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Hi everybody.
Long time lurker, first-time poster.
UK based golfer here. A little bit of background: Started playing at 8 years old, played loads of junior golf and was a solid 4-handicapper by my early 20’s. Family commitments etc led to a steady decline before reaching a stage, now in my early 40’s, where I play so little that I have become increasingly frustrated (when I do get out on the course) at not being able to get close to recapturing the form of my youth (there have been odd glimpses of the old magic, but only fleetingly).
Based close to the world famous Woodhall Spa Golf Club I have always kept my membership going and would continue to dabble with the odd game with my Dad and a few mates as and when we could get together.
But, I digress. With three nephews, now in their mid-teens, totally smitten by the golf bug and all single-figure and rapidly descending handicaps, combined with the arrival of my own son last November, I decided to get some formal lessons with my PGA pro (having failed miserably to self-diagnose my faults) and make a concerted effort to get back to regularly being able to shoot level par off the championship tees once again.
Although we famously don’t have the best weather in the UK, when I speak to my friends and family in the states (mainly in Chicago, Mizzou and Colorado), I guess I’m pretty lucky that I can play outdoors 12 months of the year.
That being said, when the rain is coming sideways in mid-January it isn’t particularly pleasant. So, I decided that the best way to keep my rediscovered love for the game going was to build a simulator in my garage.
Having trawled these forums for months for tips, tricks and advice (thanks to all the forum heroes) I have finally bitten the bullet. This forum has been an incredible resource for me.
I thought as you had all given me so much without me actually signing up, I thought it was only fair that I sign up and share with you, my build, costed down to the penny. I hope it helps someone else and you enjoy it…
(FYI I've done a rough conversion to $ using the GBP to USD exchange rate as at 25 October 2020 of 1 GBP = 1.30433 USD)
Hardware:
SkyTrak Launch Monitor…£1,995.00 (from onlinegolf.co.uk)
SkyTrak Protective Case - Good Quality Non-OEM…£74.56 (From eBay)
Projector - Optoma HD29HST…£789.99 (from box.co.uk)
Sim Enclosure & Screen - 2.5m x 2.5m x 1.3m…£774.00 (from golfbays.co.uk)
Lengths of 26.9mm OD Tube for Sim Enclosure…£90.00 (From Local Metal Fabricator)
Hitting Mat - Golf Academy Teaching Mat…£269.00 (From golfswingsystems.co.uk)
Roll of 10mm Carpet Underlay - 11m x 1.37m…£49.45 (From Amazon)
Roll of Artificial Turf - Grasmere 17mm Artificial Grass 2.5m x 4m…£79.85 (From grass247.co.uk)
Wall Mounted TV - JVC 40”…£219.99 (from Currys)
Gaming PC with Recommended Spec for TGC…£449.00 (from eBay)
Projector Mount…£15.99 (From eBay)
TV Wall Mount…£13.50 (From eBay)
Keyboard & Mouse…£19.00 (From eBay)
HDMI Cables (2m & 7.5m) & HDMI Splitter…£27.67 (Amazon)
Ambient Lighting - Philips Hue Go 2.0…£69.99 (From Argos)
Balls - 1 Dozen Titleist ProV1X Yellow…£42.00 (From my PGA Pro)
Software:
SkyTrak Game Improvement Plan (1 Year)…£99.95
TGC2019 One-Time Purchase…£995.00
Total Build Cost: £6,073.74 (Hardware £4,978.79 - Software £1,094.95)
In USD - Total Build Cost: $7,922.19 (Hardware $6,494.01 - Software $1,428.18)
Points of Interest:
I have built it in what is a very standard UK new-build spec double-garage. Internally it is roughly 5.0m x 5.36m (16'5" x 17'7") - It takes up exactly one half of the Garage. I’m not tight on width or length.
I’m exactly 1.83m (6-foot) tall. The floor to ceiling (wooden roof trusses) height is exactly 2.5m (8'2").
I have what would be considered a pretty conventional swing. I can hit everything from 3-wood through to my wedges without issue. I have made a couple of weird swings and clipped the trusses with my 3-wood (it’s definitely a bit tight).
I can practice swing with my Driver but not hit a full blooded one. I’m now looking at ways (with professional advice) as to how it could raise a 12 inch notch out of the 2 key trusses to enable me to hit the big stick comfortably.
The projector is incredible. Before I started I was unsure as to how I would illuminate the simulator properly but the ambient reflected light from the screen and from the TV is just about perfect. The Philips Hue Go is very clever and adds a fraction more light so that I can see the keyboard etc perfectly.
The Sim Enclosure from golfbays.co.uk is brilliant. They essentially send all of the metal elbow, feet, screen, fabric surround and trims in a small package, and provide an accurate cutting list for the poles which you can get cut to size at most hardware stores. They also have a great construction video on Youtube.
I completely love it. I’m already seeing big improvements weekly. I can see the Wedge Matrix function on the SkyTrak being incredibly valuable.
I've only scratched the surface with TCG. It took me a week just to find a decent Augusta National. But that's a whole new section of the forum for me to educate myself with.
I’d welcome any thoughts, questions or feedback.
I’ve all attached a few pics.
Jack
Long time lurker, first-time poster.
UK based golfer here. A little bit of background: Started playing at 8 years old, played loads of junior golf and was a solid 4-handicapper by my early 20’s. Family commitments etc led to a steady decline before reaching a stage, now in my early 40’s, where I play so little that I have become increasingly frustrated (when I do get out on the course) at not being able to get close to recapturing the form of my youth (there have been odd glimpses of the old magic, but only fleetingly).
Based close to the world famous Woodhall Spa Golf Club I have always kept my membership going and would continue to dabble with the odd game with my Dad and a few mates as and when we could get together.
But, I digress. With three nephews, now in their mid-teens, totally smitten by the golf bug and all single-figure and rapidly descending handicaps, combined with the arrival of my own son last November, I decided to get some formal lessons with my PGA pro (having failed miserably to self-diagnose my faults) and make a concerted effort to get back to regularly being able to shoot level par off the championship tees once again.
Although we famously don’t have the best weather in the UK, when I speak to my friends and family in the states (mainly in Chicago, Mizzou and Colorado), I guess I’m pretty lucky that I can play outdoors 12 months of the year.
That being said, when the rain is coming sideways in mid-January it isn’t particularly pleasant. So, I decided that the best way to keep my rediscovered love for the game going was to build a simulator in my garage.
Having trawled these forums for months for tips, tricks and advice (thanks to all the forum heroes) I have finally bitten the bullet. This forum has been an incredible resource for me.
I thought as you had all given me so much without me actually signing up, I thought it was only fair that I sign up and share with you, my build, costed down to the penny. I hope it helps someone else and you enjoy it…
(FYI I've done a rough conversion to $ using the GBP to USD exchange rate as at 25 October 2020 of 1 GBP = 1.30433 USD)
Hardware:
SkyTrak Launch Monitor…£1,995.00 (from onlinegolf.co.uk)
SkyTrak Protective Case - Good Quality Non-OEM…£74.56 (From eBay)
Projector - Optoma HD29HST…£789.99 (from box.co.uk)
Sim Enclosure & Screen - 2.5m x 2.5m x 1.3m…£774.00 (from golfbays.co.uk)
Lengths of 26.9mm OD Tube for Sim Enclosure…£90.00 (From Local Metal Fabricator)
Hitting Mat - Golf Academy Teaching Mat…£269.00 (From golfswingsystems.co.uk)
Roll of 10mm Carpet Underlay - 11m x 1.37m…£49.45 (From Amazon)
Roll of Artificial Turf - Grasmere 17mm Artificial Grass 2.5m x 4m…£79.85 (From grass247.co.uk)
Wall Mounted TV - JVC 40”…£219.99 (from Currys)
Gaming PC with Recommended Spec for TGC…£449.00 (from eBay)
Projector Mount…£15.99 (From eBay)
TV Wall Mount…£13.50 (From eBay)
Keyboard & Mouse…£19.00 (From eBay)
HDMI Cables (2m & 7.5m) & HDMI Splitter…£27.67 (Amazon)
Ambient Lighting - Philips Hue Go 2.0…£69.99 (From Argos)
Balls - 1 Dozen Titleist ProV1X Yellow…£42.00 (From my PGA Pro)
Software:
SkyTrak Game Improvement Plan (1 Year)…£99.95
TGC2019 One-Time Purchase…£995.00
Total Build Cost: £6,073.74 (Hardware £4,978.79 - Software £1,094.95)
In USD - Total Build Cost: $7,922.19 (Hardware $6,494.01 - Software $1,428.18)
Points of Interest:
I have built it in what is a very standard UK new-build spec double-garage. Internally it is roughly 5.0m x 5.36m (16'5" x 17'7") - It takes up exactly one half of the Garage. I’m not tight on width or length.
I’m exactly 1.83m (6-foot) tall. The floor to ceiling (wooden roof trusses) height is exactly 2.5m (8'2").
I have what would be considered a pretty conventional swing. I can hit everything from 3-wood through to my wedges without issue. I have made a couple of weird swings and clipped the trusses with my 3-wood (it’s definitely a bit tight).
I can practice swing with my Driver but not hit a full blooded one. I’m now looking at ways (with professional advice) as to how it could raise a 12 inch notch out of the 2 key trusses to enable me to hit the big stick comfortably.
The projector is incredible. Before I started I was unsure as to how I would illuminate the simulator properly but the ambient reflected light from the screen and from the TV is just about perfect. The Philips Hue Go is very clever and adds a fraction more light so that I can see the keyboard etc perfectly.
The Sim Enclosure from golfbays.co.uk is brilliant. They essentially send all of the metal elbow, feet, screen, fabric surround and trims in a small package, and provide an accurate cutting list for the poles which you can get cut to size at most hardware stores. They also have a great construction video on Youtube.
I completely love it. I’m already seeing big improvements weekly. I can see the Wedge Matrix function on the SkyTrak being incredibly valuable.
I've only scratched the surface with TCG. It took me a week just to find a decent Augusta National. But that's a whole new section of the forum for me to educate myself with.
I’d welcome any thoughts, questions or feedback.
I’ve all attached a few pics.
Jack
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