I Built a Secret Golf Simulator In Public

I Built a Secret Golf Simulator In Public

I built a secret golf simulator inside of a public storage unit because I’m super fascinated with the idea of having a secret layer. You know, like the ones in superhero movies or cartoons. It ended up being more difficult and took longer than expected. Ow fudge. But it was totally worth it seeing my friends reactions. Step one was finding a storage unit actually big enough to fit a golf simulator. After doing some research, I found that the largest unit at most places is 10 ft wide by 30 ft long. Perfect for a golf simulator. I didn’t want to buy a unit without seeing it first, so I hopped in the car to do some recon. I’m going out on a scouting trip. We’re just going to check them out and see which one would be the best potential option. The first unit I checked out was the right footprint size, but they had this cage on top that was definitely too low. And the second unit I looked at had the same exact issue. I did find a unit without the cage, but that opened up a whole another issue. The sprinkler system. If you knock that, you’re going to flood the whole building. So, okay. Okay. You know what I’m saying? So, yeah. Ideally, don’t have anything that’s going to Don’t have anything near it. Okay. Any There’s one here, there’s one here, there’s one back there. That’s why that yellow tape is up. Okay. With golf balls and golf clubs flying around, I definitely couldn’t guarantee the safety of those sprinklers, especially with the skill level of some of my friends. Oh my gosh. So, I decided to go back and rent the second option. And my genius plan was to cut out the cage overhead in order to give me enough room to swing a golf club. I think I’m going to have to move the cage. So, I’m going to have to take off this bracket and this cage. Technically, it’s against the public storage rules to alter the space in any way, but I’m planning on doing all the building in secret. I’m sure I won’t get caught even with the hundreds of security cameras all over the property. Come on, ladies and gentlemen. Right now, this looks like an empty storage unit, and that’s because it is. But in about 24 to 48 hours, this puppy is going to be a beautiful luxury golf simulator. Let’s get to work. All right, may have ran into our first issue. That was just unloading stuff. I closed the door to then just like plan out how I was going to put stuff up and prep the space. And one of the guys that work here came up and just opened the door right up and was like, “You can’t work in here with the door shut. We don’t want anybody doing anything sketchy in here.” Obviously, I’m not living in there, but I’m going to have to move stuff around and like change the inside of it. And so, I feel like they’ll probably just catch on right away and then I’m I’m a goner. In fear of getting sued, I moved my stuff out of that storage unit and did a little bit more research. I ended up finding a place that was a remote storage complex, which meant nobody worked there on site. It was all monitored remotely. I went to tour one of the units and instead of a person greeting me, I had a virtual manager Skype video. Virtual manager coming online in 3 2 1. How can I help you? I was just going to see if I could tour one of the 12×30 garages. You can rent it through me or you can rent it online. Okay, cool. Then I I’ll just probably do that online then. I figured a place like this is probably my best chance at not getting kicked out. Let’s try this again. Tell you what, I actually like this space better. The ceiling’s a little bit higher. It’s a little bit wider, actually. And there’s already some insulation in here, so it’s not going to be as loud. Also, we’re kind of tucked back into the back of the storage center, and nobody works here anyway. We’re really insulated from pretty much anybody ever finding out about this thing, which is ideal. That’s kind of the point. I I feel like it couldn’t have worked out any better. We’ve got our place. Let’s build this thing, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s the game plan for the space. At the back of the unit will be the hitting enclosure. Directly in front of that is the hitting mat area. Behind the hitting mat area will be a couch, coffee table, and mini fridge. And directly behind the couch, I’ll be putting a high top table with bar stool chairs. And to make this thing a little more incognito, I’ll be constructing a secret door. Let’s get to work. First thing I’m going to do is just prep the space. There were a few unwanted uh inhabitants. the simulator frame and everything right here. It’s going to be the farthest spot back on the wall. It’s probably going to come back to like here, maybe take up half the space. Let’s do it. I started out by laying down some turf to build on top of. It was a perfect fit other than these beams that I had to cut around. Next, I laid out all the building materials and got to work snapping poles together. But it wasn’t long until I ran into some trouble. Ah, guys, we may have run into our first issue here. So, basically, these beams were a little too narrow for the frame to fit between. I did end up solving the problem pretty quickly. Instead of using two poles on the side, I just used one, which shortened the frame to the perfect dimensions. Cannot get more of a perfect fit down to the millimeter. Part number two here, we got to put the actual impact screen on the frame. This is definitely a two-person job, but we’re doing it on one person, baby. Let’s go. Next step is going to be putting on the impact screen. It looks like it already has the impact screen up. And there’s a another screen that goes on top that velcros to it, which is really nice cuz this thing’s like pretty thick and it stops the ball obviously from hitting the wall behind it. The frame is built, ladies and gentlemen. That feels really good. And I feel like that’s probably as good as we’re going to get it. All right, day two. Getting a little bit of a late start today. I’m having a kid and we just had an appointment this morning. So, I’m trying to get this thing done before I have a kid. I went to Lowe’s this morning and purchased a full thing of turf. Let’s lay some turf, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got it like laid out, I think, where I want it. Now, it’s just going to be cutting it down. I feel like I’m on like a football field right now. Run some routes. I got to work cutting the turf down to size. I also had to cut around these poles to ensure a perfect fit. Three more of those to go. That’s it. It took me a little bit longer than expected to cut the rest. After that, I cut a little more excess turf off the end and tucked it under the hitting area turf. The turf is down, although it is pretty light turf, so it slides around a little bit. I got this max strength glue. I’m going to spray it underneath just so it at least has something to hold on to. Hopefully, this doesn’t break the like rental contract I have with this place. I’m not supposed to actually mess with like the structure at all, but when I came in here, there were like oil stains all over the cement. So, I think putting some glue on the cement isn’t that big of a deal. This stuff is sick. Kind of throws some like Spider-Man web vibes. Carpet’s all glued down. We’re going to do a little slide test here. Defense. Defensive slides. Oh yeah. Look at that. Look at that plant foot. Oh, it’s not sliding anywhere. That’s perfect. That’s perfect. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s now time for the walls. This is probably the biggest sight for sore eyes. Looks like we’re inside of a tuna can. I bought these sticky wallpaper rolls off of Amazon. And then this side’s got a little bit of texture to it. I don’t know if you can see that there, but little something nice. This was without a doubt the most timeconuming part of the build. It took me about 4 hours to complete just one of the walls, but I think it was worth it. It really makes the space feel elevated. Kind of like a top-of-the-line golf simulator studio. If you squint, it kind of looks like it’s just drywall with wallpaper on it. I needed a little break from the wallpaper. So, I grabbed the mat I’ll be hitting off of and decided to put that down. This mat I had left over from a previous simulator build that I did. It’s pretty nice. Pretty thick base. And then it’s got a nice thick turf on top of there. First inaugural shot here just to see if we’re on the right track. No time to rest. I still had a second wall to do. And this one was actually even tougher because I had to cut out some of the pieces in order to fit over the beams. I also ended up running out of wallpaper and had to order more. While I was waiting for more wallpaper, I decided to start on the technology. This includes the projector and the launch monitor. You’re probably thinking, Josh, that storage unit definitely doesn’t have electricity. And you are correct, which is why I bought this thing. So, this is a battery power generator. This was very expensive, but this is the lifeblood of this room. And this is what’s going to run the projector and any lights that I have in here, all that stuff. First order of business was to build this little floor box that the projector is going to sit in. I couldn’t mount anything to the ceiling, so I figured a floor projector was my best option. Projector bang. I then ran an extension cord from the generator underneath the turf and plugged that directly into the projector projector. hooked up. Everything’s working. Now, time for the actual launch monitor. The launch monitor I’ll be using is the Garmin Approach R50. It’s got three high-speed cameras, 43,000 simulator, courses, and my favorite part, you don’t need a separate computer to run it. This thing has everything already built into it. All you need is one HDMI cord. You plug that directly into the projector and you’re ready to roll. I feel like it’d be dumb if I didn’t take a little swing right now just to test it out. Make sure we’re working. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Every good golf simulator has a seating area behind where you’re hitting the ball. Sometimes a little bar area, maybe a coffee table. So, we at IKEA to facilitate just that. I’m just going to go in there and uh see where the IKEA shopping experience takes me. We’re going to get some fun stuff. Let’s do it. After fueling up on some Swedish meatballs, I made a beline straight for the couch section. I picked out a couch and then grabbed a coffee table and side table. But my IKEA trip wasn’t over. I want my friends to be blown out of the water when they come check out the space, which means I’m going to need some pretty sweet light fixtures. I obviously want the place to look really nice, and I feel like a good way to do that is to have good lighting. I’m going to try some try and find some good lights. I ended up finding some good lights and everything else I needed. On my way out, I must have looked like I was stealing something because IKEA hit me with a little random check. Not sure what that’s all about. Uh, this one that I I was a little bit worried, but turns out it was actually just a random check. Nothing happened. I just loaded my stuff up and headed back to the storage unit to put some furniture together. This could take me 2 hours. This could take me 30 minutes. This could take me all day. I have a feeling it’s going to be the ladder. Oh, hold up. I’m getting a phone call. Hello. Who is this? Okay. You want me to do that now? Okay. Uh, yeah. I guess I can do that now. That was Mint Mobile. I guess they’re sponsoring today’s video. While I put this couch together, let me tell you guys about Mint Mobile. Mint Mobile is an online phone provider that offers lowcost prepaid plans starting as low as $15 a month. Mint makes it super easy to switch from your current provider. You can do everything online. No stores, no salespeople, exactly how it should be. Oh, you want to keep your same phone number? Mint Mobile lets you do that as well. My favorite part about Mint Mobile is how easy it is to switch. So much easier than building this couch. Fudge. They offer 5G coverage to 98% of Americans and 4G LTE to 99% of Americans. Those are some pretty high percentages, ladies and gentlemen. For a limited time this holiday season, you can get 50% off an unlimited premium wireless plan for Mint. Lock in Mint’s lowest price of the year and pay just $15 a month for 3, six, or 12-month plan. Guys, this video has not been cheap, so huge thank you to Mint Mobile for sponsoring. Now, let’s get back to building this simulator. Bang, dude. Let’s go. Couch looks sick. Ladies and gentlemen, we’re making some pretty good headway headed towards the home stretch here. We’re on the We’re on like the 5 yard line right now. Next order of business was putting together this coffee table. Now, this is the type of IKEA furniture that I like. It was only four pieces and took about 10 minutes to put together. Bang. That’s a nice little coffee table there. I love that. It also kind of double as like a bench. Coffee table here. That guy’s going to go in front of the couch, obviously. and then couch all the way to the side. That looks good. If you guys remember, I’m still waiting on more wallpaper to come in. So, instead of just waiting around, I decided to hang some lights. It actually worked out perfect. Right where I wanted the lights to go, there was this beam with a strip of conduit that I could wrap the cords around. And you’re probably thinking, Josh, those cords aren’t connected to anything. How are the lights going to work? And to that, I would say, you don’t know anything about batterypowered lights, which I bought on Amazon. So, I’ll be using those. My wife Maggie, who is a self-proclaimed interior design expert, always tells me lighting sets the tone for a room. I’m taking that seriously. And we are setting the tone right now. Guys, I am fired up right now at how this is turning out. It looks genuinely so much better than I even thought it was going to look. I’ve got a few more pieces of furniture to make. Let’s keep moving. We have a We have a visitor. We have a visitor. Look who decided to show up. What do you think? Thoughts so far? This actually It looks so good. Very legit looking. Very secretive. What do you think about the lights? I told people about your lights. Yeah. I think that you either need to add a third or you need to center them over the back of the couch. Lights really make a space. So, you got to get them right. That’s what I told you guys. You think the boys are going to like it? The boys? Yeah, I think so. What’s not What’s not to like? Uh, get back to work. Maybe I’ll put Maggie to work. Maggie’s visit wasn’t totally random. She actually brought the remaining wallpaper I needed to finish the second wall. One more pull. Let’s do this, ladies and gentlemen. The final piece of wallpaper. Thanks for your help, bro. Today is the day. I’ve got a few more things to finish up and then my buddies will be coming over to check out the space. I also forgot to mention they’ll be competing in a long drive competition for a brand new Tacomao driver. Had one more piece of furniture to assemble. And for some reason, my camera was out of focus the entire time I built it. Here’s the finished product. Bang. Ooh, that’s an elevated move right there. I feel like that really, really sets the tone for the room. I’m going to move these lights over. Next, I unboxed the mini fridge and got that plugged in. Oh, I feel like that’s the perfect spot for the mini fridge, right next to the couch. Everything’s built and in the correct place. Now, it’s time for some finishing touches. Had to stock this thing with three greatest drinks of all time. Water, H2O. Need that to live. Arnold Palmer. Arguably the most refreshing drink on the planet. A little Mountain Dew Bohemian Blast. Blow this puppy out. The last finishing touch was installing these batterypowered lights. And as you can see, I was pretty fired up. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Ladies and gentlemen, the interior is complete. Let’s get a round of applause. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. However, you clicked on this video because I said I was going to make a secret golf simulator in public and by golly, that’s what I’m going to do. Here’s the game plan. I have a lot of cardboard boxes and I have a lot of duct tape. I’m going to build a wall of cardboard boxes right here so that when you open that door like I just did, all you see is cardboard boxes. One of the cardboard boxes is going to be a secret door. So, yeah, that I mean that’s all I got. Let’s get to work. First step is to put together a bunch of boxes. My thought is once I stack them up, I can then try and figure out how to build the door. Right here is going to be my decoy stack. I’m going to tape all of these together behind the scenes like really really tight. I’ll cut a door in this box and bada bing bada boom. And then all the other boxes around it will be just normal boxes. No door. So I did just that. I taped everything together and got cutting. But it didn’t turn out exactly how I wanted it. Yeah, this ain’t it. This isn’t going to do it. I need to get this right before the boys come over because it’s supposed to be secret. If I can’t deliver on that, I feel like what what have I done? I failed you guys. I took a break and changed into some more breathable clothing, thinking that might help me come up with a better idea. So, I’m not really sure why I was trying to over complicate this. I’m going to take these small boxes. I’m going to build an entire wall of small boxes. These are going to act as my door. It’ll make sense here in a second. I stacked up and taped together a bunch of small boxes. And here’s how it’s going to work. Basically, all of these boxes are decoy boxes. This is just like a a wall. They’re going to be all connected. I mean, it just looks like a normal storage unit. Psych. Not a normal storage unit. You’ve got a secret entrance way. Let’s go. All that was left to do was tape the decoy boxes together to form one big wall. I also covered the boxes with leftover wallpaper so that it blended in with the rest of the space. Ladies and gentlemen, it is officially official. We are done. We’ve got the secret passageway done. We’ve got all the finishing touches. Now, the only thing to do is wait for the boys to come over. I texted a bunch of my buddies and just said, “Hey, I need help moving some furniture out of the storage unit.” That’s obviously just a ploy to get them here. Once they’re here, we’re going to show them the golf simulator and then maybe do a little long drive competition. Winner gets a brand new Tacomao driver. I played a few holes by myself while I was waiting for everybody to get there. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, dude. What a time. But it wasn’t long. I invited you boys to come help me move some stuff, but I lied. We’re not moving anything. There is something other than boxes and couches and movable stuff inside this storage unit. Any guesses as to what’s inside there? Uh, you’re in Maggie’s nursery. Oh, I think it’s going to be like a bubble machine like disco party in there. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay. You know what? I guess we’ll just uh I’ll open it up and then we’ll we’ll see. Tacoma Pro Shop. Last answer. Tacoma Pro Shop. You might be close there. Also surprised this many people showed up to help me move stuff. That’s That’s very That’s great. Y’all are good friends. Oh no. So yeah, actually I lied again. You guys are moving boxes. Does anything look suspicious about this? Do you think this one’s this this this one doesn’t have the the logo? Are there a bunch of bats in there? Do you want me to show you guys? I guess we can stop doing the like dumb stuff. Yeah, I’ll just I’m down. All right, we’ll get a little Oh. Oh. Oh, I see some turf. Go. Go ahead. Check it out. Hello. Let’s go. Oh, this is nice. This is nice. Nice little table. There’s snacks in here. Snacks. Oreo minis. A golf simulator. I thought this was an ashtray. What is that? Dude, this is actually so nice. Couch. Snacks. Got a little bar area, fridge, drink. Some Arie Palmy. Yeah. Heck yeah. Come on. Arie Bomi alert. Hey, cheers, brother. Cheers. Come on. The boys are being friendly now, but not for long. It’s finally time for our competition. The boys are in. We’re having a good time. We’re going to go long drive competition. Winner gets this brand new Tacomao driver. You boys are walking out of here. Tacoma. Come on. As you can imagine, the long drive competition got a little bit competitive with a brand new Tacomao driver on the line. The rules are simple. You get one drive. Whoever hits at the longest carry distance goes home with Tacoma driver. Isaac started us out with a 280 yard bomb. Jeff was having some issues with the size of the space since he’s so tall. I think you’re right. We’re good. We’re fine. We’re good. But despite his handicap, he still ripped a 240 yd fairway finder. Ben slapped a respectable 220 yard draw right down the middle and Scott stepped up and roasted one 285 yards, making him the leader in the clubhouse. 285. The only person who had a chance to beat him was Jake. This is why you help your friends move. Oh, 340. Oh, 167. The fact that you joke about, dude, we have to find the guy who did this. That’s crazy. They rented you one with a hole in it. How How far did mine go? Not sure what the lease agreement says about golf ball dents, but I do know Scott went home with a brand new driver. And even though this place was hard to build, it was so worth it. Hanging out with my buddies for the afternoon, hitting some golf balls, and drinking some Arie Palmies. Doesn’t get any better. Appreciate you guys watching. I really think you’re going to enjoy the video on the screen right now.

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