DIY SIGPRO Platform Build Guide

[pfeiten]

After spending enough money at the range, I've decided to build my first portable golf simulator to use in my garage and/or back patio depending on weather. I need to be able to store it when not in use so I went with the Spornia SPG-7 net for ease of assembly/disassembly. After looking into many reviews, I decided to go with the SigPRO Softy insert, which I plan to build a DIY platform around that is mobile and will stand up against my garage wall when not in use. Also snagged the R10 with Awesome Golf.

I spent more time than I care to admit on PowerPoint building this DIY platform to scale (8:1) to build a BOM, set my dimensions, and hopefully identify all issues before starting the build process. If anything else, I hope this guide can be useful for someone in the future that finds themselves in my shoes where spending $800+ on an-off the shelf mat & insert together is out of the question. I got the SigPRO Softy on sale for $180 & supplies will be a little north of $200 so I hope to have a comparable solution for half the cost. If someone wanted to do this exact build, I included the steps I will take to build this and every link to all supplies used. There was a similar platform built by @richerod that I based 90% of my design on, however I have slight tweaks here and there. Let me know what you guys think of this idea?

I plan to order the Spornia side nets this week, however I see they also sell sand bags to help secure the ends of the side net to give them some tension. Anyone bought those to give an honest review if they are actually worth the $40 they are asking for them?

Thanks in advance. I will post pictures of it once it's built in mid March.

[swing+amiss]

Very cool! I built this about 10y ago which led to the plans of doing a full sim build out in my garage, and ending up posting this for sale last yr. I like the upgraded ideas you have in place. One thing you may want to consider was something I ended up liking more than I though I would. I placed my casters at the 1/3 and 2/3 locations instead of the extreme ends like you have in your sketch. My platform ended up being almost 70ish lbs with ply+layers. With the casters not at the ends of the side panel, it was easy to roll and "wheelie" to turn it, since the caster placement was somewhat like a balance point when tilted up off of one wheel. I did not do swivel casters because keeping a heavy, tall, and wobblesome platform upright would be cumbersome, whereas the rigid casters kept it in check with little effort.

If you are going swivel, then all this is moot, but I enjoyed reading your plans!

[pfeiten]

Thanks for the feedback. I see what you’re saying and like the idea of rigid casters more so I’ll likely end up doing that at the same locations you put yours. What size are the casters? I think 2” will fit best given the constraints of the 1x3 for how large of a mount plate will fit. My back patio has lots of little bumps it’ll have to go over when I transport it to/from the garage so I think the bigger the caster is, the easier it’ll roll over those bumps. I was expecting somewhere between 55-60 pounds for mine based on some rough density calculations. How well did just 1 handle work for you? Also, I really like the look of the outer frame, did you stain it or is that bare wood?

[Icemann9]

Pfeiten - I came across your platform build plans. How did it turn out? I’m looking to build something similar to save some money. Any feedback would be appreciated.