Back Yard Simulator

[Lou3824]

Hello all, new member here.

So, I've started a build in my yard with a Flightscope Mevo and I just wanted to share.

I am a former contractor (forced to get out of the business because of an injury) in the Philadelphia area. Due to a lack of ceiling height in my house, I can't do an inside simulator. So, I wanted to build a stand alone structure that could be used all year for a simulator. Problem is, the local township won't allow me to build anything permanent on the property. I am allowed to build a patio however. So, I've started a 12' x 20' patio. It will just be a simple 4" concrete slab. I currently have it dug out and formed up for concrete. I'm pouring the concrete tomorrow morning. The slab won't be perfectly level since I need to allow for drainage. I have to give it a very slight pitch, 1/16" per foot is all I'm using. I'm hoping that won't be an issue with the Mevo. The pitch will follow the 12 foot dimension and not the 20. So, if you picture a line from the screen, through the hitting area, to where the Mevo will sit, it will be level all along that line. Hope that makes sense...

Once the patio is done. I plan to cover the whole thing in some type of turf. Right now, my plan is to go with https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMaster-Fescue-Multipurpose-12-ft-Wide-x-Cut-to-Length-Green-Artificial-Grass-Carpet-TMCSBRN4212CTL/313236731 I'm going to order a 12x20 roll of it and then cut out a 5x5 section for a hitting mat (Dura-Pro Perfect Reaction mat) that I already have. The heights seem similar, but I'll use some type of padding if needed to get them even. When all is said and done, I'll have about 19 feet from the Mevo to the hitting screen. I'll center my hitting mat in that 19 feet. Mevo wants at least 8 feet and I'll have roughly 9.5 feet from the Mevo to the ball, and then roughly 9.5 feet of ball flight. So I should be good. If anyone has a better suggestion for the turf, I'll gladly take any advice you may have as I've not ordered the Traffic Master yet.

The next step is an enclosure. I have to make it temporary to satisfy the township. So, I'm thinking about one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...1I2ZT4CIB&th=1 Its technically a temporary carport/tent. I plan to anchor it to the slab and tie/brace as needed to make it resistant to the elements. Wind will be my biggest hurdle, but tapcons and tie down straps should allow me to get around that, hopefully. The sides are removable for spring/summer/fall. In the winter, I'll put the sides on it and then use a small propane camping heater that I already have to slightly warm the interior. Nothing crazy, just enough to take the chill out. Maybe get it to the high 50's/low 60's in terms of temperature. The high point of the tent will be 11 feet high. So, as long as I hit from the center, I should have about 10 feet of clearance for my club. This is the best temporary solution I have come up with so far. Again, I'm open to any suggestions, but I think it should work fairly well.

Inside the tent, I'll figure out how I'm going to attach netting and a screen after its built. I won't use any of the tent to actually stop balls as I doubt it would hold up well. I should be able to hang a hitting screen that is at least 8x10. I'll probably build a frame out of conduit or pvc for the screen and keep it about a foot off of the back wall of the tent. Then I'll install netting on the 2 sides and above. I have a projector already and I'll rig something up to hang it off one of the poles in the ceiling.

When I'm finally done, my costs should be reasonable too.
$2,000 for the Mevo
$800+/- for the slab
$600+/- for the carport enclosure
$600+/- for the turf
$400+/- for the hitting screen
$500+/- for the netting and other miscellaneous things.

So about $4,900 for everything. Just don't see the point investing in high end materials for something that is going to live in the yard. I'd much rather have something a lot higher end, but this is all I can come up with because of the township. The local building inspector is really strict and I can't cheat in any way.

Very curious as to what everyone thinks. Am I crazy??? Probably, but I think its going to work.

[Venom]

I think your underestimating the cold weather. I live in the northeast like you. I have a structure in the backyard that I use for my golf simulator. When the temperature dips below freezing, it gets plenty cold in there. My little heater struggles to make it toasty in there. I can usually get the temp up 10-15 degrees. Maybe a bit more on non windy days. Windy days forget it. I would imagine for that to work your heater will have to be major league. especially since you’ll be using a tent which will have no insulation.

[g_gryphon]

I don’t think you’ll be hitting from center. Your swing high point will be in the center but your ball will be displaced to the right of center line (assuming RH) in a 12’ space. There have been two active threads lately dealing with 12’ wide sims. Check out the thread by Brettster for his 12’ x 16’ space and tullgolf for his 12’ x 20’ space. Both have setup their hitting zones offset from center.

[Brettster]

Yep, you're off-center and you have to be with 12' width. I could measure (I did last night) and I am 43.5" from the right side (93.5" from left) where the ball sets up (teeing area). - because it was quite a pain to measure that exact spot, but I had to worry about having only 10' of height in the center 6' with my Gambrel Roof shed.

Check out my full post here and you'll see what I mean Lou3824 :

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally

Let me know if you have any questions...

[g_gryphon]

Brettster “worry about having only 10' of height in the center 6' with my Gambrel Roof shed.” Whoa, wait, are you running into problems with 10’? I’m planning the same size space with the same type of roof, so this statement has me a little worried.

[Brettster]

g_gryphon - no, it's not a problem, 10' is plenty high enough. The issue is that with that 10' height spanning the middle/center 6' of a 12' shed, you have to make sure your club reaches it's peak in that area - that's where the measurements came from.

You have to be careful and take some real swings in there before deciding on where you're going to 'cut your hitting area'/'stance mat' into your turf. I even went as far as filming my backswing with my iPhone and measuring where my club was reaching the peak height of my swing (in backswing) and how far that is back from the back heels of my feet (when in Driver stance). I did that to make sure I was over far enough in the 'offset' (or close enough to the right side wall) that it would have that 10' height above me when taking my full swing. I suggest you do the same - and then measure accordingly when cutting your hitting area into the floor. As you know - this was also an issue when it came to the mini-split, as it had to be hung on the wall directly behind me high up on the wall (at 6'-7' height), and it sticks out a good 1 foot into the room... as your club comes around, depending on the type of swing you have, it flattens out, then arcs back to full height, so you have to be careful to get the right measurement - you don't want any chance of your clubs (or any of your buddies clubs that may come over) in dinging any equipment (mini-split), or ceiling rafters when they come down to meet the roof line at the top of the wall (at around 7').

What I suggest you do is film your swing from 'down-the-line', find a spot on the ceiling in your video where you can mark your driver reaching it's peak and mark it with a pencil. Measure the distance from the back heels of your feet in your stance to a plumb-line you drop down from that ceiling mark to find out exactly how far behind your heels - your driver reaches it's peak above your head - I think mine was around 2' (24"). Then I went out to my Simulator/shed and dropped down a hitting mat (12"x24" strip) where I thought I could make that swing. Take your stance, and then measure that distance you found that your driver reaches it's peak behind you on the floor, such as 24", now look up, and see if you're still in that center 6' (or 8') peak area of your ceiling/roof line so that you have clearance for your driver. Or, better, take some real swings there, to see how much clearance there is... that's what I did... as it put my peak in an area that was slightly outside of the 10' ceiling peak - but still in an area where it was high enough to not be a problem.

The only way you're going to know for sure, is to make those measurements and try real swings in your Simulator space before you finish your work in the space. Check it and see - by taking real swings in there - then you'll be good It's not as hard as it sounds above... believe me, I just took it to an extreme because I wanted to be sure.... before I cut the mat.

[Lou3824]

I think your underestimating the cold weather. I live in the northeast like you. I have a structure in the backyard that I use for my golf simulator. When the temperature dips below freezing, it gets plenty cold in there. My little heater struggles to make it toasty in there. I can usually get the temp up 10-15 degrees. Maybe a bit more on non windy days. Windy days forget it. I would imagine for that to work your heater will have to be major league. especially since you’ll be using a tent which will have no insulation.

I already have the heater and use it for camping now. We've run it in tents when the temps were below freezing and we actually had to turn it off because it got too warm inside. I think it maxes out at 30,000 BTUs. I'm not looking for toasty, so 10-15 degrees is probably all I'm going to need. Thanks to global warming, it doesn't really get all that cold here in Philly all that much. Most days in January and February have daytime highs of around 40+. When we do get really cold days, if the heater can't raise the temps enough, I'll just golf another day. Not a big deal. I'll see how that plays out, but I'm not worried about it as I don't need to golf everyday. Hitting balls about 10 days in January would make me happy and I think that's doable.

[Venom]

In NY 40’s in January is a heat wave.

[Lou3824]

I don’t think you’ll be hitting from center. Your swing high point will be in the center but your ball will be displaced to the right of center line (assuming RH) in a 12’ space. There have been two active threads lately dealing with 12’ wide sims. Check out the thread by Brettster for his 12’ x 16’ space and tullgolf for his 12’ x 20’ space. Both have setup their hitting zones offset from center.

You may be right on not hitting from center. I'm not going to commit to anything until the tent is up. I'll play around with moving the hitting mat until I get it just right. I'll definitely look through those threads, thanks...

[Travrav40]

If you are going with Mevo plus it’s on sale right now from flightscope web site can save a bit on your build. Next sale is probably Father’s Day.

[Lou3824]

If you are going with Mevo plus it’s on sale right now from flightscope web site can save a bit on your build. Next sale is probably Father’s Day.

Thanks for that, but I already bought the unit. I have to admit that I'm a little intimidated by it because I'm not very good with tech. When I can't get something to work, my typical solution for most of my life was to go get a bigger hammer and bash the crap out of it. Not an option here obviously...

Update:

I poured the slab on Tuesday morning and set up my Spornia-8 net and my hitting mat yesterday. Nothing in my yard was even close to flat before I poured the slab, so it was really enjoyable to have everything setup on a level surface and hit some balls. I have a 12x20 roll of Grizzly Grass coming today. I'm just going to lay that down for now. I'll take some photos later today and post them.

I'll just keep adding things little by little until I get it all done. I'm already realizing that I under estimated the cost of things. My hitting mat is 1-5/8" thick and the Grizzly Grass is only 1/4". So, to make everything even its going to be far more involved than I originally thought. I've decided to go with an exterior grade gym tile that is 1-1/4" thick. They are going to take 2 weeks to come in and are far more expensive than I realized. Haven't pulled the trigger on them yet, but most likely will soon. Just want to look around a bit first. With the tiles, the 2 surfaces will be within an 1/8" of each other and I'll probably just live with that slight difference.

I'm kicking around a few different ideas for changes to the enclosure, but I'm going to focus on getting the surface 100% done before I commit to anything.

[g_gryphon]

I'm already realizing that I under estimated the cost of things.

Haha, I'm pretty sure that's what 99% of everyone that has put together a sim on here has thought! I'm planning one right now and the costs are already creeping higher and higher.

[Brettster]

Exactly Lou3824 and g_gryphon - when I'm all finished I plan on putting together a 'final bill' which will likely be about 50% over my budgeted amount, most of which came from so many things popping up you could never think of when you start! Enjoy the ride.

[Travrav40]

Once you get the process down on your setup it’s very repeatable and you will get the hang of it in no time. Even when firmware is updated you just open the FS golf app and it updates. The steps to start it at first are intimidating because it’s new to you, but now I can have everything going in 2 minutes.

[Lou3824]

I haven't had time to get back to post a follow up. Work and building the simulator has taken up all my time lately. Anyway, wanted to share a crappy (my phone takes lousy images) photo of where I'm at with things.

Had a long talk with the local inspector and ended up changing the design of everything. I switched everything to a lean to. I ended up building an awning above the patio that I poured. Its 12 feet high where it meets the building, and 9 feet high at the perimeter. I could only go 9 feet in order to get some pitch for the roof. I built the frame for everything with 1" emt. Since its all screwed together and can technically be taken down rather easily, the inspector considers it temporary and not a permanent structure.

I ordered a waterproof shade sail that doesn't have a curve on the sides. I pulled it really tight and the water runs off perfectly. My patio is 12 inches off the back of my house and its 12 feet wide. That gives me a simulator that is basically 13 feet wide by 20 feet in length. I used 1.5 inch eva (supposedly waterproof) gym tiles on top of the slab. I cut out for the hitting mat and then installed Grizzly grass over the tiles. I just got the projector installed tonight and I'm pretty happy with it. Its far from perfect, but its functional. My screen is a 9x12 ProScreen and you can see in the photo that the image from the projector takes up most of that 9x12. I figure its about a 160" image, give or take...

Just wanted to share...

As the summer turns to fall, I'm going to figure out a temporary way to install sidewalls so I can heat it a little bit in the winter. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I just want to hit balls...

[Brettster]

Lou3824 - awesome job at tackling the task, no matter what the limitations! Sounds like a real pain dealing with building inspections. Good luck and keep going!

Thanks,
-Brett