Building a Quality Golf Simulator

[JonMUSC08 767]

ah he got to the most important part already..... He's single. No way any of our wives let us drop that type of cash on a golf simulator, AND use a room in the house, AND tear out a closet (which im sure would be used for towels etc).

Sweet setup for sure! ...but unrealistic for the married man haha

[FlyboyAF 52]

3 hours ago, JonMUSC08 said:

ah he got to the most important part already..... He's single. No way any of our wives let us drop that type of cash on a golf simulator, AND use a room in the house, AND tear out a closet (which im sure would be used for towels etc).

Sweet setup for sure! ...but unrealistic for the married man haha

There have to be some wives out there that understand right?!  

If not, there is a chance that I'll be Batchin' it for the rest of my days haha

[Golfspy_CG2 26,573]

Great thread,  I think many of us probably had no idea the amount of thought and planning...not to mention cost... that would go into setting up a first class simulator area.   I"m looking forward to seeing some pics of the finished product. 

 

[gud 1]

FlyBoy, thanks so much for all the detailed info - it took enormous time just to post all this info and we are very grateful - even if not doing a whole project, the parts can be very valuable (like turf or hitting mat or screen, etc.)!!!

For those that keep asking to see the project results, look above, he posted many pictures in his initial message that show project pictures from beginning to a virtually finished project.

[pozzit 771]

Wow great detail and that amount makes me cringe a little but its only money. Obviously you went completely professional in every step. great write up and we all thank you for documenting each step and decision. GCQuad is a great choice. 

....so the real question is when are we all invited over? 

[dhartmann34 1,787]

That's beautiful. How long did it take?

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[Golfspy_CG2 26,573]

Fantastic job.  It looks incredible.  As for the total cost.  Probably about the same as a kitchen remodel.   

And I know I would spend a lot more time on the simulator than in the kitchen.  Ha 

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 12/31/2019 at 12:21 PM, pozzit said:

Wow great detail and that amount makes me cringe a little but its only money. Obviously you went completely professional in every step. great write up and we all thank you for documenting each step and decision. GCQuad is a great choice. 

....so the real question is when are we all invited over? 

When are you coming to Houston?!

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 12/31/2019 at 5:49 PM, dhartmann34 said:

That's beautiful. How long did it take?

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk
 

Thank you!! It's been a lot of fun to use with friends and for my daily practice.

 

I started planning with the drawings and mapping out the space in April. I broke up the purchasing & building into stages just about as I laid out the Posts above...I did most of the work myself, so it took about 7 months to complete (research, budget, build time).

[Cooltrav 8]

Thanks a lot for this incredibly detailed rundown. I'm a first-time father-to-be and we're also looking at buying a new bigger house in the near future. I've managed to convince my wife that putting a simulator into the house will alleviate my urges to go to the range several times a week--therefore, I'm home more often. I'm pretty sure she just loves me, she doesn't actually fall for my sell tactics.

My budget promises to be about 1/4 of yours, but you've still laid out a lot of the things to consider (even if I have to do many of them much cheaper). I have a really handy father who can save me a lot on the labor and will jerry rig many of these things that you have done incredibly well. I think the biggest challenge, at least in my opinion, will be on the technology side. Deciding the best launch monitor/software set up for the price. I'd love the GC Quad, but that kills my budget immediately.

Either way, absolutely great job--you've inspired me further haha

[newballcoach 866]

Great inspiration for all of us. Inside the next 5 years I'd love to put something like this into my garage. I sold my wife on the idea because it would save me from the local indoor golf league every year!

You mentioned an extra step with subflooring if you have concrete. Wondering what/why that would be? Is it due to not being level?

[tony@CIC 18,762]

You mentioned an extra step with subflooring if you have concrete. Wondering what/why that would be? Is it due to not being level?

I'm not an expert but I'd think the two benefits would be a level floor and for those of us in a northern climate a warmer floor. Concrete gets pretty cold in the winter.


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[Kanoito 2,426]

Wow, can't believe I just seeing this thread now.

@FlyboyAF that's a fuckton of work you put into the project, congratz! It looks awesome! Thank you for sharing so many details and suggestions.

Is the simulation software from GCQuad? Or can you combine it with other types of software? I'm asking because the graphics don't look like other HD stuff out there. 

 

[berkeleybob 74]

On 2/10/2020 at 7:32 PM, Cooltrav said:

Thanks a lot for this incredibly detailed rundown. I'm a first-time father-to-be and we're also looking at buying a new bigger house in the near future. I've managed to convince my wife that putting a simulator into the house will alleviate my urges to go to the range several times a week--therefore, I'm home more often. I'm pretty sure she just loves me, she doesn't actually fall for my sell tactics.

My wife and I look at houses for sale on the internet from time to time. I showed her one that was a little further out than we liked, but not a bad layout, small back yard, mostly patio ... and then at second glance I saw they had a putting green with a chipping installed at the back ... Well, let's just say, as a DIY guy, I have a better chance of making one on my own at some point, than trying to sell my wife on a house because it has a putting green.

[berkeleybob 74]

FlyboyAF, congrats on the room!

I'm curious, how the rest of the room turned out. I saw the barstools—maybe the perfect mancave? What are your plans for it? Maybe share some pics?

[J_L_35 105]

Great write up and amazing detail.....leaving a comment here to bookmark for the future lol

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 2/10/2020 at 12:32 PM, Cooltrav said:

Thanks a lot for this incredibly detailed rundown. I'm a first-time father-to-be and we're also looking at buying a new bigger house in the near future. I've managed to convince my wife that putting a simulator into the house will alleviate my urges to go to the range several times a week--therefore, I'm home more often. I'm pretty sure she just loves me, she doesn't actually fall for my sell tactics.

My budget promises to be about 1/4 of yours, but you've still laid out a lot of the things to consider (even if I have to do many of them much cheaper). I have a really handy father who can save me a lot on the labor and will jerry rig many of these things that you have done incredibly well. I think the biggest challenge, at least in my opinion, will be on the technology side. Deciding the best launch monitor/software set up for the price. I'd love the GC Quad, but that kills my budget immediately.

Either way, absolutely great job--you've inspired me further haha

You are welcome my man!! The reason I put it out there was that it took so much longer to go through the process myself due to the lack of consolidated information out there. Glad I could help stimulate some ideas! The hitting mat is one of the most important parts and the option I chose should be well within your budget (Real Feel Golf Mats). They will save your wrists and arm joints as well as have the added benefit of giving you feedback on your strike. If you hit a fat shot on these mats, you will hit a fat shot on your simulator....none of that bouncing up into the ball and making you think that you hit a great shot lol.

I knew that I was going to spend on the launch monitor side, so did a little research on things like Skytrak, Optishot, and even Flightscope. I would go out and see if you could find a GC2 with HMT. You can get a refurbished set for about half of what the GC Quad would cost you. the HMT part gives you the ability to see where you are striking the ball on the club face while the GC2 part is the launch data. Still highly accurate and provides the most useful info to help you get better! 

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 2/16/2020 at 1:27 AM, berkeleybob said:

FlyboyAF, congrats on the room!

I'm curious, how the rest of the room turned out. I saw the barstools—maybe the perfect mancave? What are your plans for it? Maybe share some pics?

Thank you very much!!! Eventually I would like to put a full bar / poker room in the adjacent room so I could have a bigger group over and we could just go between the two lol. With the craziness of what is hapenning at the moment, that is on hold.

I also want to install a Swing Catalyst system. It uses a visual heat map to track and display your pressure on the ground throughout your entire swing and syncs it up to high-speed video. That way I'll be able to improve my pressure transfer and really put all of the force possible into the ball! : )

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 2/12/2020 at 1:41 AM, Kanoito said:

Wow, can't believe I just seeing this thread now.

@FlyboyAF that's a fuckton of work you put into the project, congratz! It looks awesome! Thank you for sharing so many details and suggestions.

Is the simulation software from GCQuad? Or can you combine it with other types of software? I'm asking because the graphics don't look like other HD stuff out there. 

 

Thanks Kanoito!!!! Putting in the work and building the majority of it myself was incredibly rewarding! The FX software comes with the GC Quad. They have different levels of the virtual courses that you can buy. At the top tier ($500 per course), they literally map every undulation, rock, tree, view, etc. Those are spots like Spyglass & Pebble Beach. They also have a bunch in the $150 per course range that are still pretty sweet from a graphics perspective....places like the British Rotum (Carnoustie, Gleneagles, etc). 

The Quad can link to other software as addins like Swing Catalyst, High-Speed Cameras (up to 2), etc, but the simulation software is FX.

[FlyboyAF 52]

On 2/11/2020 at 9:40 AM, newballcoach said:

Great inspiration for all of us. Inside the next 5 years I'd love to put something like this into my garage. I sold my wife on the idea because it would save me from the local indoor golf league every year!

You mentioned an extra step with subflooring if you have concrete. Wondering what/why that would be? Is it due to not being level?

If you have a concrete floor, there is the leveling factor, plus laying down some thin rubber layering and/or foam to prevent the plastic subfloor from sliding around. I used the TourLink Panels for my setup, but you could also look into using the Home Depot rubber tiles for a cheaper solution ; )