Overwhelmed...

[Bazooka_Joe]

Recently discovered this forum and must say what an absolute wealth of knowledge and expertise resides here... so much so, that I am truly overwhelmed with trying to decipher it all. Have a lot of questions.

I just moved into a new home where my wife has given into my desires for a dedicated golf cave, giving me the media room for my sim. I would like to ask your opinions as I begin the build including your recommendations for the components, ie screen, projector, computer, mat, etc. I purchased a Foresight GC2 with FSX 2019 last year during their Black Friday sale.

My media room is 13.8’ wide x 18.8’ deep with 9’ ceilings. I am looking at having the ceiling raised to 10-10.5. Not sure if I can, nor if I need to - I am 6' tall and think I can swing my driver without hitting the ceiling. Its gonna be expensive, my media room is on the second floor, so I have enough room in that attic space to raise the ceiling, but have some structural concerns with the roof.

Question 1: IS A 9' CEILING TOO LOW? DO I SPEND THE CASH TO RAISE THE CEILING A FOOT OR SO?

I have a couple of “must-haves”… my wife wants the space to also be used as a media room. I want a projector that can not only display the golf sim in great resolution, but also be able to project HD movies, tv, etc. Also I want to maximize the screen size, so I believe a 16:10 or 16:9 aspect ratio would work best for my room dimensions (13.8’ wide x 18.8’ deep x 9’ tall).

I looked at Carl's Golf Sim Enclosures, and their 16:10 8.5' x 13' - 181" diagonal screen with a 10' enclosure looks like it would best fit in my space. And after researching on Projector Central, I found an Optoma EH515 TST projector that looks pretty good that projects a WUXGA 16:10 image 180” diagonal, 152.64” wide, 95.4” tall, at a throw distance of 10.50’. I believe this projector would best "fill-out" the screen, however the Optoma doesnt have a zoom feature, so it must be placed exactly 10.5" from the screen. I am concerned with a 9' ceiling that I could potentially hit the projector in my back swing, and also that given that it must be placed at 10.5" there maybe a shadow. Ties into question 1.

Question 2: GIVEN THE ROOM DIMENSIONS, WHAT ASPECT RATIO IS BEST, 4:3, 16:9. 16:10?
Question 3: IS A CEILING OR FLOOR MOUNTED PROJECTOR BETTER?
Question 4: ANY RECOMMENDATION ON A BETTER CHOICE FOR A PROJECTOR?

Since I purchased the launch monitor from Foresight Sports, I emailed their design team for their design and components... They gave me a very detailed quote with very nice components - coming in at about $17k USD.

So, I reached out to the fine folks at Par2Pro and they have given me a quote on everything required for a golf cave, and I mean everything... screen mats, computer, projector, baffles, curtains, putting green...everything. And everything has a cost... they quoted me about $12k USD.

I think that if I do it myself, I can purchase everything from Carl's and Amazon for about $8-9k USD.

Question 5: HAS ANYONE USED PAR2PRO FOR THEIR DESIGN, COMPONENTS, INSTALLATION?
Question 6: IS PAR2PRO WORTH THE EXTRA $3-4K FOR THEIR SERVICES AND "PEACE-OF-MIND" KNOWING THAT EVERYTHING IS ALREADY PACKAGED TOGETHER AND IS GOING TO WORK?

Thanks in advance for all your help. I'll post some pics when I start the build...

Joe

[enigmamatt]

On your question #1 -- my vote would be that if you can afford it and find a way to do it (with a structural engineer involved, I'd imagine), I would raise it. I'm 6'2'' and had 8'10'' ceilings in the basement. If you do a quick search you'll see a thread where I'm posting the build out, but we cut into the floor joists to raise the ceiling height to 9'8'' before flooring / drywall. Will likely end up around 9'6'' once said and done -- but I will be able to comfortably swing a driver.

[Fhacker]

Second on the 9 ft ceiling raising. My old house, with 9’ 5” ceilings I would occasionally graze the ceiling with driver. I am 6’ 2”. My new house in garage I will have 9’9”-10” ceiling. Hoping that is good. Also depends on your swing, flatter not a problem, steep not good

[Bazooka_Joe]

Thanks Guys... in my gut, I know I need to raise the ceiling...I was just hoping to avoid the hassle and expense..

Matt - I read your post re: raising your basement ceiling... very helpful. Interested to see further pictures / updates.

[Millertyme]

I have the EH515TST - I do not think it has 16:10 fwiw
I have the projector placed ~10ft from my hitting screen, right above my tee - no issues in terms of ever coming close to hitting it and no shadows (but 5' enclosure vs 10')
While there is no zoom they do have some decent horizontal and vertical lens shift as well as the usual keystone or corner adjustments to help get the picture right
Is there a reason you want 10'? 5' would make projector issues easier.

Personally I would never floor mount a projector for this type of setup

No specific comment on par2pro but I started out with that idea and then ended up doing it DIY and I am extremely not handy at all and I think it was very manageable, I also think picking out the individual pieces gets you better quality components (at a lower price)

[Bazooka_Joe]

Thanks Miller...really appreciate your response. I have been corresponding with Par2Pro, and not sure what the quality of their components is.

Do you like the Optoma EH515TST projector? On paper it seems great. Again Par2Pro is recommending "their" projector. Unsure what "their" projector is though. I have asked, waiting to hear back.

What are the dimensions of your room and your screen? Also what impact screen did you use?

Also thanks for your opinion on the 5 vs 10 enclosure..

[Millertyme]

Thanks Miller...really appreciate your response. I have been corresponding with Par2Pro, and not sure what the quality of their components is.

Do you like the Optoma EH515TST projector? On paper it seems great. Again Par2Pro is recommending "their" projector. Unsure what "their" projector is though. I have asked, waiting to hear back.

What are the dimensions of your room and your screen? Also what impact screen did you use?

Also thanks for your opinion on the 5 vs 10 enclosure..

I do like the projector, the lack of zoom is the only issue but it was impossible IMO to find a projector that would throw ~180" picture @ ~10' that had zoom
I miscalculated slightly when mounting the projector (i mounted the bracket at the right distance but forgot to account the projector lends would be ~7 or 8 inches further forward so the image does not totally fill up my screen i have some empty space around it but it honestly does not bother me so to each their own on that.

My room is my garage which is roughly 20x20 with 11ft ceilings
I bought the screen with the enclosure from carls 16x9 its like 13x8 or something close to tthat
Photo attached

[dudley286]

Thanks for the tip Miller!! Would have never even thought about the distance to the net should be measured from the lens and not the center of the projector!!!

[Godfather]

I have almost exactly the same size room. I can swing driver, but it seems to mess with me mentally (get flatter and can fall into casting / early release) so I stopped using driver inside last year. I’ve had 4 friends over and 3 could swing driver without issue. I’d love to raise my ceiling (or lower my floor), but I’m not sure it is worth the expense or if it would cure my mental issue. The room is on the first floor with kid bedroom above and unfinished basement below. If it wasn’t open to the rest of the house and too loud for friends at night with kids sleeping, I might consider getting it to 9’8”.

I’d recommend a ceiling mounted short throw projector! I have a GT1080DARBEE. I will at some point switch to GT1080HDR because I can’t leave well enough alone and am curious about the extra lumens. The nice thing about the .50 throw ratio of these is the projector placement doesn’t interfere with the image even hitting close enough to have seating behind.

Assuming you are using the 13’8” wall for the screen (like me), 16:10 would be ideal, but finding a 1080p short throw projector is tough (super pricey). Having barely over 7 feet height if you go 16x9 isn’t ideal. Of course ~11.5’ width max at 4:3 isn’t ideal either. I went 11’ feet wide at 4:3 and in the extra space to the left I put a cabinet that can hold a couple golf bags, accessories, etc.

If you research cost of raising the ceiling, please let me know. I assume it is super pricey, but would one more info on expected cost.

[khkyle86]

Where did you purchase the blackout material you're using on the sides?

[Godfather]

khkyle86 the right is black felt-like material wrapped around plywood with memory foam padding. I realize now that taking it that far out was a bit of overkill. The left side is just a black velvet curtain.

[khkyle86]

Thanks @godfather
I may utilize the memory foam and plywood option for my black trim boarder around my screen. I'm using a Mevo+, which requires 8 feet of ball flight. So I'll have a large curtain down the right side for my hacker buddies. Will also help to darken my space.

[Bazooka_Joe]

Miller and GodFather - thanks for the replies....you both have very nice setups!

So Par2Pro replied with "their" recommended projector - Its the Panasonic PT-VZ580U. After looking at it on Projector Central, it looks pretty good as well, and its a native 16:10, 5000-Lumen WUXGA 3LCD Projector. The required throw distance for a 181" image is just under 14 feet. It also has a zoom feature. P2P claims its a fantastic projector and will fill the screen (given my room dimensions). Must say that P2P has been very responsive to my inquires and they seem to be very knowledgeable. Just need to accept the cost!

Speaking of cost - I have gotten several bids on raising the ceiling... the low bid was $6.6K (which included re-routing a gas line and water lines. My water heaters are located in the attic and of course the lines run across the attic on top of the media room). The high bid was $12.5k.

This golf sim idea is becoming expensive....

Thanks again brothers

[JamesBurns13]

I reached out to the guy who does all the projectors in the school I work in. I gave him a budget of 1500 euro. He gave me two options, the Panasonic VZ50U or this one. https://maxellproav.com/products/mc-...lcd-projector/

Im fairly sure they are very similar but the Maxell one just edges the Panasonic on price.Could be worth looking at.Just thought I'd comment this as I only bought the projector yesterday!

[Sevvy]

Why not just raise the area of the ceiling that will coincide with your driver arc. Like a roof void. Hopefully it will be the area between the joists. Just cut out the drywall and re-line it.

[Bazooka_Joe]

Dude! Funny enough, but that’s the same conclusion I just came to today! I’m looking to see if I can do just that!

thanks!

[shafqat]

Did you end up doing this?

[Bazooka_Joe]

So its been several months since my post... here is an update:

I took your collective advice and raised the ceiling. Thanks to Shafqat for recommending the raised "tray ceiling". This is the room before. (14' wide x 19' deep x 9' high ceiling):



This is the raised "tray ceiling" post-construction. I was able to raise the ceiling 17", going from 9 feet to now 10 feet 5 inches. The cutout is 6' wide x 8' deep



More updates to follow as I complete the build-out.

[Bazooka_Joe]

With the ceiling completed and carpet removed, I got the subfloor and turf installed. The subfloor was super easy to install. It's the 1" 2' x 2' underlay DriCore tile. The tiles have tongue and groove edges, so they interlock. I went with the 5X5 Real Feel Country Club Elite stance mat, PRO-12 Putting Turf , and some 2 inch pile rough turf for the sides. Here are some pics.

Top side of the flooring tiles:



Here is the bottom side...it has a foam bottom supposedly reducing noise, adds some cushion and has a R-3 insulation factor.



Here is a pic of some of the install.... The square in the middle is where the stance mat goes... the tiles are framing the mat,resulting in the turf and stance mat to be flush.





Once the subfloor was installed, I overlaid the turf, cut out the center square for the stance mat then nailed to the subfloor.



Once the turf was laid, I put in the 18 inches of rough on the sides then inserted the stance mat...





Tomorrow I will install the backstop and hopefully get the screen in...

Thanks again for everyone's advice and inspiration... more updates tomorrow...

[dudley286]

Awesome build out!!! Cant wait for to see the finished project!!

[JakeGeezy]

Hey Bazooka_Joe when you cut out the middle section of the turf for the hitting mat, did you hem any of the edges? Also, how did you affix the turf to the subfloor? Glue, carpet tape etc.?

[Stetson]

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to more details in the coming days/weeks

[lawrencejp42]

You are a true craftsman. I love the ceiling. Did you cut the joists?
I like the way you created the level surface and I want to do the same. What is the thickness of your 5X5 Real Feel Country Club Elite stance mat?