Hi from Florida

[Bigmean]

Hey guys, long time lurker and I just signed up. I have always fantasized about having a home sim and the advent of skytrak and me moving into a larger place with a 2 car garage has me committed. I have lots of questions and nothing yet, but I did buy a super nice tartan turf mat set from golfsmith last weekend and I am on the hunt. I am not in a hurry, but I wouldn't mind a skytrack or gc2 (I believe I am down to these) that I can hookup to an iPad for my current home net until I get the new digs and go full out sim.

I am a serious golfer IRL, want to work on my game a lot (I am a high single digit) and I think this whole home monitor thing great way to hit balls with purposewithout taking time from the family and let's face it, if you have that why not go all the way for sim play, which in my mind sounds like a blast for fun with my friends and family and maybe a round at 9:00 at night on a random wed.

so I will pre apologize for possible stupid questions, I want to do this right as possible.

thanks guys!

[Tonyd9366]

Tony from Las vegas here. well i got into this about 3 years ago when I saw the first optishot commercial. So my first purchase was a p3 proswing. Which I had for about 18 months. ok system but you had to tape your clubs with a reflective strip because it was a reflective system. It was a pain and the strips were expensive. I sold that and got the protee system which was a huge step up. that is a shadow system which requires over head lighting and launch cameras both vertical and horizontal cams that calculate the correct launch of the ball. but the initial set up is difficult and sometimes the cameras had to be reset to get it to work right. So I sold that. the protee and the golf club or TGC software is really good. So I kept that. What I've done now is buy the GC2A. Not much set up required nor twicking which is a big plus. A stands for Apple compatible. Since you have an Apple that would work well for you. now GC2 is expensive new it costs 6995.00 without software and 2500 for their fsx software package. however I would suggest to personal message aeroburner on this sight. He mentioned that he recently bought 6 of them and is willing to part with them. Don't know exactly how much but def lower than new and I don't know if the software comes with it.

Now many people on this sight for go the fsx software and get protee's software package which came with my protee system that i kept. what's cool is that it works with the gc2 at more than half the cost. 995 for the TGC only and I believe 1295 for both protee 2.0 and TGC. it works via bluetooth connection so no wires which is cool.

In regards to skytrak. Good system and very accurate just like the gc2A. it is cheaper around 4k new but you can pick up used ones as well.for less. The main reason I didn't get the skytrak was because there's is about a 3 to 4 second delay from strike to result on the screen which would have drove me insane. With the gc2A because it not hard wired the delay from impact to result is about .75 seconds which is far more tolarable. after a while I don't even notice it. a whole build of a simulator in a garage set up without a gc2 would cost from 1500 to 2500 depending if you need an extra computer or not. then a skytrak 4k or gc2A 6995. plus whichever software you decide on TGC protee, or fsx. It can get expensive for sure . I have lost plenty of money on switching systems twice. So you are on the right track getting the gc2A or skytrak if the delay doesn't bother you. These two are the most popular systems and the protee is a very good system as well. Once the protee is set up right it works very well and their customer support is really good too.

my recommendation.... GC2A with either fsx software if you wanna spend 2500 more plus different course packs (EXTRA CHARGE) no delay from strike to result because it's hardwired via usb, and better ball data very good driving range. Or you can go the less expensive way and opt for the protee 2.0 ( inferior software but good driving ranges to practice on and 100 red chain courses, with TGC outstanding graphics and tens of thousands of courses to choose from with a built in course designer to make your own home course if you wish.. pretty cool. Anyways hope this helps you in your decision. Best of luck... Tony

[wbond]

Skytrak is not 4K, currently it's around 1700 new

[mthunt]

I just got home from your city. Played Primm, TPC Summerlin, TPC Vegas, Dragon Ridge and Southshore. The swim up bar at TopGolf was a trip. Great weather.

[aeroburner]

Tony great job on this let me put my Two cents in Tony is spot on buy in your budget and get what works for you, I have the skytrak which I think is a good system and would never tell anyone not to get as this gets your foot in the door to really move into the golf sim world but it is not my favorite and has been shipped to my kid in college to keep him out of trouble. The protee system yes is difficult to set up but once you have it there it is an amazing system that I will have for years to come and am looking forward to using it a lot, the main reason which makes this system a must have is i have people play rounds with me and this system can work with a left handed player and a right handed player which a skytrak and a GC2 is very difficult to do and enjoy, I have recently gotten a GC2 as i want a system that is mobile to take to my other homes to play when i go out of town and this system I have heard from a lot of Forum members and my research is a system that you can not go wrong with. But the GC2 as you will here from a lot of people is a very strong system that is very accurate and is used through out the golf industry from golf pros to ball manufacturers to club manufacturers, so pick wisely and what ever way you go you will have fun and strengthen your game all are great systems and you can not go wrong.... On a side note I have sold all GC2s except for one....

[Sledge0001]

Sent you a private message. Not sure where in Florida you are but I'm fairly certain my old man would let you take a couple of swings on his Skytrak, TGC and Net Return setup.

[Tonyd9366]

Sorry about the price on skytrak. Ive never been interested in it. I just read on here some where before it cost that much. One of the things that attracted me to the gc2 was what aeroburner mentioned that it is portable it has a built in battery and you can have an outdoor range session and get valuable numbers right on the spot. now being a single digit handicap you will really appreciate this feature and yes it just goes back in your sim room and works spot on again. really cool. Aero is right that the downside is that if you have left handed players it's hard to play together as you would need two GC2's one on each side to accommodate that. With the protee that's the best part. if you have a wide enough bay you locate the sensor pad in the middle and place the vertical launch camera on either side of the player it works both ways which is really cool The horizontal camera sits above the sensor mat so it doesn't matter what side the player is hitting from. Hopefully this aids in your decisions. Let us know your progress. All of us are here to help. Tony