Golf Sim Shed build - finally...

[Brettster]

Hi Everyone,

I'm starting this post as a way to keep myself accountable. The tasks are huge, but not insurmountable as I'm having to do all my build work by myself. Contractors are either non-existent in this post-pandemic marketplace, or they have so much work they are 3 months out! I'll be posting up here as I make progress... and hope to be completed by Thanksgiving 2021.

As a side note, 2 of my local courses that I have a season-pass to, both told me today they are closed for the season! Bummer, but not to worry, now that my Golf Sim dream is about to become reality! I will be preparing this Sim for 2 LMs, the first being a ProTee (sensor/optical-camera based unit with 2 sensors one for hitting, the other for putting) which I have purchased about 2 years ago, as well as the TGC2019 license. The second LM will be setup for the Garmin Approach R10 (radar based unit) which was purchased about 1 month ago - I tested it on the range, and into a net in my backyard at 8' from the ball-to-net and it gave very good accuracy.

Here are the basics... I've tried to consider other Sim builds in our previous house (2nd floor $45k, Basement $15k, and possibly shed, but never got that far). After all the hassle and trouble of considering it, finally decided to move to a house that had 'potential' for the Golf Sim I've always wanted. It has a 12'x16' Gambrel roof shed already constructed in the back and just steps away from our back door... now - to solve the other issue... it was setup with a garage door in it and has 3 ceiling joists (limiting the ceiling height). Not to worry, I've already removed garage door, and will soon be cutting down ceiling joists which I don't believe do anything for the structure as the load on a gambrel roof is carried down the sides and I'm sitting on concrete. The snow load I've watched over the last 2 winters is minimal as it all melts and slides down the steep roof slope.

Here were the starting pics... Prior to September 2021...

[Rlefig]

excellent work Brettster I am just starting to hang drywall now in the garage

[Brettster]

Great Rlefig I remember the drywall days! Not one of my favorites... I hope your weather is good for cutting/snapping drywall outside - as that's the only way to do it cleanly without filling your sim with dust... Good luck I would just recommend a good drywall square (4') and a sharp razor knife for cutting (stanley or other).

[Rlefig]

Some of the prep is done inside some out. 1/2 way completed then taping and mudding and cleaning cement floor to lay down foam floor squares

[Brettster]

@Riefig - I should have mentioned this to you, maybe it's too late, but I decided I did not want to 'mud' and sand my drywall getting dust all over everything in my Sim room - after I already had Turf down, so I found 2 amazing things to handle that for me, no sanding required:

1.) These self-adhesive patches cover up sloppy cuts (which most of mine are) around outlet boxes and switch boxes allowing you to screw a cover over the top and not have any opening in the drywall showing through - nearly impossible to make those cuts in 4'x8' drywall:

Find the drywall patches here:

https://tinyurl.com/DrywallOutletSwitchCoverPatch

2.) By the same company, this Drywall tape covers seams and corner seams of drywall the same way as the patch. By taping up one side (after folding the tape in 1/2 and removing the sticky protector down 1/2 the tape), then doing the same for the other side of a corner, you can completely cover an ugly drywall seam without anything showing (the tape has feathered edges on both sides making it look like it might have been painted there, or mudded).

Consider this 2" wide drywall seam tape:

https://tinyurl.com/StressCrackTape50ftx2inch

By using these two things - I've been able to cover up my ugly drywall job without applying any mud, or sanding at all! I know some 'remodelers' look down on this practice - but for me it's a lifesaver as I cannot handle the dust and allergy reaction it produces when sanding mud applied to drywall board.

Really one of the most difficult tasks now that I think about it - and it took me many days, probably over 1 week to finish. The weather has an effect on that as well as you need good weather, not too hot/cold, and with ZERO wind, or you end up losing your drywall to the wind, or have it swung out of your arms as you try to cut it, a real challenge!

[Rlefig]

Brettster thanks, I am totally going to use it. I was going to tape and mud later but this will be way easier.

here are some pics

[Brettster]

Rlefig - good job on drywall, looks about like mine before I tape/patch it... Yep, it is way easier to use the patches/tape than crazy mud and sandpaper!

Keep us posted - maybe you should create your own 'Build' post to keep track of things as you move along, as I did. It kept me motivated for a long time.

[DCD2G]

Great job on the garage build! Doing your own contractor work can be a challenge but you're getting it done! Keep the midnight oil burning on these cold nights!

[Brettster]

Time for another post (as I'm at the very end of my build). Let's call this part 1 of the Screen tightening/setup. There is at least another post earlier where I show the screen in place, but that was just for me to know it would work there, and that balls hit into it would drop as expected. This one will also show quite a bit of wrinkling / as I am steaming out wrinkles and creases in 2 screens: my impact screen and a white photo backdrop that I bought to protect the impact screen and hang in front of it. Works like a charm

There are a lot of pictures here, so I'll likely split this up into a few posts... and then one last 'part 2' post in a few days once I'm done with the tightening where I can really show off the image and screen and how well it's doing in my Sim.

This first batch shows where I had to unclip (the tarp clips) down the edges, and the top of both screens so I could lower them about 8" or so. This is so they will fit underneath my turf which runs about 1" further back toward the wall from where the eyebolts are mounted that are tightening the screen, with the ball bungees. I will also indicate all of the items I used. You can see from these pics how much different in coloring (how much brighter / white) the photo backdrop is compared to my 801 (3 layer impact screen) which is more of a cream/beige color. Then there are several pics of me showing the wrinkles, creases and folds in the actual impact screen - that is back behind the photo backdrop (bit darker with images, as I had to get my camera in between.







Here is the steamer I then used throughout both screens (pictures of wrinkle free will follow in part 2)



Finally here are some images of how the software looks projected (when it still had wrinkles and before this process, final pics will follow in part 2)



With these last 2 pics I left the curtain pulled back from my window on the side, to show how the image is still passable and fairly decent even with that much light coming into the room.

Finally here's some pics of how the Garmin Home Tee Hero (HTH) looks from a screenshot on my phone... you can get a pretty good idea of how more 'cartoon' like it is, compared to the E6 picture



That should give you a fairly basic idea of the screen - BEFORE I DE-WRINKLED and removed Creases... Part 2 I will show you the final end screen, after I've stretched it down below the turf (and mounted it), and all wrinkles and creases are removed...

[Rlefig]

Hi Brettster I am still working on build. Currently my impact screen is just hanging on an 1/2" EMT rod, I am thinking of getting it bungeed to the sides as well. The impact screen is only 6 inches from drywall, I have padding in between drywall and screen. I will need to see how this is going to work. This project is just taking too long lol

[Brettster]

Hey Rlefig - I think you're going to see that you require side bungees - that's the only way to get it tight enough to make the screen wrinkle proof and smooth.

6" from drywall - that's impressive! I have multiple 2x4 studs (4 of them to be exact) so that I can mount eye bolts at
-----------------
1.) 5" from back wall,
2.) 6 1/2" from back wall,
3.) 8" (where I am now) from back wall
4.) 9 1/2" from back wall...

I think I have a post in this thread showing the multiple studs before I put up drywall over it. I thought that would give me the most reasonable locations to mount at, right now I'm at 8" and gives me a good balance to protect drywall behind it without really anything else behind my 3-layer 801 impact screen. I did add some gutter foam down low as I have 3 or 4 holes in my back wall from low stingers pushing right through the screen. I placed 10' EMT (1/2") pipe at the bottom of my screen - will be mounting that on 2 corners with pipe clamps and still dreaming up what I will use (velcro likely) in the middle.

But, what I am doing also, is cutting away some of my 1/2" gym foam puzzle piece tiles that are directly under the turf and getting that EMT pipe pushed all the way under my putting turf at the bottom of my screen (after I wrap impact screen + photo backdrop around the bottom of it). What that does is make sure no 'worm burners' end up hitting any of the metal piping down there and ricocheting anywhere. I want to know I'm safe hitting any kind of ball/or mis-hitting any kind of ball without worrying about getting beaned on the head, leg, chest, etc... that way I'll have confidence, and anyone else that comes over, to swing away! So, I could consider moving my screens back to the 6 1/2" position (from back wall), just to see, or even the 5" position (from back wall), but I get the feeling I'll have to place some memory foam mattress in the main impact screen/ball hitting area where the scuff marks appear most - to protect back wall doing that, but maybe not - I've been really safe so far at 8", may be worth a try?

[ri3eboi]

Love this thread, thank you for sharing your DIY journey with all of us! Hope your sim has been up and running and you have been enjoying it! Would love to see the final finished setup!

Quick question, your shed is 12' x 16', are you hitting off center? How is 12' width treating you? Are you worried about hitting anything with your driver swings?

[Brettster]

Thanks ri3eboi - I have been enjoying it, just one last part to finish up, actually 3, now that I think of it:
--------

1.) Need to install a second piece of 1/2" EMT (10' long) at the bottom of the screen - back along the wall behind screen. I will then wrap the impact screen & the photo backdrop around that and pull it tight with tarp-clips and ball bungees - this will take all the wrinkles out of the screen - those that you see.

2.) I realized that my mini-split and area around it (lineset, etc), are getting soaked because I don't have gutters on my shed. I've been looking at other sheds in my neighborhood - most of which are garden sheds and some do have gutters on both sides of the roof. I've ordered some contemporary (u-shaped) vinyl gutters that I will mount and drain down to the ground away from the mini-split. It was hard to get a good feel for this until after our first snow (a few days ago) - as I could not tell how the snow melt was going to affect it.

3.) Need to buy a new laptop to actually run ProTee/TGC2019 as I found my Lenovo Desktop I had purchased is not able to run ProTee properly with all of the USB interfaces to cameras... So disappointed, but realizing now, I could really use that space where the 'desk' takes up 2'x2' in one corner of the Sim. If I buy a laptop instead, I can place it on a wall-mounted desk and take up zero floor space, and open up my sim to at least one other person being able to tolerate being in my Sim room with me while playing....

I hope to have all of this work done by end of Thanksgiving weekend...

Quick question, your shed is 12' x 16', are you hitting off center? How is 12' width treating you? Are you worried about hitting anything with your driver swings?

Oh, yes, it's very tight and I'm off-center - I think by a good 18"-20". It's enough that I'm fairly close to the right wall, especially if I put in another hitting strip to the right of the current one, for use as different turf (hopefully a tri-turf, which is: fairway/first cut/rough).

The 12' width is the bare minimum I would recommend, actually I'm at 11'5" once the walls were finished (the outside dimensions are 12'x16').

Am I worried about hitting anything with Driver swings? No, I've thoroughly tested and measured swings in that space. I've filmed my swing to measure where it peaks over head for backswing/follow-through and I even built a mockup of my Mini-Split (head unit inside) and tested swings with driver to make sure I am far enough away from the mini-split - it's in just the right spot. That is one of the frustrations of such a small space - some things HAVE to be in the right spot, or you could hit a lot of things with your Driver Swings... that part takes a lot of planning/drawing/measuring and even 'chalking' on the concrete floor - before installing the subfloor on where the hitting area would be. I'm glad I took all that time, as I've got it just right on where I want everything, including where I placed the window, where the door is, etc.

It's been as lot of challenges in making sure that I would not hit anything - as that is also a big part of being comfortable swinging in a space that small. You have to trust that you got it right and you can't hit anything, even with a really poor swing (which happens sometimes)!

[luckypete72]

Been following this thread for a while...

I'm really looking forward to seeing the pictures of the de-wrinkled screen as I have a couple still in the screen I got from Carl's place...so looking to use that steamer idea!!!

[Brettster]

Almost there luckypete72, hope to finish up the bottom mount - maybe this weekend... The steamer is great, takes any active wrinkles out with a few passes - then go back and do it again next day if they still show up: https://tinyurl.com/PortableHandheldSteamer

[Brettster]

luckypete72 - finally got it finished... I will be de-wrinkling one more time, but here's the screens being installed:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=382241#post382241

and one post later I'm showing the looks with lighting off/on in the space. I still will de-wrinkle one more time, likely I will post pics after that final de-wrinkle. I highly recommend the clothing steamer I am using, this one:

https://tinyurl.com/PortableHandheldSteamer

[deepakvrao]

Which screen is this?

[Brettster]

deepakvrao - there are 2 screens I am mounting. The main impact screen (in the back - the light creme color) is the 801 seconds screen from 1Stop Sim Shop, at: https://tinyurl.com/screen-801-3layer-seconds , but in front of that I placed a bright-white Photo Backdrop screen for protection of the 801, and to present a whiter/cleaner image for movies that I can replace easily/quickly for around $25, this one: https://tinyurl.com/photobackdrop10x12

[Brettster]

deepakvrao - I'm done and you can see the final install at the post below. In that post you can see how I had to use a special technique with homemade 'center supports' and an additional EMT pipe along the bottom - to hold the screen along bottom and stop any 'billowing of the White Photo Backdrop screen (basically like a bed sheet) & the Impact Screen. In the post after, this one, see the screen in use in projection mode:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=382292#post382292

[Brettster]

Hello Everyone, sorry for long delay - I've had so much going on, but now I'm going to cover:

Screen Updates...

I was finally able to sneak in some time on getting my screen in good order in Simulator Shed. This is going to be 2 posts - this one where I talk about how I used (2) specific (and homemade) center support posts (behind the screen), and how the top/bottom are anchored. I believe I've already covered the side anchoring - which is done pretty much the same (both sides) using tarp clips and ball bungees.

I'm going to start with showing the 2 - center supports. These are homemade from 1/2" plastic electrical conduit (not metal) as it allows you to 'notch' it in just the right spot. These 2 center supports were inspired by HowardL (thank you), as he had tested and proven that they prevent your screen from 'billowing' at the bottom of the screen - if you do not have any way of securing the bottom. Here's a pic of those 2 Center Supports (they are about 8" long each, and notched to fit into the 1/2" metal EMT pipe which runs along the bottom of the screen.



You can see how the supports are 8" long: one end is notched to fit into the 1/2" metal EMT mounted on the floor, the other end is mounted into a shower curtain rod holder that is screwed to the back wall (approx. 8" away and angled, mounted about 6" above the floor.

Here are some pics of how it looks along the back wall - remember I have only 8" here to work in - so it's always a 'pain' to get back in there and do work. Th




In these pictures you see - 1.) the mounting of 2 (1/2") EMT pipes (10' long), one is mounted about 8" away from the wall, the other is mounted directly against the back wall.

This allows the screen to be wrapped under the front-most EMT pipe, and to be pulled back toward the wall to secure it with bungee ball loops and tarp clips. For this one I used some different Tarp Clips which are a little wider and seem to be a little more 'heavy duty' than the ones I used on the side - It seems to be working. If I did not have this secured properly - I would still see 'billowing effect' of the screen billowing out in the front - after as few as 9 holes of Sim Golf played, it was a real nuisance.

So, the Center supports can also be seen in these pictures - and what they help to do is secure the EMT pipe directly under the screen, in the middle. This 1/2" EMT pipe is only mounted down to the floor on the sides - to allow for the screen to fit underneath it and be pulled (stretched) toward the back wall to hold it in place. When you only mount the 1/2" EMT pipe on the sides, you are going to get a lot of 'flex' or movement in the middle as balls hit the screen, because there is nothing holding the pipe forward. The homemade center supports solve that problem by 'tensioning' the screen and holding it forward - by pushing it foward from the back wall - this is the main thing preventing any billowing, and it seems to work perfectly.

There is only one problem I have with it - in that the center supports which are notched - at one point, do seem to push the screen forward (about 1" above the surface of the floor), which is just above my putting turf. It's really not noticeable at this point - and I may do something about that in the future, like cut my putting turf away from the area... anyway, the turf is laying just above the 1/2" EMT pipe at the bottom of the screen - and that prevents ball ricochet - as there will never be a ball that can get that low (it would have to go under the turf) to hit the EMT pipe there.

The screen then is pulled back with tarp clips and secured along the back wall with about 8-10 tarp clips and bungee ball cords holding it in place.

Now we get to the top of the screen. This is secured with tiny little (look like 1/2" clips that you pickup):

Here's how that works out:







Notice that hanging down in front of the wire that is tightened across the top - this is my baffle system. At this point which is directly in front of the wire, there is 5" wide Gutter Foam inserted all along the 10' width of the screen to provide weight to hold the baffle cloth (Commando Cloth) in place and to act as a buffer to stop any balls that may hit the tensioned wire, and try to come back at you - that never happens.

Here now is the final look with everything in place (notice I still need to use my Steamer and make a few minor adjustments - but overall looks pretty good.



I will do a little more cleanup, but also what you are seeing here - is that I have 2 layers of screens. I actually have one nice 801 (3-layer) impact screen that is wrapped around the bottom of the 1/2" EMT pipe and pulled back with the tarp clips to keep it tight. Now, what I did was leave the next layer - which is a Photo Backdrop cloth hanging just above the top of the turf - and NOT trying to pull it under the EMT pipe and secure it with the 801 impact screen - I think that was another problem that caused billowing. This way it hangs just above the top of the turf, and is flexible to just float there, it doesn't seem to billow out and works well. It also protects the actual impact screen from 'ball burn' which is noticeable all over the white Photo Backdrop in the hitting area.

The next post I will show how this looks with projected images and actual Sim Golf being played I'll get that up tomorrow... along with links to all the products I used on this post...

Thanks for reading...
-Brett

[Brettster]

This is the 2nd post on my Screen Mounting update...

This is to show you some pics of how the screen looks during actual play, with different lighting turned on, to show you the effect on the screen with some lighting on/off.
I have 2 Halogen Spots mounted over the ProTee hitting mat, and ProTee putting mat. I also have 2 LED bulbs (60W daylight), mounted directly above and behind the hitting mat.

[Brettster]

I'm testing out a several hitting strips/mats, as I hope to drop in one of these strips - if I switch up my Launch Monitor (from ProTee). As you can see in the earlier pics - the ProTee hitting sensor is FiberBuilt and it works very well for me. I know the holes all around it bother some people, but I've had good luck hitting from it and the holes are required to measure club data - without stickers.

I also noticed a post about lofted wedges getting (backspin 10,000) measured on the Garmin Approach R10 which I wanted to try to duplicate.

Here are pictures of 2 different hitting strips I tested laying next to a stance mat (5x5) that I laid down over the top of my turf so I could get close to the same height as the hitting strip next to it. The stance mat is: 1 5/8"-1 6/8" height, the Holy Grail Hitting strip is 1 5/8" height, and the SIG Softy is 2 1/2" height. This height difference can all be adjusted when I cut-out and permanently place the hitting strip, and a big piece of the stance mat, as I have different depths of turf, gym mat, underlayment for floor and then insulation before I get to the concrete floor base.

I was hitting with this configuration with different heights of the Garmin Approach R10 raised off the turf at the back of the room (behind this camera point). Some people have reported that raising the R10 up to 2' or 3' above the turf leads to more accurate measurements. I tried it at several heights: 4", 8", 16", 20", 24" above the turf and it did not do anything for increasing backspin, actually the backspin was a lower number. During this time I was also positioning the ball at different locations on these hitting strips - to try to get more distance (ball - to screen) thinking that would give me higher backspin numbers.


(hitting strips laid over top of my putting turf) (Garmin Approach R10 view - ball is 1 5/8" above turf) (Stance mat, Holy Grail strip, and SIG Softy strip)

That did not work either, as I got closer and closer to the back of where these strips are, and I was also hitting off the Fiberbuilt (ProTee hitting sensor) which was directly under the Holy Grail strip in the picture, I could position the ball very close to the back edge of the hitting sensor (which is a 15" closer to the R10 - giving me a 'not recommended' 5'1", from R10 to ball). Which resulted in me clipping the edge of my putting turf with wedge swings and - as can be seen in this picture, scratching and causing buildup from the vinyl turf on the sole of the wedge!



Now, during this time, I came to the realization to stop moving backward and to get the ball positioned at the 'recommended' 6' from R10 which I took down from the boxes I was using to elevate it and put it into the 'recessed opening' I had cut out previously and already prepared for where it would sit, 'into the wall'. This allows me to position the ball on the hitting mats, at about 15" forward from the back of the hitting strip (where the tee is positioned in the ProTee Hitting sensor) which I had calculated when I cut the hole to drop in the ProTee sensor. So, it really gives me about another 3"-4" of space which I can position the ball in, to get to exactly 6' from Garmin Approach R10 (to Ball), as seen in these pictures.



You can see that I used shims for the back tripod leg of the Garmin Approach R10 and that the front legs are sitting on the rim of that 'access panel frame' where I cut the hole for it into the wall.

As it turns out this exact distance of 6' worked to some extent as I was able to get higher backspin numbers from that point. I was still not able to get to 10,000 backspin. But, I can get to 8,800, 8,900. Hitting the ball from the hitting strips with the R10 in this position. It did not make any difference at all which hitting strip I used, the Fiberbuilt, Holy Grail and SIG Softy all returned numbers in this higher range, though the typical numbers were in the upper 7,000's (7700, 7600, etc).

There are still 2 unknown factors that are affecting my ball strikes and backspin numbers, those 2 factors are
1.) the post indicating higher backspins is using different equipment. (Ping Glide 58 degree wedge) and I am using (Titleist Vokey 60 degree wedge),
2.) the post that indicated 10,000 numbers was at 9'4" from (ball to screen) and I cannot get any farther from ball (to screen) than the 8'4".

That distance (8'4") is the maximum allowed for me to still have 6' distance (Ball to R10) BACK to the Garmin Approach R10. Requiring me to move the screen back further (and that's not possible as I'm 8" from the back wall already - I could move it 3" at most, to see what that does), but I will never be able to move it enough to get further distance... as the distances (Ball to Screen, and Ball to R10) show in this picture (this is a limitation of my total depth of 15'4"):


(On the left is the tape measuring distance to the ball (from the R10), and on the right is the tape measuring distance to the screen (from the ball).

Let me say some comparisons of the hitting strips I used:
1.) Fiberbuilt - very durable, never notice any fibers coming off - and ZERO wrist pain, unless I completely bottomed out which happened very, very rarely. But as others have stated - it's like hitting off a broom. I'm not sure that fat shots are penalized as much as they are with the other strips, but do enjoy that there is never any pain, regardless of if I hit 200-300 balls. Not the best/most accurate feel of hitting turf I would say, as it feels every time like I'm hitting off a perfect fairway, or even a tee.

2.) Holy Grail - this became my favorite. I could notice fat shots real easily, and ZERO pain, even if I bottomed out. But, attention does have to be paid to positioning the ball somewhere near the middle of the hitting strip (from back to front), as your forgiveness levels change as you get closer to the front, or back of the hitting strip.

3.) SIG Softy - my least favorite. Way too much grab when I hit balls off this one. Caused some pain even with a few swings... one caveat I was not mounted in a fixed hole in my turf, but was sitting on top of the Fiberbuilt, so that might have had something to do with it. Also, I did not notice as much the fat penalty, or spin reducing on this strip.

I hope that helps anyone out, that is wanting to look at accuracy of Garmin Approach R10, and compare hitting strips for Spin Numbers (especially backspin).
-Brett