

also, do you velcro your side curtains directly to the screen? I was originally planning to do that, like p3eps, but now I'm not sure if it's necessary.

looks great, btw!

[Livermore-Dad]

nickro Appreciate the offer I'll keep everyone updated as I progress. But I'm kind of on hold until stuff starts arriving.

[nickro]

Thanks jc523 ! I have a piece of PVC pipe that I cut to the same width as the turf. I wrap the turf around it on one end and then just roll it up. I then have Velcro straps that I use to keep it rolled up and also hang it. I do use the Velcro on my curtains to connect it with my screen. I like that the curtains and screen are all connected as one piece when Velcro-ed and no miss-hit shots can squeeze through and openings or cracks.

[Livermore-Dad]

Hey @nickro talk to me about your side panels and header. What did you use?

[nickro]

Livermore-Dad I use curtains from peakstarps for my side protection. Namely these http://peaksonline.net/black_industrial_curtains.html I called them up and gave them specific instructions on height and width and they made them custom for me with the Velcro sewn on so I could connect them to my screen which I had Par2Pro have Velcro sewn on also. I hung the curtains from tracks that I got on amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 This way I can slide them and tie them back to the wall when the sim is not in use.

For ceiling protection I first hung panels of 1/8" thick plywood on the ceiling and then I glued 1/2" thick foam interlocking floor tiles to the plywood. I did this so that if I ever move I wouldn't have to worry about having these tiles glued to the ceiling drywall that I would probably never get off. Now I can just take the plywood down and just patch the holes to make the garage look normal again. After that was in place I then followed what p3eps did with his ceiling protection in the thread I posted previously. I used mesh tarp and made some looped baffles or swag to hang down in front of the sportscreen roller so that any high shots would get knocked down and fall straight down. To be honest I probably could have just stopped after the foam padding was in place. I don't think I needed the full mesh tarp, but would still have to find something to help protect from direct hits to the sportscreen roller.

[shadley177]

Nickro can you post a picture of your room. I’m thinking of buying the curtains from Peaks Tarps

[nickro]

shadley177 In my first post in this thread I put pictures of my before and after. The after is the current setup I have going right now with the curtains.

[Livermore-Dad]

nickro awesome thanks. Ya was looking around today for the best way to mount something, and I've got built in storage that won't allow much room between the garage door guide and the builtins, so was thinking about options. I thought about a track and just pulling them back like you stated, but I don't think I have the space on the right.. Although nothing there that I can't sacrifice to a wayward ball either, so.. who knows. But thanks for the added links, will poke around!!