Simulator Construction Details (uses Flightscope X1)

[DickK]

Golf Simulator Details

I started with an unfinished 30’ x 30’ garage that had an open ceiling and trusses holding up the roof. I had to add insulation (spray foam) under the roof and to the metal garage doors and an 18.000 BTU heat/air conditioner to make the room comfortable. I decided to use one half of the space for a simulator and leave the other half for my shop. After experimenting with different types of carpeting, I ended up buying Berber carpeting which produced the least bounce for returning golf shots. This was purchased from Lowes in a 15 foot width (25 feet long) and cost about $225. I used a heat gun to seal the sides and the area where the posts were located.

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Impact Screen:
The screen was ordered from Cory at Par2Pro for about $800 and has a 12’W x 9’H viewing surface with 2” loop Velcro along the top and sides with 3” loops spaced about 1’ apart, and a chain pocket along the bottom. The screen was suspended between two vertical 4 x4 posts and hung from a 2 x 4 nailed between the rafters using bungee loops which went around the side and ceiling supports and through the 3” loops. As it turned out, the bungee should not be tight enough to tension the screen, but serves to allow the screen to give on impact. The bottom of the screen worked best weighted with chain and not cable or other stiff material.

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Sides and Ceiling Construction:
The sides and top were made from curtain material and were fabricated by Dazian fabrics. I used a black heavy curtain material called supercoate which turned out great and also cost about $800. This was the hardest part of the project, so I am listing the details.

Material:
2 SUPERCOATE: BLACK 61 IN FR Panels 20 ft wide x 10 ft high Sewn flat with webbing, #2 black grommets on 8 inch centers. 1 inch side hems and 2 inch bottom. Vertical seams, 2 inch hook Velcro sewn on one back side of panel ( 1 left & 1 right).

1Panel 14 ft wide x 16 ft long. Sewn flat 3 widths. Unfinished sides to be stapled to wood frame. 2 inch hook Velcro loop sewn across one end of the 14 ft.. The three remaining sides were hemmed or otherwise finished.

Here is the contact info:
Erin Considine (Was very helpful and now knows what is required. Hint: If the screen has loop Velcro, the mating side and top need to have hook Velcro!)
Website: www.dazian.com

Account Executive - Florida Operations
Dazian LLC
2438 Viscount Row
Orlando, FL 32809
321.206.0086 (Office)
407.505.9631 (Cell)
407.219.9679 (Fax)
Construction detail:
Ceiling: First I nailed 1”x2” strips to the ceiling parallel to the screen, spaced 18” apart. The ceiling panel was supported with lengths of coaxial cable (could have used any wire but the coax was handy) cut to the width of the booth to the back of each 1” x 2” strip. The ceiling material was purposely hung loose to create channels running the width of the screen.

Sides: The curtains were hung like a shower curtain using ½ inch thin wall electrical tubing as a curtain rod and shower curtain loops going through the grommets in the top of the curtain. These cost about $2 for a 10’ piece and can be joined together with couplings designed for that purpose.

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Projector:
1. Optoma GT750-E $780
* 3k lumens
* ~3K:1 contrast
* @ 9' 1" displays image of 12.9 ft wide x 8ft high with 12 foot lumens / sqft
* can do 16:10 native, 4:3, and 16:9
* accepts 720P / 1080P and displays in 720P
* accepts 1080P 3D and displays in 720P 3D (need to verify this marketing)
* 2 HDMI inputs

This was purchased from Amazon and turned out to be a real bargain. Don’t forget to order two 25’ hdmi cables for about $12 each. I used one for the computer output and the other for a Sony 3D Blu-ray DVD player.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Computer:
Computer was purchased from CompUSA for under $1,000. It consisted of a gaming computer made by SYX (SG-125) with an i7-2600 processor, 4 GB DDR3 1600Mhz ram memory and an NVidia GeForce 1 GB GTX 550Ti graphics card. It was overkill, but I was on a roll! You will need to add a flat screen LCD monitor.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hitting mat:

I purchased a 4’ x 5’ hitting mat from JR Mats Inc. http://www.realfeelgolfmats.com

Make sure that you add the discount coupon and bonus codes to your order. This is a great mat that sits on the Berber carpet (held in place with double stick carpet tape) and comes with different rubber tee inserts. I like the one that holds a standard golf tee. Total cost was $386.

JR is a great operation that provides a golf DVD, and several great add-ons free of charge with the mat. One of the add-ons was a strip of “rough” that sits alongside the mat as an alternate hitting surface.

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Launch monitor:

Flightscope X1/X2 ($8K-$11K):
(A phased array Doppler based system that sits 8-10 feet behind the golfer and measures both club and ball path separately.)

I can’t say enough good stuff about Flightscope. They came to my house to demo it, provided instant support (from their engineers in South Africa) though an internet connection which is built into the included software AND the included software is great, other than the lack of simulated play, it has everything that one needs to measure ball, club and player performance.

I chose the less expensive wired model so I didn’t have to worry about batteries. Taking it to the driving range was not important considering I now have a built in driving range.
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Course simulation:

E6 Simulation Software (for course simulation) purchased from TruGolf.

I ended up buying the E6 driving range package for $1,000 which includes one fantasy course consisting of famous holes from real golf courses. The ‘driving range’ name is actually misleading. This is the engine that runs the simulator (it happens to include a neat set of practice range and measurement software). Extra courses can be purchased for about $150 each or 12 for $900 (there are several such packages).

Here is a picture of the setup:
simulation (resized).jpg

[Trooks]

Very nice! Construction of my addition is almost done - then I get to start building...

[CPA]

Sorry to correct you - Flightscope X1/X2 not Foresight.

[HRS]

That is the nicest garage I've seen! Question about the mat - I am also a big fan of the CCE, can you tell me more about the rough strip. I don't see it on the website. How does it attach and is it any good? I've tried the rough/sand areas on an aboutGolf and they didn't seem that good.

[DickK]

The rough strip was a "bonus". It is not at all like hitting from tall grass, just is a longer fiber less dense surface than the mat itself (has the appearance of grass.) It is a 1' wide by 3' long strip that i placed along side the hitting mat. I was told that there is no real substitute for sand or actual rough.

[DickK]

Some of you had questions about the projector mount. It came from a company called "Projector Ceiling Mounts Direct, LLC, purchased from http://www.projectormountstore.com for about $35. It is a ball and socket joint with the ball being attached to a plate which in turn is fastened to the existing mounting screws on the projector using supplied machine screws and spacers. The other part was attached with wood screws to a piece of 3/4" plywood that straddled rails attached to the ceiling joists. This allowed me to fine tune the distance to the screen since the projector doesn't have a zoom lens. I cut a small hole in the top curtain for the mount to protrude from. The projector is about 12-13 feet from the screen and does not get in the way of the swing path or even the wildest hit balls. My ceiling is 10 feet high and the tee is 14 feet from the screen.

Here is a photo:
Simulator Ceiling.jpg