New build questions

[Kennesw1]

I am having a new room built with the intent of putting a golf simulator in the new room. As with most here, several details of the room have been and will continue to be a negotiation with my wife. Towards that end, the final room dimension will be 14ft x 19.5ft with 10ft ceiling. I realize that 15ft is the recommended width, but settled on 14ft because I did not want to pay to move a load bearing wall. So I have a list of questions about both room, simulator and accessories.

#1) How limiting will the 14ft width be? My guess is that it is adequate, but certainly not generous for what I seek. It seems that most enclosures fit within this.

#2) I have 1 left handed friend so I really want a left/right simulator. Does this require an overhead sensor? Is there a floor mounted sensor and/or package that can easily rotate around for left/right?

#3) Part of the negotiation with my wife is that we will buy a sensor and software for multi-sport games. Whereas I may not use those games, we expect our grandchildren will. Is there a launch monitor sensor that is better or best for other multi-sport gaming?

#4) I think for the golf simulator that a 4:3 aspect ratio projector will be fine, but for other sports games, how desirable is a 16:9 aspect ratio projector? What is the default and desired screen resolution for golf simulator gaming?

#5) How desirable might a 4K HDR projector be? Can I assume that I can upgrade to 4K HDR a couple of years down the road?

#6) Is it best to purchase everything within a package or purchase the individual components?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and experience.

Steve

[jasonreg]

#1) How limiting will the 14ft width be? My guess is that it is adequate, but certainly not generous for what I seek. It seems that most enclosures fit within this.

If you are only hitting right handed then you can set up an offset hitting position and you should be fine. I have seen others do a dual offset hitting set up but you need either two launch monitors or an overhead monitor which supports offset hitting such as GC Hawk.

#2) I have 1 left handed friend so I really want a left/right simulator. Does this require an overhead sensor? Is there a floor mounted sensor and/or package that can easily rotate around for left/right?

See above

#3) Part of the negotiation with my wife is that we will buy a sensor and software for multi-sport games. Whereas I may not use those games, we expect our grandchildren will. Is there a launch monitor sensor that is better or best for other multi-sport gaming?

GC Hawk supports this but I am not sure the indoor setup is ideal for soccer balls etc.

#4) I think for the golf simulator that a 4:3 aspect ratio projector will be fine, but for other sports games, how desirable is a 16:9 aspect ratio projector? What is the default and desired screen resolution for golf simulator gaming?

Either will work. I would counsel the largest screen you can set up and set up a custom resolution if/as required.

#5) How desirable might a 4K HDR projector be? Can I assume that I can upgrade to 4K HDR a couple of years down the road?

Yes you can upgrade down the road and you can certainly save some $$$ by not going down this road right out of the door. That said, if I were setting something up now, I would likely start with 4K.

#6) Is it best to purchase everything within a package or purchase the individual components?

Personal choice. Package deals are nice as the vendor will lend support and it is a one-stop shopping experience. That said, most folks find they can get better individual components for the same or lower price. It does take some research though and if you don't have the time or inclination to do the digging - a package could be your best choice.
Steve

Good Luck!

[mjgolf123]

1 and 4 are similar. I don't think you have room to fit a16:9 enclosure. At least not a kit version. This aspect ratio is preferred and better if you use the area for movies, but you can still have a great golf experience with 4:3. I also agree with Jasonreg, that 14' is going to be tight for a lefty righty setup. You should both swing a driver and see if you can keep it within a 6'-6" space. This will save a lot of headache.

2 I would suggest an overhead LM. In my experience, the oh monitors are the way to go if you have the space, and definitely if you have a lefty who plays. Floor mounted ones do work for left/right golf but generally they are behind you. They require more space for the radar to work properly, and can get bumped into especially if you have a lot of people over playing. The accuracy on the oh monitors is also very good.

3 definitely get an overhead if you have kids running around and kicking soccer balls. I would be careful basing a software decision on kids though. Based on your priority of points, you are buying this so you (and your buddies) can golf. Choose the software that will give you the best golf experience. Your passion is golf, so that will keep you utilizing the system. IMO the games are a novelty, which wears off. Kids also get bored quick. Lastly you could buy a second software package that has more games, then cancel the subscription when everyone is bored of them after 6 months.

5 If you have the cash, go 4k. 1080 is fine, but the image is crisper and the projectors are brighter with 4k. It does require a more powerful computer though.

6 based on the 14' width, I would suggest you diy. Try to get 16:9 if you can. It will be more immersive. You may have to get creative hanging the impact screen and curtains, but I think you could make it work.

[Frankfam11]

my friend is in the process of a new build with very similar dimensions and he opted for the Full Swing sim, its an overhead based camera system so could support lefty and righty, there fairly new so not as many reviews out there, and they are fairly expensive, i believe hes 40K all in

[Dax]

Full Swing has been around for a while and you should be able to find reviews and feedback on this forum.

[Brettster]

Kennesw1

Very good questions, you've been thinking this over... here are some answers for you - based on my experience in DIY my own Sim in a 16'x12' space (yes, even narrower than your 14', and it works - but I'm setup for Righty only):

#1) How limiting will the 14ft width be? My guess is that it is adequate, but certainly not generous for what I seek. It seems that most enclosures fit within this.
#2) I have 1 left handed friend so I really want a left/right simulator. Does this require an overhead sensor? Is there a floor mounted sensor and/or package that can easily rotate around for left/right?

It's ok and not that limiting... the only time it will be very limiting is when your Lefty friend comes over to play (sorry). I cannot even imagine that working in my space (12' with an actual 11'5" width). With 14' it still may be a problem. I would suggest taping outlines on the floor where you can test out the space (ahead of time), and see where the hitting point will be with Lefty and Righty... if you cannot find a spot where you can both hit from (likely the center), than you will have to get much more creative with the type of LM you use and where it sits (SkyTrak can be moved between golfers, while Garmin and other 'Behind golfer' LM units can also be moved - if they have to be and usually on a track, with Overhead units you will have to have a center spot, you're not going to be moving the overhead unit from side to side - so you can see how imperative it is that Lefty and Righty hit from the same center spot.

#4) I think for the golf simulator that a 4:3 aspect ratio projector will be fine, but for other sports games, how desirable is a 16:9 aspect ratio projector? What is the default and desired screen resolution for golf simulator gaming?

4:3 will generally be your best setup for Golf Sim play - this is because your screen is often much taller - and you want to fill it from Top->Bottom so that you create an 'immersive' environment - that appears like the 'real thing' when hitting shots, and lining them up. If you look at this Post on my Forum thread about my entire Sim Build - you will see I am using my phone (16:9) and as you can see there is a lot of black space (at top and bottom) with this setup.

Here's my post: https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...292#post382292

Like you, I use the space for movie watching at well.. at this point, you are often at the limitations of the Movie being projected - and as you can see from that post - it's still operable in 16:9 and will produce a decent movie image at that size, but then when you're ready to get down to playing golf, you will want to either switch to an iPad (4:3), or make sure that your monitor setup/ratio that you are projecting is in the correct ratio (simple calculations can be made to determine that, or checkout the Projector Central website at: https://www.projectorcentral.com/pro...ulator-pro.cfm

#5) How desirable might a 4K HDR projector be? Can I assume that I can upgrade to 4K HDR a couple of years down the road?

They are becoming very desirable... and often when you consider that some of the newer projectors also use Laser Projection (the lamps last longer and are brighter) you will see huge differences in detail, especially with movies - but you will have to find a way to run 2 screens (usually another 'protective screen dropped down in front of your impact screen will work', I use this Photo Backdrop: https://tinyurl.com/photobackdrop10x12 from Amazon to do the trick - but it does add 'noise', and another layer of screen and actually I'm considering pulling it up and out of the way while playing Golf, and dropping it back in place at Movie time.

Here are some Projectors you might want to consider, from LOW PRICE (Budget) to HIGH PRICE (4K):
https://tinyurl.com/4k-mini-projector-dolby (the one I purchased for very low price - not bad and has true Dolby surround sound licensing so works well for sound/movies)
https://tinyurl.com/Roconia4K-1080P-5GBT (another cheapo, without Dolby surround)
https://tinyurl.com/BenQMW632ST-WXGA-Short-3200L (BenQ short throw)
https://tinyurl.com/BenQtk700sti (BenQ with 4K pixel shift)
https://tinyurl.com/Optoma-HZ406STShortLaser4200L (Optoma Laser 4K)
https://tinyurl.com/Optoma-ZW403-4K (another Optoma 4K)
https://tinyurl.com/Optomoa-GT1090HDR (Optoma 4K high lumens - 4200)
https://tinyurl.com/ViewSonicX104KE-ShorterThrow (Viewsonic with Short throw)

Surround Sound Systems (Budget to HIGH):
https://tinyurl.com/Vizio51SurroundBar (Vizio Surround does the job for less, and with wireless Subwoofer - this is the one I have, see it in my entire forum thread mentioned above).
https://tinyurl.com/Sonos-Playbar-Surround (Sonos Playbar)
https://tinyurl.com/Sonos-Soundbar-TVMoviesMusic (Sonos Premium Soundbar)

#6) Is it best to purchase everything within a package or purchase the individual components?

That's a personal preference, whichever you think you can afford, and will let you have a finished product you will enjoy... I chose the DIY route and mixed/matched my components, mounted my own screen and screen protectors and baffles, bought my own turf, stance mats, etc... something that the packages often give you... though their packages often may not be the best for you... I would recommend going down to a local Sim (and hitting for a few hours, see what they are using for LM, and turf/hitting mats, etc.) and go from there... when I did that, I noticed I was getting a lot of wrist pain - whenever I hit off those Sim mats... I now have a FiberBuilt, and a Holy Grail hitting strip (your personal health is top priority).

Good luck, let me know if you have any questions,
-Brett