Looking for info on golf simulators

[King_Slender]

Anyone have one in their basement? Not looking for something too high end, but what can be done for say $5,000?

[MountainGoat]

You can do a Skytrak projection system for that amount. But the big issue will be ceiling height.

 

I know there are guys on this forum who say they built a system in a coat closet with a bed sheet and projector they found along the side of the road. But, an honest accounting of the space and equipment requirements for a quality system is fairly daunting. Personally, when I added it all up, I elected not to do it. In addition, given the state of the technology, I grew leery the actual utility of a system once the novelty wore off.

[johngalt312]

Still have yet to build out the 10x5 booth/screen and hang a projector, but otherwise yes.

[Lawdog1775]

I have a Skytrak and use it on my patio (I could not accommodate an indoor setup due to height issues with my driver/hybrids like Mountaingoat mentioned). It works great, has a ton of features and modes, and you can link it with The Golf Club and other simulators to play a variety of courses. For the price range, I think Skytrak is likely the best option and fit.

[howellhandmade]

As Goat said, it’s all about ceiling height. SkyTrak is about $2k, the rest can be done on a budget. There’s a pretty good thread on here somewhere; lost it in the move to new format, maybe it was in Club Techs?

 

Now, what you wind up with won’t be quite like the $20-30k simulator at Golf Galaxy or whatever, but if you have the space it can take the edge off a long winter.

 

Edit: here you go

 

https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1720076/home-simulators-lets-talk-about-them/p1

[MountainGoat]

> @howellhandmade said:

> As Goat said, it’s all about ceiling height. SkyTrak is about $2k, the rest can be done on a budget. There’s a pretty good thread on here somewhere; lost it in the move to new format, maybe it was in Club Techs?

>

> Now, what you wind up with won’t be quite like the $20-30k simulator at Golf Galaxy or whatever, but if you have the space it can take the edge off a long winter.

>

> Edit: here you go

>

> https://forums.golfwrx.com/discussion/1720076/home-simulators-lets-talk-about-them/p1

 

That's a good thread. There was another one about the same time in which I published a lengthy summary of all of the considerations I had learned up to that point. If you're interested and can't find it, PM me and I'll send it to you. You also might be interested in a Facebook group called the "Golf Simulator/Launch Monitor/Emerging Technologies Discussion Group". There's also www.golfsimulatorforum.com.

 

I concluded that the round number of $2k for a Skytrak unit understates the cost of the whole system by a considerable amount. In addition to the Skytrak itself, there's also the cost of simulator software (like TGC). Mat, screen, canopy, projector, projector mount, computer and incidentals are all on top of that. And you really do need to consider protection from mishits. A 100mph golf ball sent in the wrong direction is a dangerous and destructive thing.

 

[Kevlar10]

Yes , the ceiling height is obviously critical. I built one in my basement a few years ago. Im 5”10” and my ceiling height is 9’6”, which is good for me but nobody taller can play. Luckily my buddies are all around 5’8”-5’10”. I have an optishot system and it is fun. It’s pretty realistic but the only shortcoming is that it doesn’t track the height of your swing off of the mat. Speed, face angle and contact location are pretty accurate and for the most part it duplicates my play on the course. I do tend to chunk and top shots occasionally in reality and the sensor doesn’t pick up on this. I only spent about $1000 on the whole setup. Now that SkyTrak has dropped in price (it was $7500 when I first built mine), I might upgrade in the near future. Right now I’m happy with what I have as it’s a good tool to keep my swing up during the winter and have a few drinks with my golfing buddies.

[ohioglfr]

If ceiling height is critical, most garages could accommodate club swings. Keep it spartan or finish it like a man cave.

[jeggolfer68]

I've owned an Opti-shot for 2 months. Screen, ceiling mounted projector, and a 4 year old laptop brought total investment to about $1400.00. I use "almost golf balls". Am I getting metrics shown like a Skytrak, or a Trackman? No. Am I having a pretty immersive golf experience? Absolutely! I spent time getting everything set up accurately, I am using a 5 hybrid as my driver because of ceiling height, I can play 9 holes in a short amount of time and am having a blast. By the way, I adjusted my 5 hybrid to act like a driver and it works perfectly. I feel you can spend what I spent to play simulator golf, or 3-10 times the amount for numbers on the screen. I sometimes use my Zepp 2 for some metrics, other things like Mevo are out there. For me, I got this highly underated Opti-shot to play golf and it works.