My first set up - tips please :)

[JoeySaysDoIt]

Morning Gents,

I have almost pieced together my Optishot simulator. I am going to be building the hitting mat and screen this weekend. I have a great idea on how to build the screen but since I will be using "Almost Golf Balls" can I sub out metal piping for PVC? Also, what material should I use for the screen? I've seen guys use a simple, white heavy duty tarp or a 10 ounce Canvas drop cloth. which would work better?

as for the stance mat, I am left headed, ALL my buddies are right handed, so I wanted to build an 8 footish stance mat and build the optishot right into the middle, does anyone have a simple plan do to so?

thank you all!!!


Best,
Joey

[Jb50]

I used a PVC frame with a cloth painters tarp bought from Harbor Freight. I believe it was 9 x 12 and was really cheap. It worked great for foam balls. Never an issue. I then switched to an impact screen so I can hit real balls. I used the same PVC frame just switched the screens. This hasn't worked too well. I have broken the PVC in a several spots on direct hits with the golf ball even though I have the PVC covered with foam. To remedy this, I slid Conduit into the PVC that was busted. My suggestion would be to build out of conduit in case you decide to upgrade to real balls in the future.

[JoeySaysDoIt]

Thanks JB!

[Chuck]

Like Jb50 I initially stated with just a golf net and monitor. It was ok. I also tried the painters canvas (~$30 from Home Depot). This helped me get a design/layout I could use in my small garage. The canvas would take the impact of real balls but it began to fray on the edges. So I also went with a impact screen from Amazon (Carl's Golf Simulator Impact Screen 7'9"x10' finished ~$260). My space is very limited and the ceilings are very low (7'11") to the beams. So I have one beam cut out to allow a full swing to pass through. The screen is hung from a plank attached to the ceiling beams on a diagonal with bungee cords and canvas clips holding the canvas (Home Depot ~$5 per 4). The last purchase was for an Optomo GT1080Darbee short throw projector with assorted 4khdmi-cables 4K hdmi-splitter and ceiling mount (~$820 amazon). It's about 9ft from the screen and is directly overhead the player. No shadows are cast. While I need to do some adjustments to get the screen to match the projector throw, It's pretty close and the scale seems to be nearly life like. Its a true 1920x1080p projector and it will take a 4k signal and down convert it. I really love the projector. It will even do active stereo if you have the glasses and the game that will do that. The TV monitor on the desk is a 4K Haier 55" (it's protected with a sheet of Plexiglas 2" in front of it). The computer is a hacked together AMD A10/APU 7890k 4.1Ghz with 16GB fast RAM and 1TB disk (~$340). All of the Junk on the floor was free and came with the place :-)
My handle on Optishot is CB. If you see me online, join in and me a line.

[PUNTE]

Joey, I've had the OptiShot for about five years now and I'm finishing my first platform with it! I used framing 2x4s from Home Depot to create a 6 ft x 6 ft platform (no lefties here) with 22/32" plywood on top. Six feet deep is a lot but I wanted plenty of space for the hitter to swing freely. My platform has a joist for every foot under the plywood. With your 2x4s actually 1.5" thick, that's about a board per foot, and I joisted parallel to the target line. I'll top it with some puzzle padding and a green indoor outdoor rug.

Good luck!