Dead Solid Golf. Club and ball LA.

[ZMax]

Has anybody seen or used one of these? Who makes the sensor?

http://www.golfindoor.com/golf_simul...ultimedia.html

[bubba22]

One of the local golf shops had a used Dead Solid Sim for sale at only 5 grand including I think 30 courses. At one point I was quite keen on it given the price but never did get to see it as he did not have it assembled. He also had an earlier version of the sim that did not have the LA feature. My understanding is that it is shadow sensor based. Upgrading his used one to include the LA was just way too expensive so I stopped at that. I wish I had seen it though. The software certainly looks dated however.

[ZMax]

The sensor uses Fiberbuilt grass panels but I couldn't find any close-up shots to see what or who might have made the sensor. Price is also way too high for an outdated graphics engine, but that's the norm in this industry.

There is a guy selling a used system with LA on Ebay for $15,000.

[bubba22]

Wow. That is way too high.

[ZMax]

In the listing, he mentioned that it was $45,000 new. That's in the same ball park as Full Swing golf and about golf.

There is an indoor Full Swing Golf sports bar not too far from me and I'm trying to get some guys together to go play 9 holes. I would like to get an idea of what a $45-50k simulator is like.

[bubba22]

Let us know after you do ZMax.

[rdh]

See...those graphics DON'T impress me. They're just actual pictures. You can't have cameras that fly along with the ball, trees can't blow with the wind, water can't move. And the physics of the ball are limited as it's not reacting to objects in a rendered 3D environment...the ball flight and collisions are based on a corresponding 3D map they have to create separately and store behind the scenes.

I'm sure these types of software have come a long way and are decent now, but I played on one years ago that was a joke. Of course things looked great (they're real pictures after all!) but the ball flight looked downright silly at times. Give me 3D rendered imagery so you can fly along dynamically, etc. any day. (And I think graphically the E6 software almost looks real!)

[bubba22]

I agree rdh.

Blackfire check out Virtual Golf as well http://www.virtualgolf.com/.
Spoke with them the other day. Very nice but start at 40 k.

[blackfire]

I agree rdh.

Blackfire check out Virtual Golf as well http://www.virtualgolf.com/.
Spoke with them the other day. Very nice but start at 40 k.

witch software is virtualgolf's using

[blackfire]

ok it's the same as sportscoatch, golftek and foregolf

[blackfire]

yes the E6 looks fantastic

[rdh]

Okay - I watched the video and have to retract the part of my comment about water not moving. They implemented that. I stand by the rest though.

[rdh]

Looks like virtual golf is on the GPS Golf software. Those seem to be the two standards in the industry (at least in the mid-range market) - GPS or a variation of GSA/red chain. From what I know, GPS is still an older engine from red chain.

[bubba22]

Your right rdh. It is GPS.

[blackfire]

Looks like virtual golf is on the GPS Golf software. Those seem to be the two standards in the industry (at least in the mid-range market) - GPS or a variation of GSA/red chain. From what I know, GPS is still an older engine from red chain.

yes your right I think red chain looks a bit more up to date

[blackfire]

the E6 is a notch over

[bubba22]

Fully agree.

[blackfire]

but the price difference is there

[ZMax]

That is what he is saying bubba22, but to be clear, there is no LA camera here. The LA is measured by an IR floor sensor that is just ahead of the club sensor mat.

[MrGym]

That is what he is saying bubba22, but to be clear, there is no LA camera here. The LA is measured by an IR floor sensor that is just ahead of the club sensor mat.

That is correct, sorry I did not add that to my reply.

[bubba22]

Yes Z you are absolutely right. The Dead Solid Golf sim launch angle is sensor based. It is the Holiday Golf that has the cam. Too bad that the sensor based launch measurement for Dead solid is not "dead solid".

[ZMax]

LOL!! Either that or it was never setup correctly. These sims sell for $40K brand new I believe. $7K and $15K on Ebay.

$400 for a DD.

[ZMax]

MrGym, do you what the problem is with the LA device?

Has Deadsolidgolf been out to look at it?

[MrGym]

I have had to have a board reworked, and it still will miss read now and then. Personally, I just feel that being optic based, it will just miss read the ball or club. I sometimes get mis reads if my lights are not adjusted correctly, or if I have shadows. So my personal opinion is that it is just the type of technology being used. I have 2 DS systems, and 3 boards, one older and one newer, and both systems and all 3 boards are not accurate 100% of the time on the LA.
You can check out my facility at ElectricLinksGolf.com. The main downside that I see with the DS sims is not being able to putt out. Once you are inside 15 feet, it will putt out for you. Also, the greens are difficult to read, however, my newer software will let you select a grid view, which helps. Anyway, due to the lack of putting, I installed two putting simulators.

[ZMax]

Nice place you got there. How long have you had these simulators? I see that the LA device has a halogen light shining on it. Which tells me that it might be shadow based just like the club sensor. This makes me question Dead Solid Golf's ability to actually measure LA. If shadows are causing miss reads of club and ball, it tells me that the software needs work.

Simulators such as Protee 2.0 and GGS PX5 also use shadow optical sensors for the club, but they have added cameras for measuring LA and ball path/speed. Both are very reliable and very accurate. Both will allow you to putt out. The technology is pretty good if used properly. But using shadows for LA is questionable.

I don't know how big Dead Solid Golf is or how long they've been around but from what you're telling us, their simulators are not worth the price they're asking.

Thank you for coming here and sharing your experience.

[bubba22]

Great info MrGym. Thanks for sharing 4 sure.

[MrGym]

Nice place you got there. How long have you had these simulators? I see that the LA device has a halogen light shining on it. Which tells me that it might be shadow based just like the club sensor. This makes me question Dead Solid Golf's ability to actually measure LA. If shadows are causing miss reads of club and ball, it tells me that the software needs work.

Simulators such as Protee 2.0 and GGS PX5 also use shadow optical sensors for the club, but they have added cameras for measuring LA and ball path/speed. Both are very reliable and very accurate. Both will allow you to putt out. The technology is pretty good if used properly. But using shadows for LA is questionable.

I don't know how big Dead Solid Golf is or how long they've been around but from what you're telling us, their simulators are not worth the price they're asking.

Thank you for coming here and sharing your experience.

Dead Solid has been around for about 20 years. I have had these Sims for 5 years, both were purchased used. In my humble opinion, Dead Solid is being surpassed by recent technology. I like a lot of things about DeadSolid: I like the data tracking for every golfer. It keeps track of everything you could want to know about every club you swing, and can be printed out for the customer. I like being able to set up scrambles, skins, match and stroke play. I like the fact that I can sell advertising space on the holes. I do like the long drive contests on the moon. And I like the club head animation after each swing. I do not like: Not being able to putt out, No wind (not that big of a deal), And No putting at all in scramble mode.
Overall, these have been pretty good systems, but I have looked into upgrading to a camera based system. I looked at one at Murfield this year, it may have been AboutGolf, but I'm not positive. Regardless, they must not have been too interested in selling as I e-mailed the business card address and e-mailed from their website and got NO reply. Anyway, it looked good, but I would have to sell my DS untis first, as Ido not have room to add 2 units. Is there a place here on the forums that would let me do that?

Thank you for letting me share, and thank you for sharing, this is a great site.

Doug

[ZMax]

Yes, you can place the ad at the link below. But keep in mind that most here are Canadians.

http://forum.OttawaGolf.com/forumdis...Other-Golf-Ads