Please post your Simulator Setup Pictures

[tarmactrr]

My sim room is small compared to most.. but luckily it works for me. Room is 16 x 11.5 and the ceilings are only 8ft 10in which is enough for me to swing driver in, but my brother for example could not if he were to use it. Either way I built it for my own practice and not for entertainment, so it should still work.

Still waiting on Foresight software, and for my projector mount to show up. Also still need to hem the side curtains and put foam on the ceiling. Will post more pics when the room is all finished. For now, here is the mat and the screen.

[wbealsd]

You're gonna love it!

[Par2Pro]

Thanks for posting tarmactrr - great job!

[CPA]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJhJarAbrS0

My GC2 setup on video..... watch the whole 9 holes to see ease of GC2.

[Par2Pro]

Great setup CPA!

[GolfMonster2]

New system GC2+HMT with swing catalyst on related thread

http://forum.ottawagolf.com/showthre...-balance-plate

[tarmactrr]

Thanks for posting tarmactrr - great job!

I finally have your screen in... working great

[Par2Pro]

Great to hear - sounds like you will have an awesome long weekend!

[mcook]

ProTee Users: I was advised during my ProTee subfloor construction to purchase a Fiberbuilt Extension Panel to add to the end of my ProTee sensor (which I forgot to do). The reason to have this is IF your ProTee sensor is set down into the floor (as seen in picture) and is flush to the putting turf...a person with a low follow thru may catch that putting turf after striking the ball. I've attached a photo during my preconstruction of how I set my sensor into the subfloor. After one of my friends ripped my turf in his follow thru I rolled up the turf and easily installed the extension panel. Two photos attached show my extension panel installed just past the sensor and it shows a 2nd panel sitting on top of the turf. That 2nd panel is for sale if anyone in the US is interested in purchasing. Fiberbuilt has a minimum order so I was forced to buy 2 panels....total after service/shipping was $105. That second panel is for sale at $50 plus shipping. I will edit this post once it's sold (ITEM IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE). I HIGHLY recommend following ZMax's advice and installing one of these extension panels for you own peace of mind. Thanks
Sensor framing.JPGExtension Panel.JPGExtension Panel 2.JPG

[mmlincon]

I actually have a spare panel as well if anyone needs one. I have a rough panel as well. Just pm me

[mcook]

ProTee Horizontal Camera (H-Cam) mounted on ceiling over my track light. I have a bracket that is secured to the ceiling over the track light rail. I then attached the mount securing my H-Cam to this bracket using a magnet. Nice thing about the magnet is it holds it very secure and allows for slight maneuverability to make sure H-cam is aligned perfectly. I bought the bracket (spray painted black) and magnet at the hardware store. The mount holding the camera you can obviously see was custom made by MacGyver. Let me know if you have more question Bubs.
H-Cam Photos Below:

H-Cam mount over track light.JPGH-Cam mount over track light rail.JPG


Vertical Camera Description and photo's below:
Figured I might as well put my Vertical Camera setup on here as well. My V-Cam is positioned on the side wall as seen is first photo below. You can see it is in line with the end of my sensor extension panel. I have a piece of wood (painted black) that is secured to the wall. The wood has a cut-out in the center and open down the to subfloor. I then have a metal L-bracket that is bolted down onto my subfloor (under turf) and comes up on the side wall in the center of the wood opening (not touching any part of the black wood). The camera that ProTee sends is attached to a metal sheet inside of a housing. I kept the camera on that metal sheet but cut and shortened the length of the sheet. I then bent the back of the metal sheet at 90 degrees and bolted to the L-bracket coming up from the floor. The camera is elevated slightly above the turf, attached the to metal sheet which is bolted to the L-bracket. I then bought a thermostat guard at home depot and secured it to the black wood. What makes this so nice is the camera and L-bracket is separate from the black wood and thermostat cover (they are not touching each other). So 'when' my kids accidentally hit the thermostat cover it has zero affect on the camera....doesn't shake..doesn't move..nothing! The camera has a great image through the thermostat cover. The thermostat cover has a lock on the top so I can keep it locked and access if I ever need to adjust (which I haven't had to do). Here is a link to the thermostat cover:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Honeywell...9#.Un6M4uK0RNI

V-Cam position on side wall.JPGV-Cam.JPGV-Cam angle.JPG

[Par2Pro]

How powerful is the magnet? In theory magnets + electronics = TROUBLE

[mcook]

Good point Cory and I wondered the same. I checked with several people on the magnets and according to them the magnets would not damage or adversely affect this type of camera. You will see in the picture the h-cam is connected to a block of wood which is then connected to the camera mount. My thinking was this would also provide and extra buffer from the magnet...just in case

[Par2Pro]

Hopefully all goes well, be sure to keep us posted if you start having anything funky happen

[ovl]

here is a link to our indoor center we built with Trugolf and e6 Software
http://www.golf-simulator-zentrum.at/gallery/

[HoganWoods]

here is a link to our indoor center we built with Trugolf and e6 Software
http://www.golf-simulator-zentrum.at/gallery/

Hey ovl,

Thanks for the pics. Can you tell me what that black stuff is on the ceiling and around your projector screen?

Thanks.

[Scratch]

I have been viewing the various simulator topics on this site for the past several years. This thread is by far my favorite. With that being said I would like to thank all of you for your insight and pictures. However, I still need your help. I have finished designing the plans to my new house that I will be building this spring and I have planned/ allowed room for a golf sim room (that will double as a threate room... to keep the wife happy and allows me to spend more $$$ on it) in my basement. The measurements for this room is 27 x 12 x 10' tall. I would like to know if you all thin I should sink my floor in that room to allow for a 12' ceiling. I will be purchasing a GC2 for this room. My questions are as follows (if you want me to post this in a different thread I can do that as well)
1. is the size of the room big enough? I plan on stadium seating behind my hitting area and 10' to 15' from the hitting are to the screen.
2. Should I go 12' ceiling instead of 10' is this needed for the GC2 to read/ take pics the most complete?
3. Should I slope the floor away from the hitting screen so each ball I hit returns back to the hitting area?
4. How much room should I allow around/ behind my hitting are before I start my stadium seating?
5. Which projector/hitting mat, impact screen, net/ wall protection do you prefer and why?
6. Touch screen yes it worth the price?
I am sure I am missing several items, any and all feedback if greatly appreciated. I will be posting pictures and contributing to this site as much as possible once I start building this sim room. I for see this room being one of the most used rooms in the basement, not only for my friends and myself over the winter months, but for my daughter to train on (she is only 2, but it's never too early to have fun hitting golf balls) I have time, I will not be breaking ground for 3 months, but I want this room to be incorporated before the building process and not a retro-fit after thought. Again any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

[Libbing]

1. size of room - 12' wide is tight, I think, if you are centering the hitting mat with the screen; consider that a practice swing will have you standing even closer to the wall; if you could make that 2-3 feet wider I think you'd be better off; or simply offset the mat in the room to give you more backswing space (assuming you are setting this up for only right handers, you can offset without as big of a problem)
2. I don't think you need more than 10' unless you are pretty tall - but I'll defer to the CG2 guys on that one if there is a tech issue (I don't think so); if it's easy and cheap then why not, but if there is a downside to 12' I would think twice
3. I don't think I'd slope the floor -will mess up putting a bit; you'll get bounce back off the screen a bit anyway
4.allow more than you think if you are going to have people sitting in the chairs while you are hitting; while you might have clearance, it will distract you (peripheral) and freak the person out sitting there, and if someone gets up you could take them out; would have to measure my setup but I think my theatre chairs are 20' from the screen with a protee setup (where I think the mat is 10-12' from the screen); Also, as the screen gets bigger, you will want the chair farther away (for the same reason the front row of a movie theater isn't the first place most adults would choose to sit)
5. I have a protee screen - very nice; the issue you will have with a home theatre setup is that all screens get puckered / marked up; if you are picky about the quality of the picture, you might not like that after a while; I'm pretty relaxed about a little puckering, but I'm not hung up on stuff like that in general (plenty of paint chips, car wash swirls, etc. in my black car as well!); I've always envisioned having a protee screen in the background (not hitting it) and then have a liftable second screen 2-3' in front to hit into that I can lift out of the way when I want a nice smooth screen for movies; would almost need to hook the hitting screen up like blinds (rope through grommets that lifts it up); have tried it yet; I tried a net in front of the screen and didn't like it; ended up switching to almost golf balls; don't like those as much as real balls but they are quieter and seem to do less damage to the screen
5. net / wall protection - if only good golfers use it, don't overdo the wall protection; you might do more damage to the wall trying to protect it then letting it take a rare hit; my room is 15' wide; nobody has ever hit a wall (including my 100s-shooting son); for the home theatre, think about wall covering for light control; putting blackout curtains up gives you some protection against hits, and even if it was hit, the curtain covers it up anyways; the blackout curtain also creates a great setting for movies (light control is a big deal with these projectors sitting far away from a screen) ; using the fake balls also does less damage to a wall if you are concerned with your daughter
6. I barely use my touch screen; but I have a great place for a mouse to sit and it just works better; the only time I use the touch screen is to quickly hit the mulligan button! on second thought...maybe that touch screen was worth it

make sure you think through where the computer sits and where your clubs sit - they take up a surprising amount of room; for me as a right hander, I like them both behind me for the quickest access following a hit

[espresso]

I think a 10' ceiling is ample height (higher is better if you can afford it) but it depends on how far you're planning to stand back and if you're hitting full wedge shots. You can always dampen the ceiling with foam/netting/curtains or a combo of this. My sim area is 18' length x 10'6" width but it isn't fully enclosed. It's just a corner of my basement so one side is open. Given your room is only 12' wide, if you pack home theater seating in there, it's going to feel really cramp in my opinion unless the seats are moveable and you can push them to the rear of your room if using the sim. At 12' wide, you might be able to get a left/right setup in there but that's awfully close to the walls if your ball is centered in the room on a wide mat. My ceiling height doesn't allow for use of a driver but my ball is about 6'6" from a wall behind my back during a stance. If you have a steep swing and follow through, sure you can hit a driver and the wall won't bother you but if you have a wide swing, you'll have to try it out and see if the wall gets in the way. If it's just a righty setup, you'll be fine. Space behind the ball might vary but I prefer at least 6'-7' of clearance behind the ball as well.

I personally think sloped floors would ruin any putting setup but if you really want it, don't slope the concrete. Just have the room build on a raised wood floor and slope the wood floor. It's not as permanent and would not affect resales if you sell your home in the future. Personally I rather hit a few balls then go collect it after a hole. I wouldn't want them rolling back after each shot but that's just me. Important if you're using the driving range and already in your stance. I wouldn't want to move just because a ball rolled back and bothered me.

[stevnkrn]

I did what you are planning a couple years ago Scratch. I posted several photos back on page 7 if you are interested.

A 10' ceiling has worked well for me and the people I play with. However, as others have said, 12' wide is pretty narrow if you plan to have it play for both left and right handed players. I have 15' in width and wish it was another foot wider. My room is 22' deep, and there is almost no room at the back for seating, but I think 27' should be more than adequate. Where you start your seating area depends on tee position relative the screen. In my setup I could start seating at about 20' back if my wife hadn't decided to put a murphy bed on the back wall of the room.

If you get your screen tension right you shouldn't have ball rebound issues so if we you I would not slope the floor for a number of reasons, not the least of which is putting. I bought the screen cloth from Par2Pro and have been very happy with it. My wife is a very good seamstress so she made it to my specifications, which saved us hundreds of dollars.

I am kind of a purist when it comes to home theater so I have a separate setup in another room for a theater. I think you will find it difficult to get the screen tension so perfect it would produce a perfectly flat screen. If you are OK with watching movies on a wavy screen I think you will be fine.

Even though I don't use it for a theater, I do have a Wii, Playstation and Xbox all hooked up in my sim room. If is very cool playing video games on a 14' x 8' screen if you are into that sort of thing. I don't do it often but it is a favorite when we have guests.

Don't forget the sound system if you are using it for a theater. You'll want to route speaker wires and other such things in the walls if you can. I spent many long nights wiring my setup during the construction phase to get all the wires hidden in the walls, floor and ceiling. My sensor mat is embedded in concrete so I have a flat floor. I also put conduit into the floor so I can changed the wiring in the future if necessary.

I love my sim. I'm sure you will too.

[CPA]

1 13ft
2 either
3 No
4 12 ft
5 Optoma EH300 and GT750E for swing image on side wall. Truestrike Gel and Real Feel to fit a range section. Cory HQ screen. Black 3 Pass Blackout curtain on ALL walls and ceiling-cheap and then it feels like a theatre
6 No. Get Swingprofile on Android and use it with 2 cams DL and FO with a mouse pad (yes unlike apple android can use a mouse) and HDMI out to the GT750E. Get Android hardware that can do 120 fps as Swingprofile will use this in the future I bet.

[CPA]

and dont forget green fake grass for floor!

[Scratch]

Wow, thank you all for your ideas and input. To clear up a few questions I am planning on right handed hitters only. I will not slope the floor with concrete (it would be built out of wood) and I would have my hitting area raised above the slope so that the balls would collect in a area that would be area from the GC2 and not in my view... ie. slope/ filter the balls to collect from the screen to the hitting area and behind where I take my stance. The screen is a problem for me, I need a second screen for video games and movies! Some type of pull down... more on that later. What about distance from the ball to the screen and from the projector to the screen... What is optimal for both of these items? Is it better to be closer to the screen? If a have 26 ft total (not 27ft that was my mistake earlier) should a go with screen to hitting area 10 ft, then 9 ft hitting area and 7 ft seating area. Also my width is a concern to all of you and I had my worries as well. The problem is I keep squeezing my mechanical room with every inch I go wider in my sim room. Also please not that the dimensions that I listed are drywall to drywall so I do have a true 12 ft, however that still sounds like not enough. Some of you mentioned hitting into the center of the screen, at the Golf Etc. here in town we hit to the right side of the screen. I would prefer to hit to the center, is this simply in how you setup your software during you initial install and/ or can this be changed at a later time? Again, I have all kinds of time, I will not be finishing my basement and so I can always change wiring and lighting. However, the width will not change, one side is concrete and the other will be load bearing, I and try and squeeze another 1ft or 2 out of the mech. room but it is not looking promising, do I need this if I am setting this up for right handed players only. Also please walk me through pricing...
here are my budget #'s
1. GC2 and software = 10,000
2. Computer = Already own one that exceeds specs for this software
3. Screen/ netting/ wall protection = 2,000
4. Mat and flooring = 1,500
5. Projector = 3,500
6. Wiring/ Surround Sound/ Lighting = 2,000
7. Drywall/ Paint/ Misc. = 1,000
Most if not all of the construction of this room will be DYI, all tips and tricks for doing this is greatly appreciated.
Total = 20,000

[CPA]

Scratch.. lot of over pricing there.

3 $500 Cory HQ if you can sew. 3 pass blackout bulk and sew $500
4 fake grass $ 500 max with insert of real feel/truestrike $250
5 Optoma EH300 is $1100
6 Get 3 20W LED floods $25 each. get barndoors for them to control the light. I used an old surround system I had. pick a 2nd hand one up cheap!

[stevnkrn]

My Epson 8350 projector is ceiling mounted about 18 feet from the screen. My hitting position is 12 feet from the screen. The advantage of being back further is that I do not cast a shadow from the projector onto the screen. The disadvantage is that I have to have good ceiling protection because hard wedges hit my ceiling net before they hit the screen. Personally I like not having to deal with the shadow, but others may prefer being closer to the screen. You should pick your projector as soon as you can because the projector determines how far back it needs to be from the screen and the size and form factor (and resolution) of the projected image. I wanted a wide screen format and a big floor the ceiling image, but in your narrow room you will have different requirements.

[GolfMonster2]

Price estimate seems about right to me

I would make sure your projector is Hd ready given new software round the corner

Divot action a must. 200 balls a day and NO pain anywhere!

[syhlif32]

As you will soon see with the rest of the house construction it is going to take longer and cost more regardless of the budget!
But I do think you got a nice budget for a great setup.

Think that you will need to offset the tee which will make for a little strange setup unless you have a drop screen down and move the projector for HT.
Or you can accept that the picture for the simulator is just not %100 focused.
Maybe try to swing a driver close to a wall and see which distance you are comfortable with

I am 12 feet from my screen was I to do another simulator room I would go closer ~10 feet. Kind of wasted space and apart from the shadow when putting which doesn't (wouldn't) bother me I do not see any disadvantage with 10 feet.
Screen will feel bigger. less protection need, less floor covering and more space for the HT sitting area.

[Scratch]

Thank you all again for your responses and input. I am sure I will have more questions and I also plan to post a picture or pdf of my rooms layout to get some further input.

[ovl]

Hello Hogan,

just have seen your POST

It as a PVC Plane which is used for Trucks, if you know what I mean.
Cutted to the exact size, bootle mounts and fixed with cablefixer.

[bpep]

Hi all,

Thought I'd post a few pics of my optishot garage setup. My wife put strict requirements on the design to be able to still park in the garage I think I have more fun designing and building rather than playing but its close.

It allows for putting up to 10' to real holes, which is good and I can adjust the pitch of the deck to change the break. Just wanted to share. It can be setup and taken down in less than 5 minutes, which was my requirement. If you have any questions, let me know and hopefully I can help out. Hopefully optishot comes out with online play soon so we can all play tournaments together.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qqcb3mjr7mxeoh0/zOVKJtOL8Q