SteveMac Garage Sim Build

[SteveMac]

I really enjoy reading all of the builds on this forum. My build started two years ago, with an OptiShot and I got many of my ideas here before I was even a member. I was out of golf for ten years due to several hip surgeries. I knew I wanted to eventually get back into golf, and this past year I hit the course for a trial run. It wasn't pretty, so I decided that since I had the hitting area squared away, that I would upgrade from the OptiShot.

The OptiShot was fun, but I soon got tired of the misreads and inaccurate shots we would get with the device reading only the clubhead. One of the more frustrating things was a topped fairway or driver shot that should have gone 50 yards, but the sensors would read a "fast clubhead" and you'd end up with a topped 5-wood showing a 275 yard carry.

I looked at several options, but the fact that I have several lefty players who come over, made me finally land on the Mevo Plus. In doing so, I needed to revamp a few things in my hitting area, so I thought I'd share my setup, and while there won't be any amazing revelations here, some small thing may help someone else in their build someday.



Here is an image of my original layout with the OptiShot.

[SteveMac]

So, my wife and I live in a barndominium. If you don't know what that it, it is the exterior of a metal building with the interior finished out to be a house. While building the dwelling, I did make an oversized garage, that is now jam packed. But hey, I have the sim at least!

I began by tearing out the OptiShot setup and moving the hitting screen back a couple of feet to get the distances required for the Mevo.

My setup:

• 14x19 hitting area.
• Carl's 8x10 enclosure.
• Tall Boy® Golf Mats 4' x 12' Premium Turf Mat
• Flightscope Mevo Plus (8' LM-to-tee, 11' tee-to-screen)
• ProV1x RCT Balls
• Acer - Nitro 5 - 15.6" FHD Gaming Laptop – Intel Core i5 – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti - 16GB RAM
• E6 basic
• TGC2019

I repurposed the old desk elsewhere and began the retro...
The cutout for the OptiShot presented a bit of a problem, but since my mat is glued down to horse-stall mats, I decided to cut down the mat and make two hitting stances out of it. Then I put down some new horse stall mats to create a "+" pattern and purchased new mats for the Mevo hitting and putting area.

[SteveMac]

I wanted the Mevo+ to sit firmly on the mat and I wanted it to be relatively "fixed" so that I didn't have to recalibrate when we went from lefty to righty.

The Mevo+ stands from dads3dcreations on eBay looked like a good fit, so I picked one up. I like the stand, but it is lightweight and didn't sit particularly well on the plush mat.

Using a trick I learned from working on hotrods, I set the stand where I wanted it and then I marked where the 3 adjustable legs were on the mat. I then took a piece of 1/2" EMT conduit and heated it with a propane torch, melted the carpet down to the horse stall mat and those holes allowed the 3 legs on the stand to find their way down to the firm horse stall mat. Voila, a more solid foundation, that I haven't had to worry about since. The Mevo keeps the tilt, roll and angle almost perfectly each time I fire it up. This little trick results in the carpet fibers melting while the holes are punched in, and thereby reduces fraying of the fibers. Super easy and a very clean look.

[SteveMac]

Next, I was on the path of defining the hitting area for the Mevo+. I found a good angle for my little LED spotlight above the projector. It created this half-moon effect where the point of the apex on the forward arch is perfectly centered and is 8' from the Mevo+.

The squared off rear portion of the illumination is a good point of reference for putts.

So far everyone who has come over, has really liked the simplicity.

[SteveMac]

My impact screen is from Carl's. I really like the screen and the enclosure, but it is showing some sagging. I have it stretched as far as I can within the existing frame. I think if I had made the EMT sections, to where the frame was about 3-4 inches taller and wider, that I could stretch it out some more, but what I have is 8'x10' and when the actual images are projected on the screen the few wrinkles blend away. I may do something with it down the road, but for now, she stays.

[SteveMac]

Next, if I was going to use this more in an attempt to improve, then I needed some more heat in the hitting area. I do have a Mr Heater propane in the corner, that I use to help bring the temp up, but I needed something to better moderate the temp, so I picked up a heater from Northern Tools that is made for the garage. Since this was a retrofit, I didn't want to have to worry about venting and running gas lines, so I opted for a 240V heater. On month-to-month basis, it will be more costly than a gas heater, but with my all-in cost being much lower, I can live with that added expense for the 3-4 months I will use it. I now keep the garage in the upper 50's on a regular basis and push it into the 60's when using the sim. This was a great improvement, and the heater was an easy install for a DIY guy.

[SteveMac]

So, that is pretty much the extent of my build. I was a bit concerned about the couple of feet that I had to steal for the Mevo+ requirements. Even with the OptiShot setup, space was at a premium in the winter months.

My wife and I live on and own a commercial rental property, so in the winter, I put the tractor inside, with the snowplow ready and the battery tender hooked up. The summer months, the tractor can sit in an out-building, but I need it to be inside in the winter. I am no longer a young man, and fiddling around with maintenance equipment in freezing temps, just isn't appealing to me anymore.

The Jeep gets covered and takes a winter nap, and that leaves very little wiggle room! The space leftover houses both my and my wife's daily drivers.

[SteveMac]

Oh, and why do I keep the tractor warm? To deal with this stuff...

[SteveMac]

The Jeep stays because the BOSS demands it.

[sjd]

Looks really great. Love that golf mat too, I hadn't seem them shaped that way before and love the length of it.

[Brettster]

Hey SteveMac - great build!

Thanks for the tips and tricks especially that 'melting the fibers away with a heated EMT conduit.

Regarding your heating solution (240V heater). I considered something like that, but soon realized it did nothing for cooling - which I also needed, you might too? Anyway, I'm surprised you did not come to the conclusion that a Mini-Split is your best option - this Pioneer 9000 BTU unit has been doing well for me in Winter and Cooling in Summer, for around $20/month.

https://tinyurl.com/MiniSplit-9000BTU-22SEER

Here's the post where I show the install in my shed:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=369238#post369238

[SteveMac]

Hey SteveMac - great build!

Thanks for the tips and tricks especially that 'melting the fibers away with a heated EMT conduit.

Regarding your heating solution (240V heater). I considered something like that, but soon realized it did nothing for cooling - which I also needed, you might too? Anyway, I'm surprised you did not come to the conclusion that a Mini-Split is your best option - this Pioneer 9000 BTU unit has been doing well for me in Winter and Cooling in Summer, for around $20/month.

https://tinyurl.com/MiniSplit-9000BTU-22SEER

Here's the post where I show the install in my shed:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=369238#post369238

Thanks!
I struggle a LOT with cold due to some steel joints and arthritis in the others. I have rarely not hit balls or went to the golf course due to heat, in fact, it helps me.
What was that movie title? “Some Like It Hot”!

[Brettster]

SteveMac - I got you, but to use another quote: "It's not the heat, it's the humidity". That's what I found - not sure where you live, but we can have 90% humidity days and I'm in upper midwest (near Chicago).

[SteveMac]

Yeah, very humid here in SE Missouri too. I’d still rather have hot and humid any day over 35 with a 15 wind chill. LOL

Another point to consider is that I retain heat very well in the garage with the OH doors opening infrequently. But in the summer, I have the OH doors and the man-doors open often. So cooling isn’t really viable in this setup. If I walked off the SIM, I’d definitely do a mini split.