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Sim Room Setup - fiberbuilt and impact screen question


J Wheazy

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Hello everyone, I have been reading the sim forums for around 2 months now.  Was initially looking at the Garmin and Bushnell but after doing my research I ended up going with the Skytrak as I wanted accurate ball spin readings and also wanted to play sim golf without spending 7k-10k up front, I wanted to be able to build it as I go spending $500-$1000 a month over the next 3-6 months. 

 

I am installing this in my garage in a 10 x 10 x 20 space. I want to use a 4x10 putting mat that I already have for my base with a fiberbuilt flight deck on top of it just to get me going as I figured I would just pick up the flight deck when I need to putt.  I will use an old 46" TV to start with and an old laptop or iphone to run the software.  Eventually I will upgrade to a projector with a nice impact screen and add TGC 2019, to start I will just use the range app and the E6 demo that came with the skytrak.  The range mode and skill games and bag gapping should keep me busy for at least a month

 

My next immediate purchase will be an impact screen from carls.  They currently have an 8 x 10 standard screen on clearance for $180, is the premium screen necessary or will the standard screen work for 6 months to a year?  I will eventually buy a 10x10 premium screen

 

2nd big purchase will be a 4x7 fiberbuilt grass hitting mat.   Will this work for putting in sim golf?

 

 

I'm trying to stay under an additional $1000 this month to get me started as I just bought the Skytrak on Friday.  I don't mind wasting $500 over the next 4-6 months, I just can't swing spending 5k (including Skytrak) in one month or the wife will kill me! 3k is a much easier conversation to have on a video game (in her view).

 

 

I figure a cheap startup is $500 without a projector, $600-700 with a projector:

 

$200 10 x 10 x 10 net cage enclosure (amazon)

$200 8 x 10 standard impact screen (carls)

$100 Fiberbuilt grass deck

 

$100-200 cheap projector (amazon)

 

Future Upgrades:

 

$895 TGC 2019 - ASAP (maybe this month, kids want to play golf too!)

$999 4 x 7 Fiberbuilt studio mat - Dec (xmas gift to myself)

$600-$900 Premium Impact Screen - Feb (valentines? you love me right?)

$800-$1200 projector - April (kids want to watch movies in the spring!)

 

I just bought a brand new set of $2500 Ping i210s last month too so I'm already in the dog house as far as splashing any more money on my favorite hobby

 

 

 

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My setup sorta mimics your current setup.

 

I have a skytrak, a 40-something TV on a stand, a gaming laptop, a couple cameras for swing recording, a spornia net and a mat setup.


I think it’s wise you are easing into things. I use mine during play season to practice and tinker with different golf clubs/shafts. Cheaper and easier than driving to the course to hit a bucket. While skytrak is decent, it’s not a Trackman or GC Quad. So you have to have realistic expectations, too. In the off season, I’ll tinker as above, plus play some indoor non-competition golf on TGC 2019.

 

That said, I had dreams of projectors, impact screens, nice studio turf setup, etc. like you. But the more simple (less sexy) setup works for what I need and I just haven’t found the need to go beyond. You might find the same.

 

My second piece of advice is that the mat is by far the best investment and the one you should make next (not screen). You don’t want to get an injury or have unnatural feedback that can build bad habits (i.e. fat shots). And it doesn’t have to be expensive. I learned that the hard way.
 

I had a couple different fiberbuilt setups and didn’t like any of them. First was the flight deck stance mat setup from Costco and then a studio mat with a 1x4 nylon hitting strip from FB direct. Three things with the flight deck: (1) the “fibers” are poly (vs nylon is their other setups) and feel pretty stiff; (2) the mat slid around a bunch and I was constantly resetting it; (3) the oval is just too small and I was constantly worried about being able to hit down and through without striking the tee up front (removing it is an annoyance). The studio mat resolved these things, but came with its own issues: (1) the skytrak laser gets diffused with the fiberbuilt “fibers” so I could quite tell where exactly to put the ball; (2) fiberbuilt mats are supposed to be injury-free but I went to bed many nights with a sore wrist; (3) I experienced low spin and annoying misreads; there’s talk out there that the reflective nature of the nylon fibers don’t play nice with the cameras — found that to be true.


So after reading advice here and other sites (golfsimulatorforum), I ditched the fiberbuilts, let my wrist heal, and got a reclaimed decent condition 5x5 country club elite mat from my home golf course when they rotated out. Took it home and I cut a 1x5 strip off one end, and cut out a 1x2 rectangle which I replaced with a DIY divot action board. Effectively created a 4x5 stance mat with a 1x2 cutout hitting area, and a 1x5 putting strip that I lay between my stance mat and the net. Highly recommend this route. PM me if you want details / pictures.

 

Good luck with what you decide to do and most of all have fun!

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I would also consider upgrading to the Truestrike mat in the future.  Is this a better option?

 

Assume I would need to use the birdtee to hit driver or I could also put my calaway hitting strip on the truestrike mat if I wanted to use actual tees.  

 

Are you moving the skytrak to read putts?  I think it would be pretty easy to make a sliding platform with a putting strip in front of the hitting area if necessary

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Haven’t tried truestrike; have read mixed reviews. Seems like it’s a similar idea to the divot action, which you can DIY pretty easily.


For tee shots, I cut a little hole into my stance mat in front of hitting mat, and put a small height rubber “tee holder”  into it, flush with the height of the mat. That way I can use regular wooden pegs for tee shots.

 

I did make a DIY slider for the skytrak. Some sheet metal, wood, and closet door track wheels from Home Depot. Cheap and easy! Slide it up for putts or tee shots, back for turf shots. Will send you pics.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is what my setup turned into.  I found the fiberbuilt flight deck insert on Ebay for $60 and I also have the materials to build the divot action hitting section so I can try it out prior to spending money on a larger hitting mat.  I really like the fiberbuilt flight deck so far, its pretty nice to hit from, I was already getting wrist pain after hitting 200 balls off of my putting mat.

 

I ended up using screw eyes and carbinger hooks to hang the net.  I had some left over wire from our string lights and I ran the wire through each eye screw and then I ran it through each corner as well so I can slide the netting back and forth if I want or I can keep it secured in a the screw eyes.  I used 1 1/4" PVC to hang the screen with ball bungies to secure the screen to the PVC, I just have it hanging from bike hooks in the ceiling.

 

I'm also going to rotate and modify the practice putting green so I can putt into a hole, I think that will help with alignment.

 

Not including the skytrak or tv, this setup was around $1000 all in.  I went with the preferred carl's impact screen for $400 shipped.  Next month I will add a dedicated gaming computer and TGC 2019, followed by an upgraded projector in the very near future.

 

Pretty happy with how it turned out, putting on the flight deck is working well on E6 demo and I have found the bright red callaway balls are working great, very few misreads and I am still learning how this system works.  Thanks for all the help, I will post up pics of my DIY divot action later this week too.

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Edited by J Wheazy
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