New sim build need suggestions

[James]

Hey guys I have had a SkyTrak for 2 years now and just been hitting it off a flight deck into a net. I have decided I am going to build a sim room/man cave. I have pretty much infinite space to build it and 12ft ceilings. What have you guys done when you built your and what would have you done differently or added into the project now that you have used it for awhile.

[COgolfengineer]

That's a massive question! Most people would say that a golf sim is always a work in progress because you're constantly changine things and/or upgrading as you go. But some people do a lot of planning or pay someone to build it the way they want it the 1st time.

A lot of building a sim comes down to your space (sounds like you have plenty which is great), what do you want to use the sim for (entertainment, game improvement, etc), do you have lefty/righty play, what you want the look to be, and of course budget which is probably the biggest factor into answering all the other questions.

Since everyone starts a sim with different constraints, it's hard to answer your question as all sims are very unique. It would be helpful if you give some more additional info about your space, budget, how you want it to look, etc.

[James]

I don’t necessarily have a budget but I don’t want to spend a fortune. I will be doing all the work myself. The space is 30ft wide by 60ft. I won’t be using that whole space though. I don’t need it to be multipurpose but to have a bar and some more tvs for watching sports would be awesome. I have a vision in my head how I want it to work but just seeing what people found worked and didn’t to get me set off in the right direction.

[Brettster]

James - Interesting - so you have no budget, or space limits - sounds like a Dream Simulator to be sure. But, also without limits - you're never forced to get creative - and may have so many options, it boggles the mind! I always find that when I have contraints it makes me think harder and come up with creative solutions that end up being game changers for what I'm working on!

If you want to explore some of my limits and what I did about them, you can find them all documented on my Sim Shed Build Post here:

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

There just might be a few that would be useful to you? Good luck.

[Timmy5under]

Go as big as you can, both literally and financially. The space you choose will ultimately feel smaller once you get everything in, the surround protection reduces the area. I stretched my budget to go with the EyeXO and boy am I glad I did, I would've had serious buyers remorse had I stuck to the original plan.

[Simgolf503]

Size is hard to change later so I would give yourself 16'-18' of width, 20' depth and 10'+ in height. I had no budget and did the entire custom build myself as well. Attached are a couple pics. My main goal for the sim was to be accurate, realistic and able to withstand heavy use. My goal for the entire area was to have the feel of a nice pro shop/sports bar stocked with food and drinks.
Electronics: Mevo+, gaming pc that exceeded required specs , 4000lm short throw laser projector. Total build cost about $7500 not factoring my labor. I use it daily and only regret is that I was limited on width at 12' which forces me to use 4.3 aspect ratio as where 16' wide would allow 16.9. Good luck and enjoy the process!

[jpotas]

Go wide, think about what you want and then go a little wider. That was my mistake, I am right handed and did not even think about lefties playing. Now I have a nephew (left handed) getting into golf and he can't use my sim. You either have to move Skytrak over (and realign) or make the room wide enough to be able to hit from either side of the Skytrak without moving it. If I did it all over again and had the funds, I would have bought an overhead or maybe a radar based monitor that could sit behind the hitting area.