HELP! Feedback/Thoughts on TruGolf Simulators

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

I have been following and searching this forum for several days but have not found a lot of recent reviews on the TruGolf Simulator. I thought the TruGolf Simulator would be a good Mid-Range simulator purchase given it tracks both the club head and ball spin. Seems the downside to it are the lasers in the mat and the ball tracking is calculated based on sonicsound not a measurement like Skytack. I haven't found the perfect location in/around the home yet so I wanted bay that was portable with only moderate effort. I have seen a lot of feedback on SkyTrack and that also looks like a great alternative but seems there is a lot of recent issues with "no tracks" on pure shots with long irons/woods, also doesn't track the club head and also was hoping to find something with less delay time. I am looking for something more turnkey and was thinking of the TruGolf GS10 studio from the golfsimulatorguys. Is the TruGolf sim fairly accurate with real ball flights/distance/spin? I also looked at Full Swing but I don't have the ideal space for it and I wanted something a little more mobile. Before I spend $15K I could really use more insights. Thanks in advance!

[andygg1986]

Just my personal opinion, but I think directly measuring ball direction, speed, and spin is the only way that you will get really accurate simulation. I don't know about their sonicsound, but it sounds like most of the ball flight is based on clubhead data and then microphones are just used as a secondary source of data. I appreciate wanting a turnkey solution though. Have you checked out these guys? They have several options for hitting bays that are similar but can be used with other hardware.

http://www.allsportsystems.com/store_images/golfsimstore.htm.php#minibaystore

For under $15k, you could get one of those bays and a GC2 with HMT. That would give you both ball and club data, with delays under 1 second. The biggest downside is that it isn't well-suited for right and left handed play.

Another way to look at it is that the market reflects the value of a simulator. Lots of people on here have Skytrak because even though it isn't perfect, it is a great value. Fewer but still significant number of people have GC2's because they cost more, but still has improvements over Skytrak to justify the price. You don't see many TruGolf or Full Swing users on here.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

andygg1986 thanks for jumping in and offering your perspective.. fully agree that direct measurement seems the better way to go. I thought I read somewhere that with the GC2 you need to tape your clubs, so I maybe disregarded it too early.. any insights on the taping? Also, I see there is a GC2 with HMT and a GC2 Quad (looks like the premium line).. the cost difference isn't clear on the Foresight website but do you know if the value is there for the quad or what the price differences are... I don't have have any friends that are lefty so the biggest downside you mention is less of a concern for me..Thanks for taking the time to respond.. very much appreciated as I am really trying to avoid buyers remorse with $15-$20K.

[sherrow70]

You dont have to tape your clubs with GC2/HMT. If you use a HMT you have to add these little dot stickers but not to big of a deal. I really enjoy my GC2 with HMT. Easy set-up ready to go no delay very accurate. The FSX 2018 software is expensive if you go that route. GC2 has software options besides FSX 2018 the Quad only works with FSX 2018 I believe.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

sherrow70 thank you for your perspective.. It must have been the stickers I was thinking of.. does each player need to add the sticker to each club to play a round of golf for accuracy or is the sticker only used for swing analysis and doesn't affect the accuracy of the shot in rounds? I

[sherrow70]

You dont need them to play I think more for analysis. When I am working on the range with FSX 2018 they become more important. When your playing with friends they dont need stickers. The GC2 by itself provides all the required data for sim play.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

awesome, thank you! any ideas of price points for the two systems? or I can give them a call later today

[sherrow70]

I would contact one of their reps and they will break everything down for you. Their reps are very helpful.

[penrose]

If you want to go skytrak look at the skytrak turn key simulators on there web page. I second allsportsystems. However, nothing wrong with trugolf. If you really want a turnkey solution contact par2pro they will come to your house and put it all together for you. Good luck. I went with allsportsystems and skytrak. Build my own would have saved me some money but also a lot of hassle. I put together the allprosystem over about 4 days...one could do in a day easy - I just did it in one hour sessions.

[Whiskeyjack]

Same here I use allsportsystems 12 x 9 bay with skytrak and love it. Went together real easy.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

Thanks all, just got off the phone with the Foresight GC2 rep.. a little bit of sticker shock..as I was trying to stay in the $15-$20K range all in.. I think the GC2 + HMT was around $13K and the GC2 Quad was $16.5K just for the system itself and they throw in a free PC with purchase.. I will look at the allsportssystems and par2pro sites for the bays

[andygg1986]

Check out the refurbished GC2 and HMTs. Last month they were running a special for a refurb GC2, HMT, laptop computer, and FSX software for $10k. Used HMTs go for around $4k, and there is a GC2 with a security dongle for the older simulation software on ebay now for $3900.

[Stingreye]

Thanks all, just got off the phone with the Foresight GC2 rep.. a little bit of sticker shock..as I was trying to stay in the $15-$20K range all in.. I think the GC2 + HMT was around $13K and the GC2 Quad was $16.5K just for the system itself and they throw in a free PC with purchase.. I will look at the allsportssystems and par2pro sites for the bays

Cerfified Pre-Owned GC2+HMT is $10,300 on Foresight's web page. My guess is that the 13k included FSX and a laptop possibly or was for a 100% new gc2+HMT.

[StuartG]

And certified pre-owned GC2 is only $5400 (as mentioned, HMT isn't needed and it doesn't even help at all for the sim play) and one can frequently find used listings for less. 4-4.5k.

whether a unit tracks club or ball data is not really an accurate reflection of how high or low level a sim it is. Some other units track club head data because they don't (can't) get complete ball data and use that club data to calculate the missing ball data (usually the ball spin and spin axis). GC2 gets all the data needed from the ball readings. Those that want to get and use HMT to get club head data do so not for the sim use but rather for instructional and swing improvement reasons. So if all you want to so is have some fun and play the sim, forget the HMT. And even if you get just the gc2 and later find that maybe you do want to get more club data for self improvement purposes, HMT can always be added at a later time.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

I am leaning towards just getting the GC2.. club head data is more of a "nice to have" but I can't justify the extra cost for it.. My understanding is the FSX software is the only compatible software that runs on the GC2.. do the refurbished models typically come with it? Also what projector is recommended for the GC2.. assuming I go with a 8H x 10W bay?

[StuartG]

FSX is the only "officially" supported software (and it would an additional $3k to get it from Foresight) - but many many different sim software are usable with GC2 through GSX and the ProTee interface (there is a sticky thread about that in the Foresight sub-forum). TruGolf's e6, TGC, ProTee software and JNPG are the ones I've heard of people using w/ GC2. May be others as well.

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

To close the loop.. I purchased the GC2 with HMT refurbished today as I was able to talk Foresight into giving me the deal they ran in June for $10K with the FSX 2018 software and laptop and I ordered the bay/impact screen, side rails, and projector arm from allsportssystems.. the country club elite mat from Costco ($50 less than everywhere else and easy to return if I don't like it), and projector from Amazon.. I just need to pick up some finishing turf from Lowes or the local carpet store.. All-in I should be on budget at $14K .. Thanks for everyone's help!

[andygg1986]

Wow! You don’t mess around once you get your mind made up! From a couple of days ago considering trugolf to getting a full foresight setup, that may be the fastest any of us have moved to purchase a sim. I think you will be very happy with your setup. The foresight deal for $10k is definitely tough to beat for someone just starting to put together a sim, and the quality is so good that you won’t be itching to upgrade in six months.

[Taylor40299]

Sounds like your off to the races!!

[WISCOGOLFNUT]

Close.. when I’m finally playing I will be off to the races

[schrambow]

Wiscogolfnut, I see you haven't posted for many months here, Can you get back here to how your setup is/was and are you happy with your purchase last fall? I was thinking of doing a similar setup, just wondering after a few months under your belt what you think of yours?