Hey everyone, I've been following around and stealing snippets from other people's builds. My pole building was just insulated yesterday so I am nearly ready to start building out and wiring my sim room. If anything I've come up with sounds like a bad idea please let me know. Overall with doing a lot of the buildout myself I'm hoping to be around the $12-15k mark and have a top end home simulator setup.
The Space: 12'w x ~16L x 12' H. I understand that I do not need all of the 12' height, so I plan to frame out a 10' enclosure height that can be padded and mount lighting, projector, LM to. The rear will be open and I'd like to just go with a curtain to keep the dust out when I'm working in the shop but allow furniture to be rearranged and accommodate larger groups.
Tech: I'm pretty sold on the Pro-tee VX and have access to capable gaming PCs, monitors, etc. Just seems to be the best all around for a home based ceiling monitor.
Impact Screen: Thinking Sig12 4' enclosure and impact screen with egg crate mounted to the wall behind it. I'm torn on whether to use the 4' enclosure or build out my own. I'm unsure how you mount just an impact screen with no enclosure though. Any input super helpful.
Wall Padding: Planning to just foam and wrap extra plywood into nice looking panels. Does anyone who has done this before have a nice line on cheap black vinyl fabric in bulk?
Mounts: Using plywood I'll build a box out about 10' high that will allow me to extend the padded enclosure out further and mount the projector and LM to. This should give me the perfect 9-10' height manufacturers recommend.
Hitting Platform: I'm planning to build out a 2×6 base hitting platform to raise the floor up a bit. I'm someone that always wants to tinker and I'm excited about some of the varying auto-tee and ball feed ideas I'm seeing out there. Having space beneath for further expansion seems like a plus considering my excess ceiling height.
Landing zone: The first 12' by 6ish segment of the grassed surface nearest the screen will be pitched 2" back towards the hitting platform. I can then build a trough between the two platforms and ideally collect the golf balls in a removable box underneath the hitting platform. Ideally I can put 2-3 dozen balls in a tray and empty the collector bin every few holes as needed. Some inspiration taken from X-golf but fully mechanical- no electronics (For now) but I am a known tinkerer.
Hitting mat: I like the SIG 4×10 with the replaceable hitting strip. If I use foam panels on top of my platform and stock grass from a hardware store I believe we'll be close to the same floor height.
Questions:
- Will the 12' width and the 4×10 centered mat allow for lefties? one of the things I like about the protee vx is the larger hitting area and I'm hoping that by offsetting drivers to both sides we will be okay on width. I'm not willing to lose any more of my shop space for the occasional lefty.
- Does 4k matter on projectors? I'm seeing a lot of conflicting information and $1500 difference seems steep for something displaying on such a large screen. The sim room will be very dark and shielded from the shop lighting fyi
- Are sliding LM mounts worth it or do you have to recalibrate every time you move it?
- Any experience with the SIG items listed above? I plan to use this thing a ton so I definitely don't mind spending on hitting strips that won't destroy my joints
by WiscoBoiler
3 Comments
12’ is way too narrow for left and right I would guess. But can’t remember protee hitting area. Mine is 14’6” and it does feel kinda tight. I won’t hit the wall but it’s there and might affect swing. If you have room I’d go 16
14’ is typically considered the minimum width for a centered hitting strip, wider is going to feel better both for swinging and hanging out. 2 feet more would be better.
If the screen is space off the wall the egg foam is not needed. The egg foam will be disintegrated pretty quickly anyway. If you’re looking to supplement the screen foam for longevity a net behind it would be more help.
I would build the screen mount out of lumber along with the awning . For the ceiling I wouldn’t box it in, rather I would build an awning from the top of the screen out 6 or 8 feet to the ceiling. The resulting angle will send sky shots down. You could also use netting if your carpentry skills need work.
I would hang baffle panels from the awning you built to take the juice off and knock down wedge shots and skied driver shots.
I’d make padded panels for the sides and top. You would end up with a custom built in look.
I like your ramp idea but ball return is a complication that is unnecessary. The ramp should roll your ball back far enough. A bonus is that the ramp deflects worm burners into the screen.
My 2 cents based on your comments/questions: Building a professional quality impact screen is pretty easy using emt piping and youtube videos. It will save you several hundred. Seems like a pretty big project so it may not be worth the cost savings to you. In my opinion 4k picture quality is not worth it for the price difference when considering 120ft picture.
Out of curiosity, what is the size of the full building? Is the room to scale?