Fold up Garage Sim build

[Joshsmit56001]

New to the forum here and I've been poking around getting ideas for my garage sim. I finally bought the main piece, a vector pro launch monitor. I don't need anything fancy, just want the ability to see where my ball goes hitting in the winter in MN. One of the main requirements my wife gave me was the ability to park our cars on the garage. I had an idea for a fold up platform. I would uses hinges to raise it against the wall, then lock in place when not in use. I originally wanted it to be 10'x8' but after the initial build it was much too heavy, even with using 2x3's and 1/2 inch plywood. I wanted it 10 foot so I could practice that length of putts. I guess in the grand scheme of things, 8 foot putts work too. I ended up cutting off 3 feet to make it 7x8. I was able to complete the the base and attach to the wall with the hinges. I also purchased a 18"x36" country club elite real feel mat on eBay and I plan to flush mount it into the platform. I also plan on covering the wood in some sort of carpet that will simulate a putting surface and add cups to make it even better. This will be a future project for sure, just want to get the initial sim built and add to it later. Lastly I plan on adding side panels for the occasional shank. I think I might get canvas drop clothes and see the together to cover the sides and the ceiling. I am still unsure how to hangs this but I thought about using some sort of wire system. The netting i currently hit into Is cheap and will need to be replaced at some point. For now for safety sake I have a drop clothe behind in case a ball goes through. This is just the beginning and more will be added. I'm excited for the journey and I hope you will join me. Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated as this is a learning process. Enjoy the pics. Josh




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[Joshsmit56001]

I was able to purchase the eye bolts and a ratchet strap to hold it up in place. My only worry at this point is the hinges holding up that much weight for an extended period of time. I might cut some pieces of wood to place under the hinges to help hold the weight while folded up. Next step is to cut the plywood and flush mount the hitting grass strip.



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[Joshsmit56001]

Made more progress tonight. I received the Vector Pro and the country club elite hitting strip in the mail and I'm impressed with both. Calibrated the Vector pro and got some images to show. I also was able to cut out the hole to flush mount the strip and it looks great. Still need to find some carpet to cover the rest of the top of the platform that can simulate a putting green and cut some holes for cups.




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[Yrrdead81]

NIce thread, will be following .

[Ironstrokes]

Yea, I agree, love seeing when people post their works in progress with steps along the of the way, Keep it up, very nice, interested to see how it all turns out in the end

[Joshsmit56001]

Hit some balls with the Vector Pro. So far I'm not overly impressed. Having a hard time getting iron shots to show. I either get a single ball with one of the cameras or it gets cut off and does not register. I think this is due to the launch angle of the irons and not showing in the photo but not totally sure. Gotta spend more time figuring this out. Hitting the driver was another story. I was able to register majority of the shots on this but now I have another problem, my net sucks. This project moving forward is directly related to how happy my wife is, ha ha. It my be slow moving at some points but it will get there eventually. I plan to mess with the vector pro more and hopefully get more impressed with the device over time. If I had the money a GC2 would already be in hand, but like most people I don't have $6000 sitting around. Thanks for following the post and hopefully I will have more progress in the near future.


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[Joshsmit56001]

Today was a better day for using the Vector pro. I have found it is very particular in where you place the ball. When placing on a tee every time I seemed to get good pictures each time except for bad shots. There also seems to be a difference between driver/3 wood swings and iron swings. Not sure if this is because the wood swings are louder therefore triggering the camera faster. On iron shots there are times in which shots don't register. Over all still felt like I made progress. I also found a place online that sells Toyota trunk carpet, which according to Webb Simpson and Ben Crane, this is the best stuff you can get that compares the PGA greens. Gonna be some time before I purchase that. Not sure how to attach it either. Maybe some sort of glue would be warranted. I think a new net is in need before purchasing the carpet. I think it's just a matter of time before I put a hole through it. I'll try to post again in the near future with more progress.


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[Joshsmit56001]

I went to Lowes today and thought I found a winner for carpet but after rolling some putts on the 12 foot by 1 foot piece, it did not roll true. Speed was great but the ball seemed to wobble and change direction randomly. This won't work for my putting needs. I was hoping to find a cheaper alternative to the "Toyota trunk carpet" but it seems that might not be doable. Check out the video below.

https://vimeo.com/164337564

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[Ironstrokes]

I went to Lowes today and thought I found a winner for carpet but after rolling some putts on the 12 foot by 1 foot piece, it did not roll true. Speed was great but the ball seemed to wobble and change direction randomly. This won't work for my putting needs. I was hoping to find a cheaper alternative to the "Toyota trunk carpet" but it seems that might not be doable. Check out the video below.

https://vimeo.com/164337564

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Very nice video first of all, could really see what the issue was nicely. I went to home depot and picked up the only outdoor green carpeting I saw there and has worked nicely for me. Has similar pattern I think but the groves may be smaller and not have the bumping around. I think this is the one I got. Maybe something for you to take a peak at and see how it works

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Elevation...72HO/203469232


Edit: upon closer look it may actually be the same thing but not sure haha

[Joshsmit56001]

Thanks for the advice on the carpet, I will have to look into that. A little more work was done tonight. I needed a shelf to hold the laptop during hitting sessions. My first thought was to build one into the wall but I came up with a better idea. I had a cabinet I made for something else but ended up thinking it would be put to use better with this project. It's a great height for viewing the laptop and the underneath cabinet allows me to store the computer/vector pro while not in use. I was also able to store some of the kids outdoor toys which will make the wife happy as well. I also ran an extension cord from the ceiling outlet where the garage door opener is plugged in to the location behind the cabinet. I mounted a surge protector on the 2x4 for power. This should make it a lot easier to set up in the future. Lastly I put a piece of foam used on top of a bed behind the net to help stop the ball until I am able to upgrade my netting to something better in the future.






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[Joshsmit56001]

I had a very good session tonight. Majority of my swings were captured. I placed the ball on a tee each time and this captured the ball very well. I also made a projector mount out of the excess wood I had left over from the build. Not the prettiest thing but it works. Biggest conclusion tonight was that I need a different net. The foam bedding behind the net certainly helped but I am hitting holes through the net. Just a matter of time before its shredded. Originally I was going to get the putting green carpet first but the netting/impact screen is definitely priority now. Distances below are with my 4 hybrid.







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[Ironstrokes]

I had a very good session tonight. Majority of my swings were captured. I placed the ball on a tee each time and this captured the ball very well. I also made a projector mount out of the excess wood I had left over from the build. Not the prettiest thing but it works. Biggest conclusion tonight was that I need a different net. The foam bedding behind the net certainly helped but I am hitting holes through the net. Just a matter of time before its shredded. Originally I was going to get the putting green carpet first but the netting/impact screen is definitely priority now. Distances below are with my 4 hybrid.







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Nicely done making that projector mount, looks like it should work perfectly. Looking good overall as well and with the projector set up and all, a nice impact screen is a must as soon as possible, good play there

[Joshsmit56001]

Haven't posted for awhile but got some big changes coming. First one is the Vector Pro. Wasn't 100% happy with the manual lens and ended up finding one with the updated lens on eBay. So much better software and love the automatic lens! Feel much better about this purchase. Second I decided I couldn't hit without a better screen. Ended up purchasing the HQ material from par 2 pro. Preston was awesome and I got a hell of a deal on some "imperfect" material that has done dirt stains. To me this is not a big deal and such a great savings. Once this arrives I will be mounting somehow. Not sure if I will use 1" piping or angle iron to do this. If I use angle iron I will need to build a "wall" on the left hand side to attach the angle iron to. Not sure this is the best option but I will be weighing my options. Gonna leave the net up behind for added strength. Last thing to do after all this is complete is to add the carpet and putting cups. I'm afraid after buying the impact screen, I won't be putting any other money into this for awhile. Maybe when winter comes I will be able to work on that.


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[Joshsmit56001]

Ended up changing the net around and started building the wall on the left hand side so I can attach the impact screen. I decided I wanted to save some money so instead of using angle iron I'm using eye bolts. This saved me around $60 or more going this route. Im also going to use tarp clamps and 11" bungees to hang the screen as this is what was recommended. Super excited for it to get here as I need something better than the net. Ended up shanking a shot yesterday and got a ball stuck in the wall. You can see my predicament in the pictures below. I will eventually cover the sides and top with carpet runner to give it a more professional look. More to come so stay tuned.





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[BamaGambler]

Great work! I bet that was scary when you shanked it. I shanked one in my garage the other day but it didn't embed like yours did. Play it as it lies. 😀


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