P3 aftermarket grass tops?

[DeaconBlooze]

I've owned a p3pro claret for some time. The rubber top is not ideal, but neither is sending off my unit to p3 to have them fit it with a grass option. Has anyone used the after market grass covers available on eBay or through Cory?

Honestly after reading some reviews on some of the other sims out there now, I wonder if I'm better off selling and funding something else (px2?) instead of dumping money into accessories and courses. Has the partnership with world dunes helped? I haven't had the chance to fire it up since that announcement due to some renovations.

[bubba22]

I had the first generation grass top and it wasn't great. Not sure about the aftermarket stuff. Selling and upgrading is a great idea. Be careful what and why you upgrade. Do your reading and research and ask lots of questions. You will not be disappointed with the ProTee!

[DeaconBlooze]

Thanks, Bubba! I'd like the P3pro to get me through this season, at least. It hasn't been bad, per se, just a little bit of a hassle with the taping. The software and courses seem ancient, but again, I haven't tried it for a while, so hopefully the updates have improved the system. Honestly, the idea of using it as a simulator was what drew me to it years ago. That now seems like it was an ambitious thought. After they released the premium courses I was excited, but quickly disappointed at what kind of money they expected.. Golf is already expensive, paired with some of my other expensive hobbies (pinball, lately), it's a hard sell to the wife.

In addition to the one that Cory had linked to me via email:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151034065975...84.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thicker-Gras...item27d2337084

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Grass-Turf-T...item2a2c5ea2a9

The first of those looks pretty decent. I'm just curious how well they'll 'hold'. I'm guessing if I built my mat I'd get it to behave better. I feel like anything is better than that rubber top!

[bubba22]

Deacon at those prices, it worth trying. An upgraded system will be a heck of a lot more expensive, but worth it I might add. Get one nd giv us a review. Obviously nothing in life lasts forever!

[SFR]

If you don't have the last update you should look into it. Now, you do get free Prem courses ( 1 reg and 2 par 3's) and you can play them as well there is a link to Abu Dhab (free) which would be the best of the 4 to play on as the others can be frustrating with how they play and OB on the reg one. They changed the interface a lot and some ways better and others caused some issues. I am working on them to let us know when they will release a new update that fixes some of the issues. For the most part it is better but could be better yet. Look into the online play in Dunes as it is still free while they work out the bugs. I am working on them for update info but it just seems they don't think there are issues to fix but more pressure from others might open their eyes. I do like the P3pro but am getting frustrated with the lack of communication of what is being done and after years of tweaking the system to make it play better, it would be nice to see a finished product that has no major issues.

As for the turf pads. I have the first one in the link and a diviot action pad as well. The problem with them are more when you want to use the height reference of the club path to know what you are doing or if you ever want to play with club penalty, this creates a problem. Both pads, due to the height of the turf will block out the sensors that read the height. Those are the 2 in front and 2 behind that are angled. If you trim the pads enough you could fix that. Both those pads gave miss reads if you hit down enough and the fibers or the pad could block sensors. The top link you have would be an ok option for the price. A lot went into making them with moulds and such and the cost is not bad. This works for the rubber top pad only as the whole pad sits in the mould and the turf is velcroed on to that.

I made my own from a fibre built turf (12 inch square) pads. Drilled my own holes and made it work. This sits in an opening and does not rest on the P3pro pad so when you do hit down, you don't vibrate or move the P3pro pad.

[DeaconBlooze]

Thanks to both of you. I think I'll give one of those mats a try. I've got enough projects to last me a while, but what SFR has done is intriguing.

I've downloaded the new software and gave it a quick run through without playing. It seems better, but I've got a garage (very modest) setup, winter takes it's toll on my organization, I hope to get things cleaned out after next week.

[bubba22]

SFR is our resident expert for the P3pro.