Do I really have enough room?

[piper1021]

Hi everybody. Just found this awesome forum. The wealth of info here is mind bending...in a good way. I would love to convert a room in my house for a golf simulator. Either the DD, P3Pro, or Golftek ST1. The pro and cons of those can wait. The real question is do I have enough room? I have 10 foot ceilings, so I'm good there. Can I really install one of these units in a room that is 11'10" x 11'10"? And yeah, I want to swing a driver. I think (wish?) I can, but I will be offset to the center of the room and close to the impact screen or net. Would prefer a screen/projector setup, but I just don't know if it would work. I'm guessing an impact screen takes up less space that a net? I'm ok with hitting almost golf balls or something similar. How big are most of your total spaces and am I crazy? Thank you for the advice!

[ZMax]

You should also add the Protee 2.0 and the GGS systems to your list.

As for your room, have you tried swinging a driver in there? If you can do that without hitting any walls, then your biggest problem might be yourself. There is a good chance you'll be blocking part of the projected image. But you do have 10ft ceilings, so it might not be so bad. You will need a short throw projector with lens shifting capabilities.

[piper1021]

Yeah, the Protee 2.0 looks sweet, but a bit out of budget. The wife greenlighted $5k total and the room, and she'll use the system every bit as much as I will (if it will fit).

There is still some furniture in the room, so I haven't taken a full driver rip in there yet. I can take a stance and from that position extend the club completely away from my body in all directions. I can get to the top of the swing with no problem. Even a huge casting of the club will clear on the downswing. It is the extension and follow thru I worry about. My driver club head is maybe 1.5 to 2 feet from the front wall. Anyone cutting it that close?

[kito]

If I were you I would clear out that room and see if you have room to swing your driver first. It will decide if you need a net with a monitor on the side or not. It would seem to me that you have enough room for an impact screen but the only problem like ZMax said is the projector. Even with one that has lots of offset adjustment and short throw, you still may cast shadows at that distance. Also, the projector may be in your swing plane too. Maybe tape a cardboard box the approximate size of a projector and mounting bracket to the ceiling and see if it will clear your swing first.

[bubba22]

I think you will have different projector options. Just make sure you can swing the clubs.

[piper1021]

Thanks for all the input. I do have the option of half the garage for more space, but my height is limited to 8'6" out there. I'm 5'8" and can swing a full driver comfortably out there, but others may not. However, a garage in Naples, FL is not how you want to spend late May thru October. It will be unbearable hot. So, I guess I need to really empty the room out and see if this will all work. I'm open to hitting into a net or impact screen without a projected image. I can use a flat screen tv off to the side if needed.

I also need to really think about what I want out of the simulator. The choices get harder every day. Just finished the original and legendary dd thread today, and I really need to digest all that info and make sure my expectations are in line for both my space limitations and the simulator system. Thanks for sharing!

[blackfire]

My room is 10'10'' X 19' and to be able to have bolt left and right handed player at the same spot without mooving the unit I tryed to swing in the 10'10'' way instead of the 19' and it was imposible but maybe a foot more will make the difference.

[golferjoe]

My room is 12x10 and I have enough room. The main thing is teaching yourself it is safe. It took me a while to be able to truly swing 100%.

[piper1021]

My room is 12x10 and I have enough room. The main thing is teaching yourself it is safe. It took me a while to be able to truly swing 100%.

Are you hitting to a net or an impact screen? Foam or real balls?

[northgolf]

Piper,

From my impact screen to the back of my 5'x4' practice mat is 11'. I could move it two feet closer and not feel constrained, but you will need a short throw projector. I have a medium throw projector and it required 14' to get me a full 7.5 x 9 image.

[piper1021]

Thanks to those that posted and to those I've PM'd with questions. This forum has been a huge source of information.

Update: Cleaned out the room this weekend and we can swing in the room with no problem. Next step is ordering an impact screen and testing out the range of limited flight balls in the room. Since I live in Naples, FL, I am going to meet with GSS/GSA here in town this week and take a hard look at the PX3. Great pricing on these now as mentioned in the GSA thread. Also, the search will begin for the right short throw projector. Looks like this project is moving forward! I'll update as things develop.

[LittleLadynR]

Does anyone know how far away from the wall minimum can you put the screen I will be hitting real balls?

[piper1021]

Does anyone know how far away from the wall minimum can you put the screen I will be hitting real balls?

I have been told 18" is preferred and maybe you can get away with 12" if the screen is tighter. At 12", I was told there will be more bounce back as well. Maybe someone hitting real balls into a screen can comment on their setup...

[fhann]

I hit real golf balls. I have 18" left behind the impact screen and netting.

[piper1021]

Update: To my original question, yes I do. The room is cleared out and the impact screen and projector are here. Screen is 9.5x9.5 from Custom Design Golf and I bought an Epson Powerlite 1760w projector. I went with it mostly out of necessity. It had the throw/zoom setting to work best in my room at a decent price. I just set the projector up and did a quick test inputing a signal from my laptop. All things considered (closeness to screen, window not blacked out), it looked fantastic just projecting on the wall. Even better, I won't block any of the image in my stance. Only my hands clip the bottom of the screen on the follow thru. Image starts about 3' off the ground and projects about 6' high. Plenty wide. Some of these figures will change once the screen is up, but so far I am beyond excited about this little project.

Next up: computer and graphic card shopping!

As a side note, we are probably going to start with the DD Optishot to get this going. Same reasons as every one else had: how much will we really use it and the cost savings/value can not be ignored.

[piper1021]

Update: Well, the projector is up, the computer and graphics card are running, and DD has arrived and been installed. Spent the weekend getting to know the system and tweaking custom clubs sets. It is a blast to play. It is about what I expected. I guessed the DD would have trouble with my TM Burner driver and was right. It may read 1 out of 6 swing with that club. I ordered the Optistix Driver with the system in anticipation of this problem. It is much better, but not perfect. I still get a few strange readings, but driver is my worst club....so......who knows. It reads my wife's drives pretty well. Overall, this has been a huge undertaking that required shifting 3 rooms around to make it all work (including painting!), but in the end it has been worth it. For now, we are going to keep tweaking the DD and give it a full evaluation for 30 days and enjoy our "little" golf studio. Thanks to everyone that helped along the way.

The gear:
DD Optishot
Dell x8300 i5 with 6gb
Nvidia GTS 450 1gb graphics card
9.5 x 9.5 Custom Design Golf screen
Epson Powerlite 1760w projector

Pics to follow!

[ZMax]

That's strange. I have a TM 07 Burner driver and it worked fine with the DD. Have you tried taping your driver? That should help.

[navik]

Hi everyone, I'm from Singapore. Was looking for some info on the Optishot and stumbled upon this forum. It is indeed the fountain of information on home simulator.

I'm getting my new house next month and the wifey has given the Ok to convert one of the bedrooms into a simulator/movie room. Thing is we probably be using the smallest room which is around 3.9mx3.1m (sorry used to the metric system this part of the globe). I suspect it might be a bit of a squeeze, but I'm ok with not being able to swing a driver.

I'm trying to work towards using real golf balls, failing which I'll fall back on the AlmostGolf balls. I'll probably leave 1 foot spacing behind the screen (the windows are actually behind the screen, but I'll hang another layer of netting/old comforter to cushion any impact). My main concern now is how far do I have to be away from the screen, seeing as I've only 3.9m to play with. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[bubba22]

Hi everyone, I'm from Singapore. Was looking for some info on the Optishot and stumbled upon this forum. It is indeed the fountain of information on home simulator.

I'm getting my new house next month and the wifey has given the Ok to convert one of the bedrooms into a simulator/movie room. Thing is we probably be using the smallest room which is around 3.9mx3.1m (sorry used to the metric system this part of the globe). I suspect it might be a bit of a squeeze, but I'm ok with not being able to swing a driver.

I'm trying to work towards using real golf balls, failing which I'll fall back on the AlmostGolf balls. I'll probably leave 1 foot spacing behind the screen (the windows are actually behind the screen, but I'll hang another layer of netting/old comforter to cushion any impact). My main concern now is how far do I have to be away from the screen, seeing as I've only 3.9m to play with. Any help is greatly appreciated.

3.9 m is around 12 feet. That is the length of the room?

[navik]

Hi bubba22, yes 3.9m is the length of the room. I've attached the floorplan for reference (measurements in mm). The room is approximately 10 feet (width) x 12 feet (length) x 8.6 feet (ceiling height), and I'm only 5'7".

Just got an email back from DD, they don't have any retailers in Singapore. Hence, I'll probably have to get it from tgw.com (so far the cheapest I can find for shipping to Singapore).

Cheers.

Room.gif

[bubba22]

Cool. Should be ok. Find an area that will allow you to swing the club and give yourself as much room to the screen as you can.

[navik]

Thanks bubba22 for the quick reply. Another silly question. Does the light placement matters, e.g. does it need a light source directly over the sensors? I have a ceiling light in the middle of the room, but it would not be directly over the sensor, might be a bit in front but I can shift it if necessary. Alternatively, I could blackout the whole room and just use the light from the projector which would be placed near the recess area.

[bubba22]

For the dd you don't want any extra light source. It works with reflective technology. Other sims like the ProTee/GSA/Golftek will work with a shadow based technology and require an overhead light.

Optishot website: http://support.dancindogg.com/troubl...-swing-results

Optimizing your Lighting Environment

• Fluorescent lighting is best.
• Warehouse lighting such as Sodium Vapor or Metal Halide also works very well.
• Eliminate incandescent, halogen, and any outside day light from the area you are using the device. Even small amounts of indirect light from these sources may affect performance.
• Overhead light is generally better than light from the side of the room.
• Eliminate any object that may cause shadows from crossing the sensors. This includes the shadow of the club shaft and silhouette of the golfer.