Would Greatly Appreciate Feedback On My Sim Plans!

[kbsp21146]

I was very excited to find this forum! There are a lot of great threads that I've learned from, and I was hoping for suggestions on my simulator plans.

I have some components finalized, and others where I am still deciding. If any of you are willing to offer feedback/guidance I would greatly appreciate it!

Screen - the space I'll be using also serves other purposes, so I need a retractable screen. I'm pretty decided on the 10' wide Stealth Retractable from Par2Pro (https://www.par2pro.com/shop/product...roducts_id=490). The projectable width is 120", and the projectable height is 107'5".

Side Curtains / Ceiling - I am leaning towards blackout curtains on rails for the sides, as my space has windows. These would hang with about 1' in front of said windows. Is that enough? For the ceiling I was thinking of velcro-ing another piece of curtain material perpendicular (or a net) to the top of the curtains, so it would extend in/out along with the curtains and also block the curtain rails. How low from the ceiling should this hang?

Hitting Mat - based on reviews, I'm pretty decided on the 4' x 7' SigPro Softy Hitting Mat (https://shopindoorgolf.com/products/...4-x-7-golf-mat).

Launch Monitor - my space is only 17' deep so I don't have enough room for a radar-based system, and I'm pretty decided on the SkyTrak+. I feel I have issues with Face Angle at impact and being able to track that metric is important to me which a lot of other monitors don't support.

Projector - I feel like I should future-proof myself a bit and am interested in a 4K projector. However I don't want to spend close to $5K on the higher-end BenQ LK936ST. So I'm leaning towards the BenQ TK700STi. Per the Projector Calculator, with a 10' wide screen and 4:3 Aspect Ratio, I believe the Throw Distance would be 13'. If my hitting spot is 10' from the screen, will I have to worry about shadows if the projector is at 13'?

The BenQ TK700STi is rated at 3,000 lumens. Will that be bright enough at 13'? I was also looking at the Optoma 4K400STx, rated at 4,000 lumens and with a shorter throw distance, but the Optoma reviews don't give me as much confidence as they are very mixed.

I know the projector is very important, so what would be my best 4K option under $2K?

Computer - I had preferred a laptop, but everything I read about 4K and the video card requirements tells me I should instead go the desktop route. I'm much more familiar with Macs, so if anyone can recommend a good PC option I would appreciate it. The GeForce RTX 4090 video card is too expensive, the 4080 possibly doable but more than I prefer to spend, so maybe one with the GeForce RTX 3080? Or something different?

Software - the SkyTrak+ supports TGC 2019 and E6 Connect. Which do you prefer? From what I've read TGC doesn’t update their product very often, whereas E6 seems very active in doing so, and is also releasing their brand new Apex engine. E6 just seems more forward thinking and especially if I invest in 4K it might be the better option long-term?

Thank you in advance for any advice you provide!

[COgolfengineer]

I own a golf sim business and can help with most of this stuff and help save you money. I'm in the US and ship to Canada as well.

I've helped many people with retractable setups and just added a selectable package to my website, but have individual components as well. Everyone who i've helped with retractable loves it. My retractable 10ft wide screen would cost less than the Stealth.

For LM, there are better options than ST+. I've had a few customers buy an Eyemini from me because they were frustrated with their ST+. Eyemini and the upcoming Eyemini Lite are both much better options.

For game software, I highly recommend GSpro. By far the most realistic and most affordable golf sim software available.

4k projectors under $2k, your only options are the TK700sti and Optoma 4k400stx as you mentioned. 4k400stx is a decent amount brighter and would probably work great in your space but depends on your ceiling height as it has a decent vertical offset. I sell both of these as well.

I work with Indoor Golf Shop and sell their products as well so I sell the SIGPRO hitting mats.

https://www.365golfdesign.com/

[mjgolf123]

Couple questions/comments

What is the lighting situation like in your space? If you are able to control the light and keep it dim, that projector should be ok. If it's bright, or the lighting is difficult to control, I would upgrade the projector.

Do you have room for an overhead launch monitor? They are generally more expensive, but in my opinion worth the cost. I would not want a launch monitor that limited me to TGC2019. At a minimum I would want to access E6, but better yet GSPRO.

Do not cheap out on the computer, especially if you plan on running at 4k. Glitchy/stuttering sim golf is annoying. Buy/build a solid desktop computer. I watched this youtube channel for a few days, and was able to spec out something nice from Newegg at a reasonable price: https://www.youtube.com/@PCBuilderChannel

For curtains, I bought some stage curtains from PeakTarps.com and they work great. They absorb shanks really well. You do not want gaps between your curtains and screen. You want them to run from the ceiling to the floor. It's amazing how bad golfers find the smallest of openings in your setup.

[mthunt]

I was very excited to find this forum! There are a lot of great threads that I've learned from, and I was hoping for suggestions on my simulator plans.

I have some components finalized, and others where I am still deciding. If any of you are willing to offer feedback/guidance I would greatly appreciate it!

Screen - the space I'll be using also serves other purposes, so I need a retractable screen. I'm pretty decided on the 10' wide Stealth Retractable from Par2Pro (https://www.par2pro.com/shop/product...roducts_id=490). The projectable width is 120", and the projectable height is 107'5".

Side Curtains / Ceiling - I am leaning towards blackout curtains on rails for the sides, as my space has windows. These would hang with about 1' in front of said windows. Is that enough? For the ceiling I was thinking of velcro-ing another piece of curtain material perpendicular (or a net) to the top of the curtains, so it would extend in/out along with the curtains and also block the curtain rails. How low from the ceiling should this hang?

Hitting Mat - based on reviews, I'm pretty decided on the 4' x 7' SigPro Softy Hitting Mat (https://shopindoorgolf.com/products/...4-x-7-golf-mat).

Launch Monitor - my space is only 17' deep so I don't have enough room for a radar-based system, and I'm pretty decided on the SkyTrak+. I feel I have issues with Face Angle at impact and being able to track that metric is important to me which a lot of other monitors don't support.

Projector - I feel like I should future-proof myself a bit and am interested in a 4K projector. However I don't want to spend close to $5K on the higher-end BenQ LK936ST. So I'm leaning towards the BenQ TK700STi. Per the Projector Calculator, with a 10' wide screen and 4:3 Aspect Ratio, I believe the Throw Distance would be 13'. If my hitting spot is 10' from the screen, will I have to worry about shadows if the projector is at 13'?

The BenQ TK700STi is rated at 3,000 lumens. Will that be bright enough at 13'? I was also looking at the Optoma 4K400STx, rated at 4,000 lumens and with a shorter throw distance, but the Optoma reviews don't give me as much confidence as they are very mixed.

I know the projector is very important, so what would be my best 4K option under $2K?

Computer - I had preferred a laptop, but everything I read about 4K and the video card requirements tells me I should instead go the desktop route. I'm much more familiar with Macs, so if anyone can recommend a good PC option I would appreciate it. The GeForce RTX 4090 video card is too expensive, the 4080 possibly doable but more than I prefer to spend, so maybe one with the GeForce RTX 3080? Or something different?

Software - the SkyTrak+ supports TGC 2019 and E6 Connect. Which do you prefer? From what I've read TGC doesn’t update their product very often, whereas E6 seems very active in doing so, and is also releasing their brand new Apex engine. E6 just seems more forward thinking and especially if I invest in 4K it might be the better option long-term?

Thank you in advance for any advice you provide!

So I’ll say only one thing as it seems that your space is set. You are talking about 4K and really nice projectors but the most important thing is what reads the ball flight and you’re talking about Skytrak? Don’t do it. If you’re going with only right or left handed get a GC3. If you’re going both get an overhead like the ProTee VX. Stay away from cheap launch monitors. Just my 2 cents.