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

[msg]

it's likely because you're hitting it fat, taking off a ton of your club head speed and making poorer contact. regular range mats cover this up because the club just bounces/slides across the top of the turf into the ball. how are you on grass? if you hit fat, you'll be punished but not as bad probably. if you're hitting ball first, it shouldn't cause low, short shots.

 

I am pretty good with my irons in real life. They are my strongest part of my game. I take a huge divot though. I have been playing for quite a while so I am very familiar when I hit it thin, fat, toe, etc.

 

When I use the CCE, I get a feeling of a mishit but it's not fat nor thin. It's just a weird feeling. I have sprayed foot spray and I hit the ball somewhere near between the center and the toe.

 

And this problem only happens when I use an 8 iron and up. I was just baffled at why I cannot suddenly hit my bread and butter shots. I thought that it was because it was off season. It's like a switch was turned off and suddenly I forgot how to swing?!

 

It's really weird what's happening to me. I am in the process of bringing my CCE to that range that we have that has the golf sim and see if the same issues will happen. Haha. Or even borrowing their mat and taking it to my basement and see what happens. I guess that is the only way to find out. Or maybe get a Trackman to get some numbers but that is quite hard to do given where I live.

 

Also I have been to quite a few driving ranges here in our area and I never had any issues with my irons with any mats. I have tried a CCE like mat in the past and I never recalled this issue happening. That's why when I got this mat, I was caught by surprise at how bad my mid and long irons were.

 

But even with this trouble with the CCE mat, I am relieved when I tried the range this morning and found my old shots were still there. I just have to find out what is the cause behind this issue to maximize the Sky Trak. I can't hit sand wedges and 9 irons every day lol

[ruffellprefley]

are you swinging differently because you're worried that you're going to hit the ceiling?

[msg]

Actually that is one of the things that might be causing the issue. Not the ceiling since it's 12 feet tall. It's the width of the room. I do feel differently from when I swing at the other indoor range place. I have a 10x10x10 cage so that made my basement feel a little cramped, width wise.

 

But again I can swing my 9 iron no problem but not my 8 and up. My 8 and 9 iron are almost the same length but definitely lesser loft on the 8. So there's that.

 

I guess if I borrow the same mat I hit at the range this morning and still swing poorly down my basement. And if that is the case, I am in deep trouble with the wife. lol

[stingreye]

Indoor swing is a real thing. I hit outside on my patio initially for a couple months then when I got a dedicated sim room I lost distances on my clubs. Couple weeks and it went away and my distances came back.

[msg]

Indoor swing is a real thing. I hit outside on my patio initially for a couple months then when I got a dedicated sim room I lost distances on my clubs. Couple weeks and it went away and my distances came back.

 

Oh yeah I agree with you with that. Until now I cannot hit my driver down my basement because of the fear of the golf ball coming back to me haha.

 

And I don't mind losing distance indoors but to not hit it flush on all shots, not even one shot at least, is something else.

 

It's been three months and I tried everything and I cannot fix this issue when I am at my basement. Then went this morning at an indoor range / simulator which also is located in the basement of a golf course restaurant and hit my shots perfectly on the first try. :fie:

[Krt22]

I have plenty of space (9.5' ceilings, 8 ft wide net) but I still dont like hitting woods.

[msg]

I have plenty of space (9.5' ceilings, 8 ft wide net) but I still dont like hitting woods.

 

What do you feel when you hit woods? Do you feel like you are going to hit something? That's what I feel when I tried mine. I never overcame the fear. How wide is the actual room?

[golfdk]

I've read through most of this over the past couple of days and I'm really considering getting a projector and a golfsimulator for the garage.

2 issues:

1. Injuries. I seems this is a common problem with hitting off of a mat. I guess there's nothing to do about this besides getting a decent mat and gradually increasing the training intensity?

2. Technology. Since this thread is more than 2 years old I was wondering whether there are rumors about new/better simulators on its way?

Thanks.

[JIG1411]

Here is my set up, I have a tandem garage so it was a perfect fit for a bay. I put most this together during the Golfsmith closing here in Austin so it was a cheap option vs. the Skytrack. The Accusport Vector Pro, Kiosk, 47" TV & Computer were all from Golfsmith liquidation. The "Net" is actually a king comforter from Ikea and works great for stopping the ball and deadening the impact noise. The Matzilla Golf Mat from All Turf Golf Mats is awesome, trunk carpet under that and other parts are from Home depot. Overall i'm under $500 and luckily had no issues with the Vector Pro (W/ Micro Lenses) it is very accurate when I compare my numbers with the GC2 at golf galaxy. Only downside to date is the inability to incorporate a true game simulator for course play, if anyone knows of another software option for the Vector Pro please hook me up on the details!

 

My current project is building a 12' x 4' putting green along the wall where the Kiosk is now, a cold weather spell has hindered gluing the turf to the frame but I will post new pics once complete and putts are rolling smooth. The Kiosk will be moved to the back corner behind the screen and use the Google Chrome cast to connect to the TV.

[tmartin89]

Awesome!!!

[Clark55810]

I've read through most of this over the past couple of days and I'm really considering getting a projector and a golfsimulator for the garage.

2 issues:

1. Injuries. I seems this is a common problem with hitting off of a mat. I guess there's nothing to do about this besides getting a decent mat and gradually increasing the training intensity?

2. Technology. Since this thread is more than 2 years old I was wondering whether there are rumors about new/better simulators on its way?

Thanks.

 

1 - as many in the thread of stated, the mat is almost as important as the launch monitor. I was lucky and picked up a used mat from a pro to start. Recently replaced the hitting area with FiberBuilt. FiberBuilt is the best mat i have hit off of anywhere.

2 - I believe SkyTrak is still the leader in the under $5,000 market, but it really comes down to what you want to spend. I am very help with SkyTrak and they continue to improve the software .

[drewtaylor21]

I've read through most of this over the past couple of days and I'm really considering getting a projector and a golfsimulator for the garage.

2 issues:

1. Injuries. I seems this is a common problem with hitting off of a mat. I guess there's nothing to do about this besides getting a decent mat and gradually increasing the training intensity?

2. Technology. Since this thread is more than 2 years old I was wondering whether there are rumors about new/better simulators on its way?

Thanks.

 

1 - as many in the thread of stated, the mat is almost as important as the launch monitor. I was lucky and picked up a used mat from a pro to start. Recently replaced the hitting area with FiberBuilt. FiberBuilt is the best mat i have hit off of anywhere.

2 - I believe SkyTrak is still the leader in the under $5,000 market, but it really comes down to what you want to spend. I am very help with SkyTrak and they continue to improve the software .

 

Agreed here. Don't skimp on the mat. Fiberbuilt or Divot Action (can DIY) are going to be best for long term use/injury prevention.

 

There are always rumors of new tech, but the launch monitor market seems to move very slowly and history would tell you not to be an early adopter of anything that hasn't been tried and tested. Skytrak is still the best monitor for under $2k. You can usually find a used GC2, which is a step up in reliability, for ~$3500-4500.

[msg]

I've read through most of this over the past couple of days and I'm really considering getting a projector and a golfsimulator for the garage.

2 issues:

1. Injuries. I seems this is a common problem with hitting off of a mat. I guess there's nothing to do about this besides getting a decent mat and gradually increasing the training intensity?

2. Technology. Since this thread is more than 2 years old I was wondering whether there are rumors about new/better simulators on its way?

Thanks.

 

1. Just like what the others said, mat is important. As nice as the CCE mat is, I believe you will develop injuries in due time of using it daily. I know I would have if I haven't slowed down my practice sessions since that is the at I bought. You can also buy cheap mats and get injured because they provide less shock absorption. I have tried Fiberbuilt and that is what I am planning on getting. They say the True Strike mat also provides good impact on shots. You can look those two mats up online.

 

2. Technology, nothing new so far except for R Motion golf. It may be ok but not as accurate as Sky Trak. Mevo might work for you from Flightscope. But it has very limited information but you only pay 500 dollars for it. I got a Sky Trak and I cannot complain. If I had money I would had bought GC2 or Trackman. But for my needs the Sky Trak is more than enough.

[ruffellprefley]

for mats I switched from my 3x5 CCE (still use this as stance mat) and bought a 3x1 fiberbuilt strip. i’ve even started doing “air divots” with that though where I put the ball at the edge of the strip and hit down and through into air in front of the strip.

[Mnalette]

I’m jealous!!

[Krt22]

I have plenty of space (9.5' ceilings, 8 ft wide net) but I still dont like hitting woods.

 

What do you feel when you hit woods? Do you feel like you are going to hit something? That's what I feel when I tried mine. I never overcame the fear. How wide is the actual room?

 

Just constrained I guess, hitting 150mph+ projectiles in a small space I guess is weird. I have a 2.5 car garage, so I hit in a 20x10 area or so. I have a flightscope so I need more distance between the ball and net

[msg]

I have plenty of space (9.5' ceilings, 8 ft wide net) but I still dont like hitting woods.

 

What do you feel when you hit woods? Do you feel like you are going to hit something? That's what I feel when I tried mine. I never overcame the fear. How wide is the actual room?

 

Just constrained I guess, hitting 150mph+ projectiles in a small space I guess is weird. I have a 2.5 car garage, so I hit in a 20x10 area or so. I have a flightscope so I need more distance between the ball and net

 

That's what I feel too. Too bad I am the only one who cannot hit woods or driver in my set up. All my buddies can hit theirs with no issues. I am thinking of taking down my cage and setting up something small to make the hitting area look bigger in hopes of getting past the constrained feeling. Maybe I cam just hang the white screen with no side nets or get a net return. That will considerably make the space look and feel wider.

[trumb1mj1]

I’ve used a CCE for years without issue. The better I hit it on this mat the better my game gets. I also use it in conjunction with my SkyTrak. My carry numbers are spot on. No injuries.

[msg]

I’ve used a CCE for years without issue. The better I hit it on this mat the better my game gets. I also use it in conjunction with my SkyTrak. My carry numbers are spot on. No injuries.

 

Good for you. I'll try to bring my CCE mat at the local golf sim place and see what happens. It punishes fat shots so much that if you hit off the CCE very well then that should translate clean shots in real life. I noticed that when I went to a regular mat, I rarely it fat because of what my CCE ingrained in my head.

[Qwiklap]

I am using CCE -- and I have some wrist pain (but I had before I even got an indoor setup). My wrist pain seems to be more related to the occasional flip and overtorqueing my wrists.

 

That said -- do people really think Fiberbuilt is better or easier on the lead wrist?

[Clark55810]

I can't really speak to the CCE, but I had a mat that I am guessing was close to the CCE mat. I purchased it from my golf pro as he was upgrading his studio.

 

That mat really forced me to "pick" the ball since it was had on my wrists if I hit down like a would on the course. After a winter inside hitting on the mat, it would take about two weeks to get use to playing on real grass.

 

I recently installed the FiberBuilt "Flight Deck" on my mat, cutting out the old mat to insert the deck.

 

The FiberBuilt mat is much easier to hit the ball like I would on the course. I can feel the compression, which I just don't get when I "pick the ball".

 

I would say it is MUCH improved compared to the previous mat.

 

Clark

[drewtaylor21]

I am using CCE -- and I have some wrist pain (but I had before I even got an indoor setup). My wrist pain seems to be more related to the occasional flip and overtorqueing my wrists.

 

That said -- do people really think Fiberbuilt is better or easier on the lead wrist?

 

Night and day difference in the amount of stress those two mats will put on your body. It's rare to hear of anyone not developing some aches and pains with the CCE, unfortunately. It's a great mat other than that!

[msg]

I have been in contact wit Fiber Built via email. I think I will order their mat when I verify that it is my CCE mat that is causing my golf shot issues ( low launching mid and long irons that goes no where). For the meantime I will buy a strip of any cheap mat that is not CCE to test out my theory because it may also be something else, like swinging differently because I am indoors and my space is that the widest.

 

I have set up a 10x10 cage that I am planning on replacing with a Net Return or something smaller. I can't believe how huge a cage would be when installed in our basement. It made our basement look and feel cramped.

[GT7212]

Just wanted to express my thanks to OP and every else that contributed their great ideas to this forum

 

Here’s a pic of the setup I just spent the past week building in my garage.

[ruffellprefley]

wow. do you not use the garage for cars at all or is just that big?

[butette]

Just wanted to express my thanks to OP and every else that contributed their great ideas to this forum

 

Here's a pic of the setup I just spent the past week building in my garage.

 

Garage? where do you keep the car? :)

[msg]

Sorry for this long post, I just want to share my frustration with the setup I have down my basement.

 

As I have posted before, I am having issues with my golf swing. Particularly with my mid and long irons. I thought that I have lost my swing completely because it is winter and I have not had the chance to go to the range. Well it turns out that was not the case when I played at a golf sim at our local course. All my irons were as they were in the summer.

 

So I thought maybe its the setup I have. I have a cage set up and my basement felt really small when I assembled it. Maybe that was what was causing my issues. Another culprit that I am suspecting was the CCE mat that I have. It may not be compatible with my swing. Not sure but I am trying to eliminate all possible causes.

 

I plan on getting the Ne Return and another mat that is not a CCE mat. Hopefully that solves my issue. I can swing my wedges and 9 iron but anything else, nothing. And it only happens here in my basement. It's so weird! This is the only thing holding me back from buying the golf simulation. I am glad though I did not spend the money on a gaming pc and the software.

 

So I got bored and took down one of the pipes that makes me uncomfortable hitting my driver and hybrid. I can say that it did make the basement feel bigger and I can swing more freely. I was able to swing my hybrid for the first time in this place, without feeling the same fear I felt of hitting the pipe or something. I have yet to try the driver.

 

This was my set up before:

 

 

This is a few hours ago minus one pipe:

 

 

This is my hybrid and I sprayed foot spray to see what happens. It only went 144 but it's a huge progress because before I could not even make it go 50 when the post was up. I was able to hit one at 178 but it still was flying very low.

 

 

 

I took pictures of my sw, aw and pw. All were nice hits.

 

 

approach wedge

 

 

 

Pw

 

 

 

This was the 7 iron, It felt flush but did not go far and launched like 12 degrees and ended up like 130 yards.

 

 

Sorry for the pictures and long post. I am just frustrated at what's happening. While it does feel better now that I can swing freely, the issue of my mid irons is still there. So that means the cage may have something to do with restraining my swing but not the low flight. If I can figure this out, Sky Trak would be the best thing that I could have purchased when it comes to golf. I can already see the effect of constantly practicing my short irons (because they are the only ones I can hit). My dispersion has improved a lot using Sky Trak for the last three months. It also helped a lot with my wedge shots from 20 30 40 50 yard shots.

 

I am just waiting for a mat to test other than this cce mat. I do hope it is just the mat because my wife will kill me for upgrading our basement, only to be able to hit wedges and short irons. lol

 

I have Googled and asked different forums and I have never had a person who has the same issue as I do. The closest one though was someone who bought a Fiber Built mat and he cannot hit his mid and short irons. The complete opposite of my problem. Hopefully I can sort this out when the new mat arrives and start really enjoying the full potential of my Sky Trak. :)

[dg_1983]

Do you have impact spray pics from outdoor or range sessions?

 

Not to be rude but though impacts look miles off, a couple look like you nearly missed the ball.

 

Are you centring it outside?

 

[msg]

No worries. These usually are my impact in real

life haha. Close to the toe as far as I remember. I’ve never been hitting it perfectly dead center. No I don’t have a foot spray pic outdoors because it’s winter here. But I’ll get some pictures when I try out that other golf sim place. I’ll also take pictures of the yardages and launch that I get out that place.

[HatsForBats]

Sorry for this long post, I just want to share my frustration with the setup I have down my basement.

 

I saw that first picture and saw how much of a problem that pole would be. First thing I did with my 10x10x10 cage was move my mat to the far side so I wasn't bothered as much by the left edge (right handed player) of the cage on my backswing.

 

How much space do you have above the cage? I assume you can go further left as well.

 

Some ramblings as I think over your situation. The below started out as a 1 paragraph reply but the more I thought about the more options I saw.

 

I'm in a situation where I needed to build a cage that can more easily be taken down and re-assembled (work place warehouse). So I found some telescoping aluminum tubing (6 foot lengths) so I can assemble it with only 1 person instead of needing at least 2 people. They would probably extend to about 11 foot total if needed (leaving 1 foot of the smaller tube inside the larger tube).

 

You can also extend your cage with extra frame parts - http://www.canopymart.com/canopy-fitting-selection.html . The net will still of course be 10 x 10 x 10 but I gather that is not the problem for you?

 

Though a better option would probably be a coupler for the EMT tubing - https://www.homedepot.com/b/Electrical-Electrical-Boxes-Conduit-Fittings-Conduit-Fittings/4/EMT/Coupling/N-5yc1vZbohkZ1z10x4fZ1z117vgZ1z117wg

 

Also have you consider making the depth of the cage less? I originally started under the cage for fear of a shank ending up ping-ponging around the warehouse. I now setup about 4 or 5 feet outside of the cage and have hit some shanks (developed yips with the 60 degree wedge) and the netting as caught them all.

 

Lastly, do you even need the cage at all? Why not just hang the net from the ceiling and get rid of the cage?

 

I have a FiberBuilt mat and do like it but I find fat shots go a lot longer than expected. Sometimes even further than well struck shots. If I am working on club distances I just delete fat shots out of the recorded data. If I have that shot that is between my 4-iron and hybrid I just hit a 4-iron a little fat for that extra distance which is not helping my real game but...