Planning a backyard build in a big city. Am I on the right track?

[djf414]

Hi all,

New to the forum, and a couple months into my research and planning stages for a build. My situation seems to be a bit unique, as I'm planning on trying to build an outdoor, somewhat collapsible set up. Basically, I've got a concrete outdoor space that's in my backyard, which is 15'x20'. It's in a pretty crowded city with buildings and neighbors on either side, fenced in.

My goal is to get a setup that's adequate for hitting, and then add the simulator itself.

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a similar set up and otherwise if you could help me figure out if I'm on the right track.

My idea is this:

- Buy an outdoor collapsible canopy tent, I've done some research and so far have found this one, although I am open for suggestions. I need to contact Wayfair to get a better idea of the dimensions, and ideally find one with a higher ceiling peak (this one is 11' in the center and lower around). I'm aware this size will probably restrict the swing, so I'm likely going to go with a different one. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The benefit of this tent is the walls, I think this is a cheap and efficient third line of defense. My other two lines of defense for keeping the balls in my yard and out of trouble are as follows...

- Get a hitting net. I've been eyeing the Spornia SPG-7 but it's currently out of stock so I would be open to other, similar nets, or other nets that you may recommend.

- Line the inside of the tent with another layer of golf or archery netting. For this, I would have to do more research and decide based on the canopy that I would buy in order to figure out the best way to hang the net, but am open to suggestions here as well.

- From there I will either make a DIY hitting mat, or buy one online, I've found some good sources and information on the other parts of the forum here, so I am hoping this would be a pretty straightforward purchase. Any suggestions on mats that work well on concrete, please let me know. I also am considering carpeting to put under the mat, but this is something I'm still deciding.

- Once this is built and I can confidently swing a club and hit balls, I plan to purchase a SkyTrak. I've been researching units, and have found that the Mevo+ may be better for outdoors, but considering the setup will be enclosed, I am hoping the SkyTrak will perform well. The space is near outlets and will be close enough to wifi, so I'm confident the wiring will be no problem. I will plan on being able to break down the electrical components in a matter of minutes, but mostly, I'll only have those out there when I'm using the sim, and ideally, due to the canopy, I won't have to worry too much about collapsing the rest unless specifically needed.

- At first, I will likely use an iPad or a laptop for the hardware and screen, but am very interested in buying an impact screen and projector and being able to double the space as an outdoor movie space.

Please let me know if you have experience in creating a similar build, and otherwise have suggestions for me as I'm planning. The hope is to get this up within the next month and a half, but I'm well aware shipping and production delays may push the availability of certain things.

If there are posts that I may have missed or other resources that should be obvious to me, I'd love to see as well. Thanks for reading and looking forward to your feedback!

[soupy]

I have an spg7 I used for a short time till I got my sim put in. I am willing to sell it. . The SPG7 has the top net and an extra target as well as the projector screen if you ever go that route. 2 min setup and the break down is easy once you learn how to fold it. Let me know. I used to use it in my garage.

[djf414]

Very cool, feel free to PM me with an offer. I'm still deciding for sure if that's the route I'm going, but would be interested in hearing more in order to help me decide.

[soupy]

PM'ed you but you have no replied

[3on3putt]

-- Instead of a tent, how about building an enclosure out of metal pipe and covering the top and sides with some sort of tarp or vinyl material. Think like this one. That one is 15 feet deep and you could use a tarp or something to close off that backside as a "door." Conduit pipes and fittings are not terribly expensive (ignore the price of that thing). Home Depot sells the pipes in 10-foot sections for like 6 bucks or so. You could build a 15x15x10 for not much more than the cost of that tent you linked to and give you more room plus more stability.

-- Make sure to get a mat that won't get damaged by water. Driving range mats are waterproof (they are left out in the rain all the time) so just make sure to get one that is also waterproof. (I'm guessing most are but I suppose it's possible that there are some that could get damaged by water).

-- A projector is tough outside unless you're really successful at blocking things off and keeping the sunlight out. At night is a different story however. You could always just use a laptop for your image during the day and use the projector when playing at night.

-- The only thing that would really have to plug in would be the projector. Skytrak is good for something like 4-5 hours on a full charge. So just charge the Skytrak and laptop before you go out to play and you won't have to worry about plugging them in.

-- If you really want to try a projector, then there's no need to get a hitting net. Just an impact screen. Even if you go without a projector I'd just hang a net where the impact screen would be.

-- Mevo+ may be better in this situation as it's built a bit more for outdoor use than Skytrak is. You might have to do a really good job of blocking out any daylight in order to get consistency from the Skytrak outside. It's really more of an indoor unit.

-- Projector would have to come inside between uses as you wouldn't want to leave that out in the elements. So you would then need to just put it on the ground as opposed to hanging it.

Go for it!

[djf414]

Rawhide mats are what I'm considering, potentially also cutting out a space for a better hitting insert.

The Mevo+ vs Skytrak is really my big question. The goal is to bring this setup inside within a couple years at a new place, so I was hoping the Skytrak would be the unit I could use for both builds. The fact that the Mevo also would have to be outside of my enclosure vs the Skytrak being right on the mat are what's really making me consider. Also the fact that Skytrak from what I see has better chipping and putting, and also could be placed closer to the screen or net, allowing me to stay completely in the enclosure. I did some research and found the blackout fabric used for movie sets that I could also possibly line the enclosure with. But also am still considering a simpler enclosure and just going with the Mevo+.

There's also a likelihood that I decide to go with an Optishot as that would minimize noise and risk from errant shots if I'm using a foam ball. However, I'm not sure if this is worth it, as per my comment below, I'm hoping there should be no noise complaints or issues.

[3on3putt]

I honestly wouldn't even consider an Optishot. I started with one. It's really no different than just playing the golf games on the Nintendo Wii. I highly doubt you would be satisfied with it. As long as you have a sturdy "shank net" to the side and another net up top you shouldn't have to worry about balls flying around the neighborhood.

I also have a Rawhide mat. It's a great value. I got the A grade for $200. I would buy it again.

You do make a good point about the chipping and putting. I have never used a Mevo+ but the early feedback does seem to indicate that it struggles a bit with short chips and putts, which is a deal breaker for me when it comes to sim play. It also seems a bit more demanding in terms of the setup which might be worth considering for a unit that will have to go in and out of the house.

[djf414]

Yeah the Optishot would be a worst case scenario basically that I would only use if I decide not to build an enclosure, however, I found the plan on GungHoGolf's site (https://gunghogolf.com/blog/diy-impact-screen-enclosure) for the enclosure which I plan to follow to a certain extent. It will be more expensive to do properly, but will prevent headaches. I'm thinking about lining the whole thing with something like this - https://www.chicagocanvas.com/produc...absorber-20oz/. This would keep light out and sound in, both of which would be optimal for using the Skytrak.

Not sure if I would even need the netting at that point, as this seems like the sound absorbing fabric pretty thick and durable.

[Anansi]

How good is your relationship with your neighbors? Will your neighbors be able to hear you hitting? Will they call in a noise complaint?

Also, what is your margin for error? If you make a spectacularly bad swing, and a ball goes 90 degrees left, right, or up, what will be in range?

[djf414]

Good question. The noise I am a bit worried about, but I figure unless I'm ripping driver over and over at night, it shouldn't be an issue. Again, this is a big city where there are certainly many more noises happening throughout the day and hopefully my enclosure provides some sort of guard against the neighbors hearing the noise. I would be surprised if there was a noise complaint, or if it was actually followed up on by the authorities.

The errant shots I'm hoping will be contained by the enclosure. As 3on3putt mentioned above, I'm probably going to create an enclosure of some sort. I plan to be hitting in an enclosure, fully surrounded by netting.

[Anansi]

Driver and Fairway Metals will be the loudest, but I wouldn’t discount how loud irons can be. Depending on materials, your enclosure can help, but unless you’re willing to limit yourself to using foam balls, you may need to be careful hitting early in the morning, or late at night.

More generally, if your goal is to start outdoors, and transition into an indoor sim, you’d be well-served by building an EMT-based enclosure and installing a “catch net” or “target net” at the end. You can start cheap with just EMT and netting, and when its time to move inside you can put a screen in front of the target net (having a net behind an impact screen helps extend screen life).

If your ultimate/eventual use case will be hitting from a mat, and primarily indoor use, SkyTrak is a better option than Mevo+. The complaints about sunlight are somewhat overrated. Keep the SkyTrak’s lens out of direct sunlight and it works find. Most SkyTrak-related complaints are due to poor setup.

Unless you have significant room (~10+ feet for the Mevo to watch ball flight, or 15+ if possible) Mevo+ will struggle to read spin accurately, and you may harm yourself by making unnecessary swing changes based on its data output.

Before you cut your mat, try putting carpet tape on both your turf and mat. If that doesn’t work, you can tape your mat to the concrete.

[djf414]

Agreed with the space for the Mevo+. I have enough space for it, however I think the distance between the ball and net is the most limiting. That will definitely require an enclosure with a ceiling, vs. the Skytrak I could get away with a net, a mat and good side and overhead netting.

[Stetson]

For a mat I recommend Rawhide used mats. I have had once outside since April and it doesn’t move an inch when I use it. The mats are used and Rawhide cleans them up and sells them for quite a discount. The mats are all from the same source (believed to be Top Golf) and are graded. I have the C grade and it is still pretty good. I have seen pictures of higher grades and they look near new.

[3on3putt]

I also have a rawhide. It was an A grade and looked brand new. It slides around though, but I'm thinking it's because I have it sitting on top of artificial turf. I'm wondering if I cut out the turf under the mat and just have it sit on the concrete it might do better. Is yours on concrete?

[Stetson]

Yes mine sits in concrete on the back patio. It doesn’t move at all for me. Different people use the ground differently and more importantly I don’t hit a ton of driver as it is into a net in the back yard.

[trumb1mj]

I have an outdoor setup. I built my own net frame that attaches to my garage though I started out with a PVC frame that I would take down after each session. I really like the idea of a tent for winter months (Chicago) but it would need to be big--I'm interested to see what you find. Sound has never been an issue. The neighborhood is filled with dog owners and if anyone complained, they'd be total hypocrites.

[djf414]

I'll keep you updated about the tent. Most of the ones I'm seeing have a center peak height of just under 10 ft, and a lower height around the peak, which I think would be too restrictive. The homemade enclosure seems more customizable and is the direction I'm thinking of taking. Ideally I want to be able to play in winter months, not sure how realistic that's going to be.

[trumb1mj]

I definitely play all winter. I keep my area shoveled and hit balls almost every evening in the dark. It can be cold but I'm only out there for 30-45 minutes for those sessions.

[sirish19]

For what it is worth, I have an outdoor setup that frequently has to be put up and broken down before and after each use. This is on the 3rd-floor balcony of my house in a location where I cannot afford to have any errant shots. My balcony is probably roughly the same size as your space (if not a little smaller). I have the Net Returns Pro series net (with side barriers), SkyTrak, stance mat, and a couple of rolls of astroturf to layout between the net and the stance mat (to soften the landing and prevent damage to the balls from my balcony tiles). I also started with SkyTrak and an iPad (and played WGT for a while), then moved to TGC2019 on my macbookPro using Bootcamp before I invested in a proper gaming laptop. I don't think I have space or set up to put a full impact screen/projector so I just move my 32 inch 4k monitor from my desk to the balcony (about 10 feet) for the monitor. I have desk mounted Amazon Basic monitor arm for my desk and I bought the wall-mounted arm for the balcony where just use the wall-mount. It is a quick 1-minute move.

I have the net broken down and stored in a small bench and stance mat and hitting mats covered in a tarp and just standing behind the bench. It takes me about 10 minutes or so to put everything up and ready to go and about the same time to take everything down. I am in Japan so we do get a lot of rain here so if there is a chance of rain, I put set it up and put it away each time, but when the weather is nice for days on end, I will just lay the net flat and leave everything outside ready to go (except for all of the electronics, of course). I know that a lot of people may think that is a hassle and they might not do it, but my only other alternative is to drive 20-30 minutes each way to the driving range to also hit balls into a net so I figure it is well worth the time, especially during the current pandemic as I don't need to leave my house.

As I have the ST and my balcony is fully exposed, I generally reserve my practice/play to late afternoon/evening as it gets too hot and both my computer and monitor are exposed to direct sunlight in the morning/afternoon. I haven't actually had too much trouble with the ST reading shots in direct sunlight, but even with a 4k monitor as opposed to a projector, it still looks much better in late afternoon/evening.

For noise, this was also a consideration as I do also live in a populated neighborhood and I wanted to considerate of my neighbors. I know all of my neighbors very well and none of them would complain about the noise, but I think it would be much worse with an impact screen. The Net Returns makes no noise at all so I really only have the driver to worry about. I generally start my rounds at around 4:00 pm at the earliest and play until around 8:30 pm at the latest. That is a good enough workout for me and I can generally play 36 holes on TGC 2019, can eat dinner at a normal time and I don't disturb my neighbors with the sound. Actually, in terms of the noise, when the family is right below the balcony in the kitchen/living room, they can't really hear me practicing (except for the hard thud of a really fat shot), so I am very sure that doesn't bother the neighbors.

Here is a video of me playing a round on TGC 2019 (on one of the courses that I designed). Please ignore the crappy golf, but I think it can give you an idea that you really can enjoy golf with an outdoor setup. It is a little different in the scorching heat of the summer or when it is raining, but the rest of the year, it is really nice to actually be able to play outdoors.

https://youtu.be/Yrp87XjaQEQ

[djf414]

Awesome this is very similar to my space. How far away is the mat from the net? Height of the net?

Thanks!

[sirish19]

I have the Net Returns Pro Series 1 net and they have a newer version called the Pro Series V2. I assume the height is the same at 7'8" and 8' wide. I have the hitting mat at around 6-8 feet from the net which gives me plenty of clearance to hit my driver without creating an indoor swing. I also can hit a full 60-degree wedge without clearing the top of the net. I use ProV1 balls, however, as they have much lower trajectory (but better pin and control). When I tried distance or velocity balls, they were coming dangerously close to clearing the net. I have hit it out two times so far. Once when I had the ball teed up too high on the driver and hit a sky ball straight over the net and the second time, I had a case of the shanks and hit a 7 iron off the hozel, clanked off the left side of the net's metal frame, went flying past my head and flew over the balcony. Fortunately, no one got hurt (or even noticed). Since that time, as you can see in the video, I put a 6+ foot pole on balcony and I lift the side barrier up a bit higher to ensure I don't do that again. I also put some foam pads around the base the net to cushion any possible shanks. So far, I feel pretty safe that I won't hit it out.

The Net Return is also great, I have hit at least 20,000 shots into that net and there is really no sign of wear whatsoever, despite hitting pretty much in the same place all the time.

[Jerryb]

I am surprised that you don’t hit more wedges or pitches over the net. That is good news to me on my setup. I was wondering about that. I was thinking about making my enclosure about 8’ deep then set up tee about 11’ feet mark. Is it any problem to put projector about my head but at the eight foot mark about 3’ in front of tee? Just positioned so I don’t hit it. I want to get it in under the end lure. I don’t have the width to have enclosure come back any deeper. Also how far off the centerline can you set up tee hitting area and adjust projector for that? Thanks for any input.

[sirish19]

I am surprised that you don’t hit more wedges or pitches over the net. That is good news to me on my setup. I was wondering about that. I was thinking about making my enclosure about 8’ deep then set up tee about 11’ feet mark. Is it any problem to put projector about my head but at the eight foot mark about 3’ in front of tee? Just positioned so I don’t hit it. I want to get it in under the end lure. I don’t have the width to have enclosure come back any deeper. Also how far off the centerline can you set up tee hitting area and adjust projector for that? Thanks for any input.

I have never hit a wedge over the net although I have hit a skyball on a tee shot that cleared the net (only one time though). One important point though, I use ProV1's which don't launch as high as some other balls, but I get more spin so better control on the greens anyway. I have tried other balls that were "trajectory" balls and they were coming very close with my 60 degree wedge where the ProV1's weren't even coming close. I don't ever try to hit super high flop shots for that reason though. I am a lefty and have the tee area 1-2 feet off-center. It does make aiming a bit of a challenge though.

As my setup is outside, I have not considered adding a projector so can't comment on that setup.

[ce2]

Jerryb regarding ding projector if you're going to put the projector itself off centre, you'll want one with horizontal lens shift or horizontal keystone correction. I had the same questions about where to mount in relation to golf stand and ended up deciding, for an off centre hit tee, I was more comfortable with a shadow and having the projector on a shelf high at the back of the garage. Might not be the same option for you, but hopefully the tip for a projector with horizontal lens shift/keystone correction helps! Each projector will be different though, and throw ratio calculators tend to not take this into account. Here's the details of my setup for some guide:

- distance from lens to screen: 4m (13ish feet)
- height of projector: 2.4m (8ft)
- distance from centre of mat to screen: 1.8m (6ft)
- projector offset: 2ft off centre (line of sight goes behind my back)
- screen size: 9x9ft
- throw ratio: 1.2

Projector settings:
- aspect ratio: 4:3
- zoom: optical zoom to fit (leaves about 1ft from top and bottom of blank space, oh well... About 6.5 feet in picture height though!)
- horizontal keystone correction: about 3/20 levels (so not much)
- corner fit: 50/60 levels to bring the bottom right corner upwards to flatten the bottom of the screen)


Corner fit is the big winner here but thr keystone correction definitely helps me just flatting the right side enough to get rid of the off angles.

My projector is a BenQ MH733 if it helps. Good luck!