New Construction Help

[Johnny5]

Just finishing up construction on a new home with a lowered area of the basement dedicated and ready for a simulator. Need some help making some decisions on what to buy.

Area is 15’W x 19’D x 10’H
Budget hoping to stay under $10k

Originally looked at Mevo+, but should I spend more and get a QED? Others I should consider? Looked at skytrack, but at that price point Mevo+ seems like a better option?

I already have a solid gaming PC. I know I need a projector, screen, and hitting mat but I’m not sure where to start, or if there other big things I’m missing. I’d like to have it centered for both L&R golfers without moving anything. I’d like to putt and have a nice feeling floor throughout.

Right now it’s just a blank concrete canvas of floors, walls, and a ceiling of open joists.

[3on3putt]

I would say start with deciding whether you want to DIY it or go with a "sim-in-a-box" solution. DIY gives you more flexibility to customize things to your liking and will save you money. Sim-in-a-box will give you a very professional look and save some hassle. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

Next, figure out how big you can make your screen and enclosure and what aspect ratio you want to run. Figuring out your screen size will help determine some of the other stuff like projector and hitting placement.

With 15 feet of width, you should be able to have a centered hitting placement for both righties and lefties. It might be cutting it a little close, but the best thing you can do is take your driver, measure out the exact center of the room and make some slow-motion swings to see how much clearance you have. That will determine if you can do one hitting spot for both righties and lefties or if you would need to do two separate spots.

For a floor, some people install a sub-floor so you can put in some putting cups. 10 foot ceilings give you a little room to do something like that. If you don't do a sub-floor you may want to put down a layer of exercise mats or something just to make the floor a little softer. Start checking out artificial turf online. Plenty of options.

As for a launch monitor, if the righty/lefty thing is really important than Mevo+ would be preferred over Skytrak. But the Mevo+ has issues of it's own and I'd hesitate to say that it's a "better" option. Your budget has room for something a little better than either option anyway. There's a new system coming out from full swing this summer that's generating a little buzz.
You could also check out something from Uneekor like you mentioned or a GC2. Consider what kind of software you want to use as not everything is compatible with every system. Are you prioritizing practicing or playing courses?

I would wait to buy a projector last, once you've figured out screen size and hitting placements and launch monitor (in case you go with an overhead unit).

[fortner28]

I have been putting together a room myself and have learned a lot from trial and error. I am a DIY guy and being that I have a room dedicated to golf I didn't see the need to create a cage system that you get with sim in a box. If having lefties be able to hit is a concern then mevo+ is the best option in the price range. There are tons of options for hitting mats but I cant justify spending 2K on a mat. You can put 1/2" or 3/4" mats under the floor to make sure it has some give. You can buy hitting strips that are forgiving and easily replaceable and just use cheaper grass mats in areas you are only walking on. I went with a short throw projector and hung it over the hitting area. I figured this would be the best for left and right handed. If you get a regular throw projector you have to move it much farther back and the golfer can get in the way of the projection. some people will offset the projector but that offset may be in the path of a left handed golfer. Are you only using this screen for golf or are you hoping to double duty as a theatre? If you are wanting a nice picture for watching movies then the setup needs to be different.

[CarlSpackler]

I am finishing my build in a lowered basement and decided to go with Mevo+, Carl’s premium screen and frame, Quattro 5x5 mat, optima EH412ST projector. My screen is 12x9 and I have 20’ depth. Will follow up once it is all set up, hopefully in a week and a half, as fit out of space is still underway.

[Johnny5]

Awesome feedback. I'm definitely on the DIY side of the fence but wouldn't mind getting a package if it helps streamline choices. Not afraid to build anything, but I'm not sure where to start for materials or a guide. I know there's lots of build threads on here, but are there key suppliers that I should be looking at? Carl's Place seems like a popular choice for screens - are there others?

This is a dedicated room so I'm not sure I care about the cage system or "sim-in-a-box." It sounds like I really just need a screen and then I can do heavy curtains/material or something dark along the walls. I do want this to look professional, but I'm fairly confident in being able to do the building parts given some ideas and suggestions.

For aspect ratio, I guess I'm leaning towards 16:9 where I'd end up with a 196" screen (8.5x14.5). Other than filling the space, is there a reason I should go with 4:3 or another? I do like the idea of potentially viewing other content at the standard widescreen ratio. This is a golf-room first, but the option to watch a movie or play video games is definitely something I'd like to be able to do if it's not a huge trade-off.

On the left/right positioning, I have one relative that's a really tall lefty that might pose a challenge, but we'll measure it out and swing away to see if we can find the sweet spot. For flooring, it's right on the nose at 10' from unfinished concrete floor to unfinished joist, so I don't really want to do a full subfloor, but some mats covered in turf seems feasible. It'd be nice to be able to putt into a 1/2 cup sort of thing and I would like to have a nice feel to the ground. I don't love the idea of a GC2 or Skytrack since I do have leftys that will play on it and I don't want to move it around. The idea of the launch monitor close to the hitting zone scares me too. I'll definitely have non-golfers and kids that will try it out and learn here, so I want something that essentially stays hidden and out of the way.

I'd prioritize playing courses over practicing. This is definitely a social gathering kindof room where there will be multiple people playing and having fun. That said, I'm interested in the hardcore data and practicing as well. I'm in the midwest, so the long winters mean this will get a lot of use to improve my game, but at the end of the day I'm an average golfer at best and this is mainly for entertainment. I haven't done enough research on software - I've read about TGC 2019 and E6 for playing courses so I'm most interested in those ... are there others to consider?

[Johnny5]

Quattro 5x5 mat

seems like a solid option for a decent price if that's from quattromat .com (not sure on the rules for linking here?)

CarlSpackler - are you planning to put turf around the mat too? I'd like to have the entire floor in turf and look level and seamless right up to the mat. Sounds like some sort of padding and turf to get to the right height might be an option?

[GullLakeMi]

I did 1" BalanceFrom gym mat's from Amazon and grass carpet from HD around my Quattro mat. It's same height. CCE mat is slightly taller. For reference, an iron/wedge that hits high on screen will still bounce first time 2-3 feet high off the carpet/gym mat and then die.