Help with my simulator

[jas0nmacisaac]

So, I’ve read quite a bit about golf simulators the last two weeks and it seems like it’s a series of rabbit holes.

 

I’ll start with the knowns.

- The dimensions of the garage that I am building will be 14’ x 20’ with 10 foot high ceilings.

- There will be no enclosure, I intend to use 2 inch acoustic foam for any stray balls.

- The floor will be composed of 1 inch foam tiles and a 12 x 15 Beaulieu Outdoor Golf Green turf over top.

- I will be purchasing will be the GC3 due to a large military discount in Canada and the software that comes with it. Also a camera based monitor is ideal for indoors.

- I will be purchasing a PC with a GPU of at least RTX 3080.

 

Now for the unknowns:

 

- What is a quality hitting strip of approximately 2 x 4‘ in dimensions. it can’t be much thicker than 2 inches or it will be above the rest of the surface.

- I have no clue what to do with regards to the impact screen dimensions and a projector to play 1080 HD. Below are the dimensions I have to work with needing to use clamp bungee cords to secure to a side angle. Any recommendations would be helpful. 
 

		W	H	Price
		8	10	$218
		9	10	$246
		10	10	$273
		11	10	$300
		12	10	$328
		13	10	$356
		14	10	$383
		15	10	$410
		16	10	$438
		17	10	$465
		18	10	$492
		19	10	$520
		20	10	$547

 

Edited April 13 by jas0nmacisaac
Photo won’t attach

[chollier986]

Sigpro Softy

GungHo Holy Grail

 

id go 9x14 screen.

[jas0nmacisaac]

12 minutes ago, chollier986 said:

Sigpro Softy

GungHo Holy Grail

 

id go 9x14 screen.

I just realized I can cut this material and put grommets on for dirt cheap. 9 X 14 it is. What about recommendations for projectors based on the 9 by 14 screen? Ideally, to be set up no further than 12 feet from screen to avoid shadows.

Edited April 13 by jas0nmacisaac

[chollier986]

Projector will be budget dependent.  You can spend $500 to $5000.  I have a more budget friendly ($750) BenQTH671ST.  9X14 screen and it is mounted ~10’ from screen.  It has served me well for the past 2 years.

[TheFatArmadillo]

Is there going to be a lot of sunlight coming into the garage, or is it going to be dark?  The answer to that will determine if you need more lumens.  I run 3k lumens on a BenQ in my basement.  It would not be sufficient to deal with sunlight.

[jas0nmacisaac]

2 hours ago, TheFatArmadillo said:

Is there going to be a lot of sunlight coming into the garage, or is it going to be dark?  The answer to that will determine if you need more lumens.  I run 3k lumens on a BenQ in my basement.  It would not be sufficient to deal with sunlight.

No sunlight whatsoever, I actually already have a BenQ HT3050 already, just assumed 2k lumens wouldn’t work, even in a dark area.

[jas0nmacisaac]

3 hours ago, chollier986 said:

Projector will be budget dependent.  You can spend $500 to $5000.  I have a more budget friendly ($750) BenQTH671ST.  9X14 screen and it is mounted ~10’ from screen.  It has served me well for the past 2 years.

Certainly on the budget side. I just want all the courses to play on FSX Play 1080P on half decent settings and not be washed out.

Edited April 13 by jas0nmacisaac

[bm11]

Depends on how much extra light you need, the brighter the room the more washed out the projector will be. My first projector was 1500 lumens and it was fine as long as the room was pretty dark. For my permanent setup, I knew I wanted to be able to keep the room pretty bright, so I bought a 5500 lumen 4k Laser projector, but it increased the cost drastically. Also- before you buy a 9x14 screen with 10 foot ceiling height, figure out how much drop the mount you plan on using lowers the projector from the ceiling and also how much offset the projector calls for. You don't want to use anymore keystone adjustment than necessary.  

[TheFatArmadillo]

If you already have a projector, I’d give it a try to see if you need to replace.  It will be highly dependent on how much overhead lighting you have in the room and your ability to dim it.  2k lumens might look fine for you with little light and you can save some money.  Worst case scenario - you hate it and buy something with more lumens but you should have a better sense of how many lumens you will want.

[bm11]

I ended up installing Phillips Hue lights in my sim room so that I could mess with the tone, brightness, and easily save everything to a setting on the app. I have some lights that are directly over the screen so when I'm in there cleaning they add a fair amount of brightness, but when I turn on the "golfing" setting, those lights turn off and the others adjust to where I have them set. 

[bm11]

Actually, since I keep replying with "what I did in my room", I figured linking the thread where I have pictures and specs may help: 

 

[jas0nmacisaac]

So begins my journey, Foresight got back to me and I will be getting the GC3 Essentials Plus bundle for 4875 cdn before tax as part of their Operation ForVets. This saves me 2500 from what I expected to spend.

[bm11]

12 minutes ago, jas0nmacisaac said:

So begins my journey, Foresight got back to me and I will be getting the GC3 Essentials Plus bundle for 4875 cdn before tax as part of their Operation ForVets. This saves me 2500 from what I expected to spend.

That sounds like a great deal! Congrats!