Home simulators

[IronHitter]

I am thinking of getting one of these and having it built for me.

 

Yet to work out who are the best people to get to build this. Pros and cons to having one? Do those of you with them find good golf on a simulator carries over well to a course? I suppose no matter what it can't help and can be a substitute for going to the course at all if playing alone.

 

Thanks

[dg_1983]

I could go over for ever. Best investment outside of property I've ever made - best money you will ever spend on your golf game.

 

I've got a skytrak which is fairly entry level in terms of accurate launch monitors. it is excellent. The practice software is excellent and only getting better with every release. The Golf Club (& 2019) is fantastic. The weekly tour is is a god send in the winter months and a real weekly highlight.

 

Being able to hit balls in your garage or basement whenever you get 15mins is priceless. Combine all of this with some good coaching or online lessons your game cannot fail to get better.

[games]

I am thinking of getting one of these and having it built for me.

 

Yet to work out who are the best people to get to build this. Pros and cons to having one? Do those of you with them find good golf on a simulator carries over well to a course? I suppose no matter what it can't help and can be a substitute for going to the course at all if playing alone.

 

Thanks

 

Don't know if you're aware of www.golfsimulatorforum.com but it's really got a lot of good info.

[GMR]

Agreed with DG above. One thing I'd add is to make sure you spend a good amount of time diligencing your choice of mats, an often overlooked part of the whole ordeal. Not only can some harder mats be tough on your joints and cause injuries over time, but the hitting surface can and will have a sizable effect in terms of the ball data you get, and it's important to understand the tradeoffs you are making with the mat you end up choosing.

[Bye]

Pro’s: it will be awesome

Cons: zero

[Shipwreck]

If you have the room I fully recommend it. I am still piecing together my outside simulator but I love using my SkyTrak. As GMR said though, don’t skimp on the mat! If you’re spending 2k plus on a sim, pay the $300-500 for a good mat.

[dlarocca1]

I would love to do this as well and always wondered if it was worth the money if you didn't spend an exuberant amount of money on the launch monitor. If skytrak is accurate enough that would make for a very enjoyable experience anytime you have a free second.

[Popeye64]

I believe the SkyTrack is the best system you can get for a sort of entry level setup.

Its money very well spent because of what it can do for your game. The best part of using a simulator is truly understanding your distances especially on shorter shots. Being able to work on the game year round has made a huge difference for myself.

[grant2145]

Built one this past winter. Started with the SkyTrak play and improve package with The Golf Club before eventually upgrading to a GC2. The GC2 makes the simulation better with less lag between hitting the ball and seeing the shot on the screen. The weekly tour events are something I look forward to playing every week. I've got no plans to get rid of the SkyTrak and now use it primarily for range, bag mapping and the new wedge matrix.

 

On Friday my regular playing partner who hates to loose to me gave me the ultimate compliment saying that my game is on a new level. I'm just making smarter decisions with club selection now that I know my carry yardages. Getting up and down much more from inside 110 yards where previously I was never very consistent with half or 3/4 wedges.

[msg]

I got my sim last winter and this summer, my up and down has gone up due to chipping and pitching. All winter long that's what I have been working on and it paid off. I got my wedges dialed in.

 

If you can do it, then do it. I did it DIY and all the info I got were for the website posted earlier. So much info on that site.

[salmon2]

I'm doing some research as well on this. There are a lot of hitting and sim options. I can't decide whether to go budget (Skytrak) or splurge on GCQuad. Either way, I don't want to skimp on the mat and end up with some of the elbow problems etc that some have ended up with.

[hobbes928]

100% agree. I bought skytrak and built a garage simulator end of last season. Aside from the personal launch monitor, I 100% recommend getting the "right" mat if you plan on pounding balls after balls (that's what she said). I went with fiberbuilt for this exact reason.

 

The other big consideration is to make sure you have enough physical space, particularly height. Mine is 11 feet and for me, a 10ft ceiling is the minimum clearance on full driver swings.

 

I'm doing some research as well on this. There are a lot of hitting and sim options. I can't decide whether to go budget (Skytrak) or splurge on GCQuad. Either way, I don't want to skimp on the mat and end up with some of the elbow problems etc that some have ended up with.

[straightslice]

Are any of your simulators outside or all inside? My garage ceiling is too low IMO. I will measure it shortly for verification.

[grant2145]

I'm doing some research as well on this. There are a lot of hitting and sim options. I can't decide whether to go budget (Skytrak) or splurge on GCQuad. Either way, I don't want to skimp on the mat and end up with some of the elbow problems etc that some have ended up with.

 

Just an FYI regarding the GCQuad, you are limited to only FSX simulation. Unlike the GC2 they encrypt the Bluetooth crippling the use of other software choices like TGC, E6, JNPG. A GC2 + HMT would be your best option.

[stickner]

100% agree. I bought skytrak and built a garage simulator end of last season. Aside from the personal launch monitor, I 100% recommend getting the "right" mat if you plan on pounding balls after balls (that's what she said). I went with fiberbuilt for this exact reason.

 

The other big consideration is to make sure you have enough physical space, particularly height. Mine is 11 feet and for me, a 10ft ceiling is the minimum clearance on full driver swings.

 

I'm doing some research as well on this. There are a lot of hitting and sim options. I can't decide whether to go budget (Skytrak) or splurge on GCQuad. Either way, I don't want to skimp on the mat and end up with some of the elbow problems etc that some have ended up with.

 

I made a DIY-DIvot Action. It is awesome.

 

Any impact a mat has to ball-flight plays a serious second-fiddle to what impact that mat has to your joints.

[jasonfish11]

Another thing to note.

 

Plan on it taking 3 months for you to see normal distances on your monitor if you are swinging indoors. Everyone always says this, and my thought was "ah wtf are these people talking about, that won't be a problem for me."

 

Long story short, it took me about 2 months to get the yardages similar to what I see on the course.

[stickner]

Another thing to note.

 

Plan on it taking 3 months for you to see normal distances on your monitor if you are swinging indoors. Everyone always says this, and my thought was "ah wtf are these people talking about, that won't be a problem for me."

 

Long story short, it took me about 2 months to get the yardages similar to what I see on the course.

 

Not true for me!

 

When I got my simulator I went BEAST-MODE right out of the gate.

 

My driver was a slap-happy-low-squirrely-peel-off-bunt-fade that flew about 205 and rolled out to 212.

 

Just like real life baby!!!!!

[jasonfish11]

Another thing to note.

 

Plan on it taking 3 months for you to see normal distances on your monitor if you are swinging indoors. Everyone always says this, and my thought was "ah wtf are these people talking about, that won't be a problem for me."

 

Long story short, it took me about 2 months to get the yardages similar to what I see on the course.

 

Not true for me!

 

When I got my simulator I went BEAST-MODE right out of the gate.

 

My driver was a slap-happy-low-squirrely-peel-off-bunt-fade that flew about 205 and rolled out to 212.

 

Just like real life baby!!!!!

 

And your 3w carries 225 usually pretty straight, yet you hit driver 9/10 times on the course? Hmmm your game sounds all too familiar.

[TheHorse]

100% agree. I bought skytrak and built a garage simulator end of last season. Aside from the personal launch monitor, I 100% recommend getting the "right" mat if you plan on pounding balls after balls (that's what she said). I went with fiberbuilt for this exact reason.

 

The other big consideration is to make sure you have enough physical space, particularly height. Mine is 11 feet and for me, a 10ft ceiling is the minimum clearance on full driver swings.

 

I'm doing some research as well on this. There are a lot of hitting and sim options. I can't decide whether to go budget (Skytrak) or splurge on GCQuad. Either way, I don't want to skimp on the mat and end up with some of the elbow problems etc that some have ended up with.

 

I made a DIY-DIvot Action. It is awesome.

 

Any impact a mat has to ball-flight plays a serious second-fiddle to what impact that mat has to your joints.

 

I would love to see how you made the DIY-Divot Action mat. Any plans you could share?

[FadeFace]

Please provide details on the DIY divot mat

[jasonfish11]

Here is the DIY divot action.

 

https://golfsimulato...ivot-action-mat

 

Here is a DIY Real Feel golf mat with gel insert. I followed these instructions, and it works great. No elbow/wrist pain and I hit 50+ balls a day on it.

 

https://golfsimulato...for-only-271-50

[epyon]

I got the skytrak myself and I absolutely love it. The only reason to get something higher than a skytrak is if you wanted your clubhead data as well. The skytrak will only give ball data, but I feel like its pretty much 90% of what I need. The jump to a GC4 or something those lines just doesn't add enough value for me to splurge on it. Most of my improvement will be with wedge gapping, and club data is not as critical for me with wedges. For me, its just more about how I can link a feel of a 3/4 wedge to the distance I'm trying to hit. The thing is incredibly accurate for the price.

 

I will also restate what has been said, to get a good mat. You will be hitting off that same mat almost every day, so for your physical health, its pretty important. I am planning on building my own real feel mat later down the line.

[salmon2]

Is the CCE a decent mat? What is the most body friendly mat out there if there is a consensus on that?

[Doppelganger]

I got skytrak and improved immensely.

 

Improved bigly.

[stickner]

Please provide details on the DIY divot mat

 

Here is another thread with some details:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/build-your-own/mats-turf-and-flooring/125899-diy-divot-action

 

I have tried out many different mats. I would STAY away from CCE.

 

The DIY divot action has been the least stressful of all the mats I have tried.

[SlamMan]

I went there other way. I started with a diy divot action mat and felt like it didn't provide enough feedback. I switched to a cce insert and have been very happy. It rewards clean shots and punishes fat ones. The da didn't seem as realistic with fat shots.

[GMR]

Is the CCE a decent mat? What is the most body friendly mat out there if there is a consensus on that?

CCE is decent for ballflight but can be very harsh on the joints, especially if you have a somewhat steep AoA with your irons. That said, if you have a problem hitting the ball fat, the CCE will solve that issue very quickly since it's extremely unforgiving on turf-first contact. Don't know if there is a complete consensus but most view the Fiberbuilt as relatively easy on the joints and providing some of the better ballflight #s (though still not exactly the same as real golf). I've found with my Fiberbuilt that it can be somewhat difficult to feel when a strike is somewhat fat, but fat strikes will be punished pretty significantly in ballflight (ballspeed, etc.). Can really throw some people off when they first get on the mat though if they tend to hit slightly behind the ball and use the bounce of their irons--they will notice a significant falloff in distances (more than most turf conditions outside unless you usually play when it's damp out), but can't really figure out why since they won't "feel" the fat strike. Just something to be aware of.

 

Here's a article from trackman that is somewhat eye-opening regarding the effect a mat can have on the ballflight:

https://blog.trackmangolf.com/mats-vs-grass-whats-difference/

[salmon2]

Great info. Accuracy would be great but certainly not at the risk of injury.

[stickner]

I went there other way. I started with a diy divot action mat and felt like it didn't provide enough feedback. I switched to a cce insert and have been very happy. It rewards clean shots and punishes fat ones. The da didn't seem as realistic with fat shots.

 

It's not the mat that provides feedback in my opinion.

• Your ears hear the quality of the strike. Regardless of the type of mat used, your ears know when you hit it thin, fat, a little off-center or dead nuts perfect
  
• You can feel the quality of the strike. Regardless of the type of mat used, you can feel when you hit it thin, fat, a little off-center or dead nuts perfect
  

If I hit something a little fat or thin on my divot-action mat, I know it. I don't care that the ball flight on screen doesn't perfectly reflect what would happen on grass.

 

I would argue that *most* people get WORSE feedback on a grass range compared to my divot-action mat. The reason? They are more than likely hitting well-worn range balls of a lower quality. Well-worn lower quality range balls do not fly the same as a brand new ProV.

 

I don't take every shot I hit on SkyTrak with my divot-action as gospel for what will happen on the course. But it sure gives me a good idea.

 

I would rather have an extremely forgiving mat to reduce stress to my joints as much as possible.

[hobbes928]

Is the CCE a decent mat? What is the most body friendly mat out there if there is a consensus on that?

 

I had this mat from years ago but after a few weeks I purchased my fiberbuilt mat because I started getting joint pains.

 

CCE mat - cons: bad for joints if you plan on hitting a lot of balls. Pro: really punishes you on fat shots unlike other standard range mats.