New Home Construction Basement Build

[Miggy99]

I've learned a ton from this forum over the past year and I've finally decided to pull the trigger on a Sim for our new home which is currently under construction. In what was originally planned as an unfinished storage room, we dug the foundation 1 foot deeper to give us a 10 ft ceiling height (I'm 6'4 lefty). The room is 14"2 by 14"9" (Length and Width). The foundation and framing is now complete and I'm pretty excited. Now, since this room was never intended for this use it's a bit tight but I think it can work great. I'm posting some pics below of a 3D rendering I made with an online tool (forgive me - I'm no architect). I'd love any thoughts this forum may have on the following:

1.) I'm planning on using Uneekor QED - does my placement look sensible?
2.) I'm a left - handed golfer and the instrusion from the pillar in the corner where the room is not fully square may impede somewhat on my driver (irons no prob). Does anyone know if the 18 by 18 inch hitting area Uneekor references will allow me to hit driver from 9" farther away from center to provide some insurance room on my back swing?
3.) This room has concrete walls all around except for the rear of the hitting area where it will be studs. Is my plan of placing the Carl's impact screen on the opposite wall the best setup?
4.) I was planning on putting a computer tower on the floor near the intruding pillar corner...any suggestions for other location?
5.) My final and biggest concern is the distance to the screen. I know I'm breaking Uneekor's suggested best practice for distance from the screen but I think I can keep rebound to a minimum with the premium impact screen and some packing blankets behind. Has anyone used Uneekor this close to a screen? (approx 6'6")...do you have any issues with readings?

Thanks in advance...I look forward to posting pics of my progress and hearing the forum's feedback.

[jerry3]

Miggy99 You're proposed setup should work well imo. I'd say you have just enough room in all the dimensions to make it work and still feel pretty comfortable.

Doesn't really matter where you put the computer imo.

Don't worry about hitting at 6' 6" from the screen, there are plenty of people that hit from about 6', bounce back won't be an issue if you do it right. I'd say you need a minimum of 6" behind the screen though, some people put memory foam behind the screen to minimize bounce back. I'm not sure if it's really necessary especially if you have some moving blankets behind your impact screen.

I would say go with a 1'x2' hitting insert instead of an 18x18 for several reasons... it's a very common size for hitting strips which means it's easy to buy replacements, also believe it or not the longer your strip the less likely terrible golfers will miss the strip. Sounds funny but i tried a 12x12 strip for a while and a lot of people missed the strip and kind of tore up my putting turf. Just something to keep in mind. Plus if you go with a 12x24 hitting strip you can putt from a different surface than your hitting strip if you want. This can be nice because some hitting strips don't make great putting surfaces. I'd also recommend you go with fiberbuilt, it's the best imo and your joints will thank you!

One other thing you may want to consider if you find the width to be a little tight is using a linear mechanical slide for the QED unit. This means you would be able to slide the QED left or right depending on if a righty or lefty is hitting.

[Miggy99]

jerry3 thanks so much for your input. My head exploded when you mentioned the mechanical slide. I see that user BGCurtis2nd has fabricated a prototype. I watched his video after reading your post. Incredible!!!

You also brought up some great points on the hitting mat. Wasn’t even thinking about putting from a different surface. Thanks a lot. My 18” by 18” mention was really referring to the area seen by the uneekor as I understand it. Not sure that’s right. Would that mean that I have 18” square that the ball could be placed and still read by the uneekor sensor?

How far off center would you say you can hit before noticing that the shot feels “off” in terms of simulator feedback? If I’m 1 foot left of center and I aim at the target will the monitor send the ball right of target noticeably? Just curious.

Finally, if I want my entire floor covered in turf (of some kind) do most people order the largest mat they can and fill in gaps with scraps? In other words, the fiber built or center hitting surface would be surrounded by cheaper hitting mat surface under enough subsurface to match heights?

Appreciate any feedback from you and others. Met with the electrician today and will have outlets where I need them and lighting with ability to turn on/off spotlight over ball or other lights on together or separately. Pretty exciting!

[jerry3]

yes so you can hit anywhere from the 18x18 window that QED sees, no matter where you move the ball in that window if you hit it dead straight it will read as a zero degree HLA (so long as you calibrated correctly).

If you are on the putting green and you move the ball to the very edge of the QED viewing window it may feel a bit off because if you aim at the middle of your screen it will send the ball offline because you didn't hit it dead straight.

However you can also adjust the QED viewing window to capture data from just in front of your hitting strip if you want, so you could putt from a different surface that is in front of your hitting strip that way you can always put the ball right down the middle and aim right to the middle of your screen.

[BGCurtis2nd]

jerry3 thanks so much for your input. My head exploded when you mentioned the mechanical slide. I see that user BGCurtis2nd has fabricated a prototype. I watched his video after reading your post. Incredible!!!

You also brought up some great points on the hitting mat. Wasn’t even thinking about putting from a different surface. Thanks a lot. My 18” by 18” mention was really referring to the area seen by the uneekor as I understand it. Not sure that’s right. Would that mean that I have 18” square that the ball could be placed and still read by the uneekor sensor?

How far off center would you say you can hit before noticing that the shot feels “off” in terms of simulator feedback? If I’m 1 foot left of center and I aim at the target will the monitor send the ball right of target noticeably? Just curious.

Finally, if I want my entire floor covered in turf (of some kind) do most people order the largest mat they can and fill in gaps with scraps? In other words, the fiber built or center hitting surface would be surrounded by cheaper hitting mat surface under enough subsurface to match heights?

Appreciate any feedback from you and others. Met with the electrician today and will have outlets where I need them and lighting with ability to turn on/off spotlight over ball or other lights on together or separately. Pretty exciting!

If you need any help on building a slide I am always glad to help, that goes for anyone else as well, I built the proto type for myself just to prove to myself it could be done.

[timsiegle]

That's awesome, what are you using for a controller? Key FOB, or buttons?

[BGCurtis2nd]

timsiegle, on the prototype I just used an old club shaft with an I-hook epoxied into the end of it, but I did do some design work on using a wall switch. I asked about using a connector to the Uneekor. I know it is setup for right or lefthanded player and I asked about if there was a voltage change any where when the unit switched players if the were right handed or left handed thinking that it could be use with a comparator circuit and or relay to activate the slid, but I forgot who I asked and they never answered my question and then I got busy with my move and never followed up on it. Still have half my simulator at the old property and half of it up here, so my simulator has been down for the last six months or so.

[timsiegle]

I was thinking about using an Arduino and a relay but it turns out I don't need the slider. That would be cool if you could have it looking for something in the programming and control automatically

Inhomegolf has one for sale that uses a wireless key fob and controller to activate the actuator

[jerry3]

jerry3

Finally, if I want my entire floor covered in turf (of some kind) do most people order the largest mat they can and fill in gaps with scraps? In other words, the fiber built or center hitting surface would be surrounded by cheaper hitting mat surface under enough subsurface to match heights?

Miggy99

this is my typical recommendation because it's very easy and affordable. I've had this as the base the foundation of my putting/ stance surface for several years now and I think it's great. It's also light weight and modular if you ever want to move it or make changes.

1) Buy 1.5" thick MMA Mats from Amazon, this is thick enough to insert almost any hitting strip and just the right firmness under foot to feel like a fairway. I’ve been using it for several years and think it is the perfect solution.
2) Buy your putting turf, for budget conscious buy menards marine carpet, for a more premium experience buy from Turf Factory Direct
3 )Buy your preferred hitting strip (I highly recommend fiberbuilt, your joints will thank you!)
4) Measure your platform and cut your putting surface to size
5) Place your putting turf onto your platform
6) Place your hitting strip exactly where you would want it to go, mark it and cut out the spot in the turf and the platform (can be done with razor)
7) Insert Hitting strip and you've got your self a great looking platform

Below you can see what it looks like and you can see more info on my build at...

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/325968-jerry3-s-golf-sim-room?pp=326454#post326590

[Miggy99]

jerry3 thanks! Very helpful. I plan to post some pics as I get going. Looking at the par2pro 12X9 SQ impact screen because many on here say it’s the quietest. My room is mostly cement walls instead of studs so I’m researching soundproofing. Not sure if the cement will make it louder or quieter but I may just have to live with it for a while to find out.

[Sean Webber]

Is your golf room ready? I would like to see some pics and maybe inspire to redo the spare room in my house. I know for sure this isn't a cheap whim. I'm interested in the door you have installed. People who made a golf room say that the door is more expensive than the equipment to play golf. It sounds funny, isn't it?
They hired a locksmith near me sw8 to have the door installed on the same day.