$2600 garage simulator build (and updates on using it for my game)

[dornstar]

I'll also add that the new software updates to SkyTrak have been awesome. Love being able to set a distance and target radius to fire at to see how consistent you are.

 

 

Also, as someone who watches a lot of golf channel at night, I often find myself dying to hit some balls. There's nothing better than hopping up and heading out to the simulator when that inspiration kicks in. I love it and spend the vast majority of my time at home out here. I couldn't imagine not having this place. Now that we've added insulation, furniture, my desktop computer, pictures, etc, it's just such a great place to be. My "golffice" is the bomb.

[dornstar]

Here's an example of the consistency I'm getting now. I just hit 20 straight shots trying for 140 yards... soft swing baby 9 iron. With the elbow injury, I just can't go past that and getting in 20 shots was rough. MRI is Thursday.

 

The starting line is spot on which is the biggest change I have made to my game. When I first got the SkyTrak, my starting line was all over the place. Starting line is absolutely critical and I just didn't put enough stock into it. If you can control your starting line, you have control of your game and I probably spend 90% of my time simply working on that one element. If you can't control it, you have no chance. Ideally, if you put up a wall from the ball to the target, I want my ball never to cross that imaginary wall. In this case, I think I had 5 that did, but only by a few yards. Basically, I'm trying to eliminate the left side of the course. I don't even really care about mechanics now. Sure, I want to be mechanically sound, but that's not my focus. My focus is what the ball does and a HUGE part of getting the consistency I'm getting is making sure my grip and ball position is absolutely perfect. I spend a ridiculous amount of time on those 2 fundamentals. I'm not a big Paul Wilson fan as far as what he teaches, but I adopted his grip early in the process and haven't looked back since. Felt horrible at first primarily because my grip was so sloppy in the past, but I immediately saw better consistency in my starting line. (

,

)

 

20 shot average...

 

140 yards

0 yards offline

2.5* starting to the right

-438 sidespin

Furthest left = 4 yards

Furthest right = 6 yards

 

 

[spider]

Dornstar good luck with the mri. great post above

[iteachgolf]

 

This is awesome stuff dorn. I'll blame you, since this thread is what got me started on this idea a few months back! I've got the mat and screen all set up and just did a demo of the flightscope Xi+. I am leaning heavily in the Xi direction for the additional data that it provides over Skytrak, but the ball flight control and drills you've described are awesome and exactly what I'm looking to solidify. The Skytrak is still temping with the ability to use TGC though.....Best of luck with the elbow surgery, sorry to hear that!

Outside of the obvious price limitations, the reason I went with the Skytrak is that I only have about 16-17 feet to work with, so any doppler radar based launch monitor was pretty much eliminated. The Skytrak has been great though. You just need to put in your due diligence to make sure it is setup as straight as possible to get the most accurate readings. I do wish I had club data, but with the launch direction and sidespin, it's not too hard to figure out what your face and path is doing.

 

Doppler radar works at 16'

[dornstar]

 

This is awesome stuff dorn. I'll blame you, since this thread is what got me started on this idea a few months back! I've got the mat and screen all set up and just did a demo of the flightscope Xi+. I am leaning heavily in the Xi direction for the additional data that it provides over Skytrak, but the ball flight control and drills you've described are awesome and exactly what I'm looking to solidify. The Skytrak is still temping with the ability to use TGC though.....Best of luck with the elbow surgery, sorry to hear that!

Outside of the obvious price limitations, the reason I went with the Skytrak is that I only have about 16-17 feet to work with, so any doppler radar based launch monitor was pretty much eliminated. The Skytrak has been great though. You just need to put in your due diligence to make sure it is setup as straight as possible to get the most accurate readings. I do wish I had club data, but with the launch direction and sidespin, it's not too hard to figure out what your face and path is doing.

 

Doppler radar works at 16'

Just measured and I had 16 feet wall to wall. The net is close to 2 feet from one wall as there is shelving behind it, so it would have given me under 14' of actual room. Probably wouldn't have been enough and even if I did, I don't think the wife (aka the boss) would have let me. LOL.

[drewtaylor21]

Drew I'll add that the practice green stuff is awesome too - pick any yard distance and hit into greens of various sizes. It adds an ever more "game" feel to it when you're doing the contests as well.

 

This is a good point too, as the short game/putting is really the only weakness I see with Flightscope. As Dan said, the short indoor mode with Flightscope allows for great accuracy with 16' of space. I demo'd an Xi+ at 16' and didn't have the metallic stickers on the ball and got exactly what I would have expected to see in terms of accuracy.

 

Honestly the only thing that actually bugs me with Flightscope is their ball flight visual. It looks too low and line-drivey to my eye. Data is perfect, so it's just a preference thing. I visually prefer GC2's ball flight visual, as it's higher and feels more realistic.

 

The option to select different short game shots to different greens is very nice though...again, tempting!

[iteachgolf]

Drew I'll add that the practice green stuff is awesome too - pick any yard distance and hit into greens of various sizes. It adds an ever more "game" feel to it when you're doing the contests as well.

 

This is a good point too, as the short game/putting is really the only weakness I see with Flightscope. As Dan said, the short indoor mode with Flightscope allows for great accuracy with 16' of space. I demo'd an Xi+ at 16' and didn't have the metallic stickers on the ball and got exactly what I would have expected to see in terms of accuracy.

 

Honestly the only thing that actually bugs me with Flightscope is their ball flight visual. It looks too low and line-drivey to my eye. Data is perfect, so it's just a preference thing. I visually prefer GC2's ball flight visual, as it's higher and feels more realistic.

 

The option to select different short game shots to different greens is very nice though...again, tempting!

 

You can do that with Flightscope as well. It's the skills app. Make a green any size at any distance down to the yard.

 

The ball flight is low to support full screen resolution on PCs. It was higher before latest software but it had to be scaled to fit entire screen. Had to compromise something supposedly to make it work.

[3sip]

I've been following this thread for quite some time. I'm currently designing the house I will die in. The basement golf simulator room is based off of this thread. To hear the progress that you have found in your game with the help from skytrak, is truly inspiring. I hope the elbow gets better quick. I am very thankful for your input on a golffice, had I not found this thread I would have never thought that I could build something within my budget. When house is completed I will post pictures. Thanks again.

[dornstar]

I've been following this thread for quite some time. I'm currently designing the house I will die in. The basement golf simulator room is based off of this thread. To hear the progress that you have found in your game with the help from skytrak, is truly inspiring. I hope the elbow gets better quick. I am very thankful for your input on a golffice, had I not found this thread I would have never thought that I could build something within my budget. When house is completed I will post pictures. Thanks again.

Awesome to hear and thanks for the well wishes. Same to you spider. I tore my extensor tendon in my elbow and will have to have surgery, so I'm about to be out for a few weeks.

 

Definitely post pics when you get yours up and running. I'm always eager to see what others do and see if there's anything I can incorporate into my build.

[drewtaylor21]

Drew I'll add that the practice green stuff is awesome too - pick any yard distance and hit into greens of various sizes. It adds an ever more "game" feel to it when you're doing the contests as well.

 

This is a good point too, as the short game/putting is really the only weakness I see with Flightscope. As Dan said, the short indoor mode with Flightscope allows for great accuracy with 16' of space. I demo'd an Xi+ at 16' and didn't have the metallic stickers on the ball and got exactly what I would have expected to see in terms of accuracy.

 

Honestly the only thing that actually bugs me with Flightscope is their ball flight visual. It looks too low and line-drivey to my eye. Data is perfect, so it's just a preference thing. I visually prefer GC2's ball flight visual, as it's higher and feels more realistic.

 

The option to select different short game shots to different greens is very nice though...again, tempting!

 

You can do that with Flightscope as well. It's the skills app. Make a green any size at any distance down to the yard.

 

The ball flight is low to support full screen resolution on PCs. It was higher before latest software but it had to be scaled to fit entire screen. Had to compromise something supposedly to make it work.

 

True, again its just the visual difference. Targets don't really look like greens to me, but in reality it's the same thing. I'm just picky, wishing we as consumers could have it all! I love what Flightscope offers, I just don't love the look. Still 99% sure I'm going to get one for my indoor setup. Had a lot of fun with the demo unit, and I think it'll be a really positive addition for my practice.

[dornstar]

Elbow felt pretty good today, so I did a 50 ball test from 160 on a 30 yard green. Missed on shots 38, 42, 43 and 50. Swing got a little loose at the end as I was getting tired, but still damn good results.

 

[teamacacia]

Little update...

 

After suffering elbow issues since the simulator, I finally broke down and bought a Country Club Elite mat. They're not cheap, but I immediately noticed a huge difference over the Monster Tee mat from All Turf that I was originally using. Really wish I had of got it at the start.

 

Darn, I recently bought the all turf ultimate matzilla mat to use with my optishot beginner sim center. I wanted to go for a low cost sim to gauge how much use I will actually get before splurging on something more pricey. I will definitely try and take note of how the mat feels and how it makes me feel. I don't think it's the same mat you mentioned, but maybe not far off.

[eznark]

Got the whole room set up, but I am having a few issues. The SkyTrak doesn't seem to be doing a very good job at all on tracking shots. I believe it's because the flooring isn't secured and is slightly shifting with each swing. After like 10 swings I'll take a look and the flooring (I got some cheap green patio style carpeting to put down in the entire room but have not yet secured it) is climbing up the baseboards. I'm guessing (hoping) that that's the issue.

 

Also I'm having a sort of nightmare connecting my Surface Pro 4 to the projector and making the image look good. Just looks like total s*** for the most part. Blurry, can't figure out the appropriate aspect ratio, just in general bad. Gotta tinker with that some more.

 

All that said, I did a chipping challenge against my dad just to test it a little bit and god damn when I get this thing all sorted its going to be amazing.

[rhino305]

Got the whole room set up, but I am having a few issues. The SkyTrak doesn't seem to be doing a very good job at all on tracking shots. I believe it's because the flooring isn't secured and is slightly shifting with each swing. After like 10 swings I'll take a look and the flooring (I got some cheap green patio style carpeting to put down in the entire room but have not yet secured it) is climbing up the baseboards. I'm guessing (hoping) that that's the issue.

 

Also I'm having a sort of nightmare connecting my Surface Pro 4 to the projector and making the image look good. Just looks like total s*** for the most part. Blurry, can't figure out the appropriate aspect ratio, just in general bad. Gotta tinker with that some more.

 

All that said, I did a chipping challenge against my dad just to test it a little bit and god damn when I get this thing all sorted its going to be amazing.

 

Mine was not registering some shots as well. Turns out that placing a lamp around the hitting area for better lighting helps. It gets rid of my shadow.

 

Also, I think it helped to pay attention to what is directly behind you (your left foot) so that there is good contrast (black background) when the skytrak camera takes pictures of the ball.

[somaplr]

Little update...

 

After suffering elbow issues since the simulator, I finally broke down and bought a Country Club Elite mat. They're not cheap, but I immediately noticed a huge difference over the Monster Tee mat from All Turf that I was originally using. Really wish I had of got it at the start.

 

Darn, I recently bought the all turf ultimate matzilla mat to use with my optishot beginner sim center. I wanted to go for a low cost sim to gauge how much use I will actually get before splurging on something more pricey. I will definitely try and take note of how the mat feels and how it makes me feel. I don't think it's the same mat you mentioned, but maybe not far off.

 

The mat you're using for an optishot won't make a difference...with the optishot your striking the actual optishot. Only matters with GC2, SkyTrak, Trackman, etc.

[dornstar]

Got the whole room set up, but I am having a few issues. The SkyTrak doesn't seem to be doing a very good job at all on tracking shots. I believe it's because the flooring isn't secured and is slightly shifting with each swing. After like 10 swings I'll take a look and the flooring (I got some cheap green patio style carpeting to put down in the entire room but have not yet secured it) is climbing up the baseboards. I'm guessing (hoping) that that's the issue.

 

Also I'm having a sort of nightmare connecting my Surface Pro 4 to the projector and making the image look good. Just looks like total s*** for the most part. Blurry, can't figure out the appropriate aspect ratio, just in general bad. Gotta tinker with that some more.

 

All that said, I did a chipping challenge against my dad just to test it a little bit and god damn when I get this thing all sorted its going to be amazing.

I had issues early too with it not tracking, but it was because my SkyTrak which I had off the mat on a block was slightly higher than the mat surface. Once I lowered it down to the right level, the issues went away.

 

For the mat sliding, I put one half (rough side) of industrial velcro on the back of my mat. It gives just enough grip against the carpet that it doesn't slide anywhere.

 

 

Haven't used the Surface Pro, but on my image, it's super clear.

[dornstar]

Darn, I recently bought the all turf ultimate matzilla mat to use with my optishot beginner sim center. I wanted to go for a low cost sim to gauge how much use I will actually get before splurging on something more pricey. I will definitely try and take note of how the mat feels and how it makes me feel. I don't think it's the same mat you mentioned, but maybe not far off.

If you don't hit a ridiculous amount of balls like I do, then it probably won't be a problem. I literally hit hundreds upon hundreds of balls a day, so I definitely need a higher end mat.

[dornstar]

One year to the day.... left last year... right tonight.

 

I always struggled with getting steep in the transition (steeper than the pic below when playing poorly) and despite hours upon hours of recording myself and trying to fix it, nothing worked. It's ironic that once I got the SkyTrak and stopped focusing on mechanics and becoming ball flight focused, my shaft naturally become flatter on it's own. This is the first time I've filmed my swing in months and I was surprised at some of the positions.

 

 

[eznark]

I put a desk lamp behind the SkyTrak and aimed it at the ball, worked wonders! Only thing that almost never registers now is my 54' and 58' wedges. My skytrak is currently sitting on a piece of wood about 1/2" higher than the mat though, something I'll fix tonight. Hopefully that helps. I'll also put some black construction paper on the wall behind me as someone suggested.

[dornstar]

I put a desk lamp behind the SkyTrak and aimed it at the ball, worked wonders! Only thing that almost never registers now is my 54' and 58' wedges. My optishot is currently sitting on a piece of wood about 1/2" higher than the mat though, something I'll fix tonight. Hopefully that helps. I'll also put some black construction paper on the wall behind me as someone suggested.

For wedges, put the ball about an inch in front of the laser dot. For drivers, tee it up about 1/2 to 3/4" behind the dot.

[ozarkshooter]

I put a desk lamp behind the SkyTrak and aimed it at the ball, worked wonders! Only thing that almost never registers now is my 54' and 58' wedges. My optishot is currently sitting on a piece of wood about 1/2" higher than the mat though, something I'll fix tonight. Hopefully that helps. I'll also put some black construction paper on the wall behind me as someone suggested.

For wedges, put the ball about an inch in front of the laser dot. For drivers, tee it up about 1/2 to 3/4" behind the dot.

 

Do you progressively move the ball back (relative to the dot) as the clubs get longer? So, maybe a 1/2" in front of the dot for a 6-8 iron?

[dornstar]

I put a desk lamp behind the SkyTrak and aimed it at the ball, worked wonders! Only thing that almost never registers now is my 54' and 58' wedges. My optishot is currently sitting on a piece of wood about 1/2" higher than the mat though, something I'll fix tonight. Hopefully that helps. I'll also put some black construction paper on the wall behind me as someone suggested.

For wedges, put the ball about an inch in front of the laser dot. For drivers, tee it up about 1/2 to 3/4" behind the dot.

 

Do you progressively move the ball back (relative to the dot) as the clubs get longer? So, maybe a 1/2" in front of the dot for a 6-8 iron?

No, just with the wedges. The vertical launch of the wedges can screw with the camera as the ball can elevate before it gets into the main camera window, so you move it slightly forward of the dot so it's more centered in the camera.

 

With the driver, if the SkyTrak is having trouble picking it up, moving it back slightly (1/2 inch or so) and put the lines on the ball facing the camera will help out. I usually don't have to though. Likewise, if you tee the ball up really high, you'll want to raise the SkyTrak a hair.

[somaplr]

That grip changed helped quite a bit Dorn. My worst shots are spinning 1500 now instead of 2000 and therefore can start it at 4* or soo instead of 6*. Awkward as hell at the start but can see it paying dividends already. Not as tight as I'd like to be yet but 14/15 greens from 175 I'll take.

[dornstar]

That grip changed helped quite a bit Dorn. My worst shots are spinning 1500 now instead of 2000 and therefore can start it at 4* or soo instead of 6*. Awkward as hell at the start but can see it paying dividends already. Not as tight as I'd like to be yet but 14/15 greens from 175 I'll take.

Nice.

 

You're definitely starting the ball slightly more right than I am, so you'll need to have more spin to bring it back on target. Usually you want double your starting direction in spin.... 2* right = 400 spin, 4* right = 800 spin, etc, etc, so if you're getting in that 5* right range that you had on that shot, you'll need around 1000, so you're not that far off where you need to be at 1400.

 

Look at the log of all your shots over the course of 2-3 days and find the angle that you start the ball at the most often. If that's 3*, then focus on hitting that number. No point in fighting what you naturally want to do. From there, just groove a path that produces the spin rate needed to bring it back on target. Once you can of determine that, just work on that feel and shot over and over and over again until you get it down and that's your "stock" shot.

[somaplr]

Right I want to be at 3* and less than 1000 rpm on a stock shot. That last shot was one of my higher spinning shots. I was hitting a few different non-stock shots there but I'm closer to 1000 rpm now on a stock shot and my misses are 1500, whereas a few weeks ago my misses were closer to 2000. I hit quite a few there with 3* and only 300 spin that are dead straight if I "have" to do it. I typically don't start the ball that far right, I have a mobile ST now and hitting into a NetReturn so sometimes my aim point is off but I'm ok with that I'm more working on ball flight.

 

It has helped me mentally focus on this stuff than mechanics too, like you said earlier.

[MK7Golf21]

One year to the day.... left last year... right tonight.

 

I always struggled with getting steep in the transition (steeper than the pic below when playing poorly) and despite hours upon hours of recording myself and trying to fix it, nothing worked. It's ironic that once I got the SkyTrak and stopped focusing on mechanics and becoming ball flight focused, my shaft naturally become flatter on it's own. This is the first time I've filmed my swing in months and I was surprised at some of the positions.

 

 

 

good job but I will say this. When your hitting off actual turf, players can try to get steeper with the shaft without even knowing it. Its easier to be shallow on a mat because there is little margin for error.

[Grayback1973]

One year to the day.... left last year... right tonight.

 

I always struggled with getting steep in the transition (steeper than the pic below when playing poorly) and despite hours upon hours of recording myself and trying to fix it, nothing worked. It's ironic that once I got the SkyTrak and stopped focusing on mechanics and becoming ball flight focused, my shaft naturally become flatter on it's own. This is the first time I've filmed my swing in months and I was surprised at some of the positions.

 

 

 

good job but I will say this. When your hitting off actual turf, players can try to get steeper with the shaft without even knowing it. Its easier to be shallow on a mat because there is little margin for error.

Really?......interesting

[MK7Golf21]

One year to the day.... left last year... right tonight.

 

I always struggled with getting steep in the transition (steeper than the pic below when playing poorly) and despite hours upon hours of recording myself and trying to fix it, nothing worked. It's ironic that once I got the SkyTrak and stopped focusing on mechanics and becoming ball flight focused, my shaft naturally become flatter on it's own. This is the first time I've filmed my swing in months and I was surprised at some of the positions.

 

 

 

good job but I will say this. When your hitting off actual turf, players can try to get steeper with the shaft without even knowing it. Its easier to be shallow on a mat because there is little margin for error.

Really?......interesting

 

Yea but just realized I said it wrong. I meant there is little margin for error on turf compared to a mat

[ts511]

Dornstar, Are you still hitting into your original quilt? If so, is it holding up well?

[mystic]

I went over board on my garage sim. The most critical part is the construction and the quality of the screen. I run gc2 with hmt and the fsx courses with dual usb 2.0 cams with GASP and boditrak. Last weekend I demo'd MySwing which will be included soon. The Foresight FSX software is awesome and the performance app shows so much more than what radars show.