Texas Metal Barn Build

[ThatBisonDude]

First and foremost, this forum has been hugely beneficial in putting all this together. I'm still learning a lot but seeing fewer and fewer kinks in the process. I've always found it helpful when people include build costs to give people a realistic estimate of what it costs to complete. Like most builds, our "budget" kept changing as we progressed.

We live in suburban Dallas/Fort Worth. I have the space for it at my house but not the height so I persuaded my old man to go in with me and set one up in his metal barn. It's insulated but not all that well. More on that in a minute.

Essential Items ($6,980)

• Preowned SkyTrak, Protective Case, Truestike Double Hitting Mat & Impact Screen - $3,000 (found on eBay but purchased offline via PayPal)
• Carl's 16:10 Enclosure Setup - $1,030 (16:10 fit our space well)
• Acer Predator Triton 700 - $1,150 (Open box but it perfect condition - Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, 32GB)
• BenQ TH671ST Projector - $530 (Refurbished with something like 15 hours on it - purchased a year or two back)
• TGC 2019 Lifetime - $970
• Used Padded Artificial Turf - $190 (Found on Craigslist; previously used on a football field, they didn't have any solid green left so I got one with a yard line down it but it's helped with alignment; couldn't be happier with this purchase; the padded turf really helps with balls rebounding off the screen)
• Projector Mount, HDMI Cable, USB Cable, Laptop Cooler, Birtee Pros - $110 (discovered the laptop cooler was essential the first day)

We ended up ordering additional items like (72) Kirkland Signature balls, additional Birtee Pros, etc. but this covered everything we need. July/August are routinely 100+ degrees around here and it didn't take long to realize we were golfing in a sauna. We ended up installing an LG Window Unit that was $660. We had to have an electrician out ($150) to run some additional wiring. It helped a good bit but once we covered the skylights with radiant barrier, it really made it tolerable even on really hot days. In this heat, it won't ever hit 70 degrees but if we can keep it around 80, we're stoked.

In total, it was about an $8,000 investment and don't anticipate any additional expenses with the exception of a controller box to speed up game play.

Would love to hear any feedback on the setup. I'm new to this so any glaring mistakes or opportunities would be greatly appreciated. You guys have been helpful for me so I'm always happy to answer any questions you may have.

[3on3putt]

Great looking setup. I actually really like the football yardage line. I also have a Skytrak (along with a mat that likes to gradually shift around) so alignment is always on my mind.

You said the screen was included along with the Skytrak and the TrueStrikes. But isn't a screen also included in the Carl's enclosures?

[ThatBisonDude]

Great looking setup. I actually really like the football yardage line. I also have a Skytrak (along with a mat that likes to gradually shift around) so alignment is always on my mind.

You said the screen was included along with the Skytrak and the TrueStrikes. But isn't a screen also included in the Carl's enclosures?

Yes sir, you are correct. The screen that came with the package was a big square (didn't even look like 4:3) and was pretty dirty. Given the beams that go across the top of the barn, we wanted a wider aspect ratio to maximize that space. I need to take measurements of the old screen and see if I can offload it.

Really happy with the Carl's Preferred setup. The screen will dent but they gradually fall out.

[dudley286]

Looks great!!!! That yard marker as a target line is a great idea!

[ThatBisonDude]

Looks great!!!! That yard marker as a target line is a great idea!

Pure luck that it was slightly offset like that and everything.