Advice on Planning Garage Sim Build

[nasonjo]

I just moved into my new house and I have a 24' deep x 26' wide garage. The garage has 11' ceilings and a beam centered at 10'-3". I had them install high lift doors in preparation for the simulator so those sit at 9'-8" high. I have plenty of room to swing my driver. I am looking to put a simulator in there but am having trouble finding something that meets the wife's requirements. She wants something that looks nice and retractable so it wont take up a ton of room when installed. I am looking for something that can wall mount also as I want it up against the back wall of my garage.

I am also wondering what width is best for a screen, as well as side wall protection/overhead. I don't want errant shots hitting the windows or steel beam (which is drywalled). I am a 15 handicap, so the poor shots happen from time to time..

Can anyone give me some build advice for design? Mainly where I can find quality wall mounted retractable screens for front and side walls, advice on width and side wall protection, and what to do about overhead protection?

Also thinking about Mevo + as I am a lefty but all my golf buddies are right handed. Will I have enough space for that in a 24' deep garage?

Garage picture attached.

[Sixmudd]

Is the idea here you would need to take it down every time you want to park in your garage? I guess I never really understood the idea of a retractable screen in a garage setup. Or is one side for your golf sim and the other side for the car. You don’t want to wall mount it. Ceiling mounted is probably my what you meant?

[nasonjo]

The reason it needs to be retractable is because my wife doesn’t want to look at it all the time and doesn’t want it taking up all the garage space. We only park in there for snowstorms but that’s besides the point. Kids play in there and I do work in there so we need to make it compact when not in use. For the mount. I would prefer wall mount not ceiling because of the large beam. I believe from what I read it only needs to be 18” from the wall which would make wall mount cleaner than having something come down 2’ + off the ceiling to get under the beam and down to 9’. It’s more aesthetically appealing to me to be on the wall. Just looking for recommendations for setups, not sure if anyone has a similar setup or could give me some advice.

[adilgolf]

Something like par2pro's homecourse 180 might work for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW9pNaGwL1Q

Wall mounted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDpFLNKNsyc

[nasonjo]

I have seen that one. A bit too small and childish feeling for me but definitely something along those lines. Do I have room for a mevo + with my setup? Also what do you do for overhead protection? Foam pads?

[Will]

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...rage-sim-build

I showed some pics and discussed some of my layout in this thread.

Leave the hitting mat on the floor and move these sections over 18". Straddle with your tires and no issues parking. The putting surface is like a walkway between the parked cars. We park here every day.

4 minute setup from hitting the garage door buttons. Pull the vehicles out, slide the mat a little, drop the screens with some buttons, launch the software, and set a ball down. Ready to hit.


See below as well.

[Will]

[nasonjo]

That is the exact setup I am looking for! But wall mounted for the impact screen because I have a beam that is sitting in the way! Do you mind if I PM you to get some details?!

[kolky]

I just built something very similar to what you are looking for. Used the Par2Pro Stealth screen which is retractable and I can have everything set up or torn down in under 5 minutes. The Par2Pro screen can be either wall mounted or ceiling mounted. I still need to work on ceiling protection.

I went with Skytrak but if I had lefties and righties I would have gone with the Mevo+ (or maybe someday a Uneekor). Couple of things you may want to consider:

- Plan where people will sit. They typically sit behind the hitting area in my garage with the Skytrak but that would be a bit more difficult with the Mevo+.
- If you have a hitting mat big enough for lefties and righties it is likely going to be heavy. The 5x5 mat I have is heavy and the most difficult part to move mainly because it is awkward to carry.
- Regarding screen size I would go with 16x9 if you have the room. That way it is standard HD format and you don't have to mess around with different resolutions.

Here is my build thread if you want to take a look.

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/337733-stl-detached-garage-sim-build

[GullLakeMi]

If you get snowstorms: 1) is the space heated?, 2) melting snow/dirt/salt off cars would seem to be messy for any flooring .

I made a garage sim and dedicated one stall partially for reason #2.

[rdeyer]

I have a retractable garage setup if you're looking for additional ideas. https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...omplete-w-pics

[xfactor989]

24' of space with the Mevo+ you shouldn't have many issues. I have 21' in my garage. I have the Sportscreen (DIY Stealth Screen) about a foot off the wall and the Mevo+ takes up a few inches on the other side. So I have 20ft of space. I would suggest you leave 13+ feet from ball to screen so you can use indoor mode (I'm at 7' ball to mevo and 13' ball to screen). I generally don't putt as I dont enjoy sim putting, but my results are much better after wrapping my projector with aluminum screen door material.

I used commando cloth for my side protection on ceiling curtain tracks. Unfortunately there have been numerous shanks in the last year and it has held up great.

For overhead protection, I have a black mesh tarp from Harbor Freight, looped down with a couple moving blankets I had laying around.

Lots of options available, mine is on lower end, but it keeps the garage usable for both cars and the wife happy. It takes longer to move the cars in and out of the garage than to setup take down sim.

I was able to keep the complete sim under $4k, not including the attic insulation.

[nasonjo]

Will what is your screen width and do you have overlap from your side screens? What is the width on those too? Also what did you do for overhead protection?

[nasonjo]

kolky I have the same questions for you.


Is your screen width 16x9? ...and do you have overlap from your side screens? What is the width on those too? Is it retractable or manual? And what is your plan for the overhead protection?

[kolky]

kolky I have the same questions for you.


Is your screen width 16x9? ...and do you have overlap from your side screens? What is the width on those too? Is it retractable or manual? And what is your plan for the overhead protection?

My sportsscreen is 16x9. The actual impact screen is a couple of inches smaller but keeps the same ratio. My side curtains are 9'x12' and do not overlap the screen but they are right next to it and extend behind it to help with any shanks that hit the corner. The sports screen / impact screen are motorized and retract. The side curtains are just on curtain hangers with a piece of 1/2" black pipe so I just pull them out when I want to use them.

For ceiling protection I am planning to put up a couple pieces of 1/4" plywood and covering that with acoustic panels and then taking a thick piece of fabric and hanging it out about a 8" from the screen as a baffle to catch the ones that climb the screen. I would have loved to put a tarp hung tight across the ceiling but I only have about 2" of space between my ceiling and screen when it is retracted and maybe 4" when it is open.