Building a SkyTrak+ Studio garage setup

[GolfSpy MPR]

In past years, I started threads about getting my SkyTrak and then about getting my Mevo+. Now I'm making it a trilogy of threads: Kirke and I are embarked on a serious upgrade of our practice space, courtesy of Chris Koske and the fine folks at SkyTrak.

Earlier this year, Chris reached out to me and asked if I'd be interested in upgrading our garage setup. A bit of backstory: Chris used to work for Edel, and he was my main contact when I did my MGS Forum review of the Edel EAS 4.0 putter, which is still my main putter. He's since moved on to a position at SkyTrak. Turns out, SkyTrak purchased a company that sells home sim packages, and Chris offered to send us a setup for testing and review.

The shipment (five packages!) arrived last week. Just for reference, here's the page for SkyTrak's Studio options: https://shop.skytrakgolf.com/simulator-studios.html. (Important full disclosure: while I received our setup for review, I am not a SkyTrak affiliate and receive nothing for anyone's purchases.) We received the SkyTrak+ Studio 12'.

For those keeping score at home, that package not only includes the cage, screen, mat, and ball tray (which is initially what I thought Chris was offering), but also the very recently-released SkyTrak+ and the Optoma GT1080 HDR projector and mount. I still find myself with the need to periodically scrape my jaw off the floor.

What that means, first, is that we're in the process of a garage conversion. 

Here's what we've been working with:

We're hitting into a Rukket net, which has been reinforced a few times with more netting after we'd worn holes in the original. Behind the net, there's an old mattress (just in case), over which we've draped a piece of target vinyl from an even older net. Overhead, we have draped some heavy curtains to catch high wedges. We have been hitting off the FiberBuilt Flight Deck (that oval hitting surface), with a piece of stance turf glued to a board so that we're level with the Flight Deck. The boards running back from the Flight Deck (toward the camera) help give a level surface back to the Mevo+.

It's janky, but it works. We hit along the back of our garage, width-wise. Google Maps suggests our garage is about 25' wide; that easily allows us to have the recommended 8' between the Mevo+ and the hitting area, with 12+' of ball flight. There's a shelf on the back of the garage (the right side of the above video): there, we have an old TV and another monitor. Typically, we've been using an old iPad to run either the FlightScope software (including the Skills app) and also Awesome Golf, which is a great (and relatively) inexpensive sim software which is perfect if you're playing with kids.

As I say, it works. It's a very functional setup, and it's been great for getting practice. My enthusiasm for the Mevo+ is undiminished: I'm actually astonished that, with the upgrade packages, they took an already very competent LM and added a ton of useful data. Getting the lighting correct for using the Face Impact can be finicky, for sure, but if you can nail the setup, the Mevo+ is an incredible bang for the buck in the home LM space. Kirke and I plan to continue to use the Mevo+ alongside the SkyTrak+, trying to leverage the strengths of both (and likely writing a full comparison review at some point).

Given the sketchy setup we had, I really didn't want to just unbox the Studio and slap it into place. My goal is to do this right, and build a really nice place for Kirke and I (and others in our family, if they wish) to practice and play. So right now, I'm filming the process in segments, documenting the transformation of our garage into a Simulator Studio. This is a channel I've started to post videos with Kirke and me, hopefully documenting up to the point in which he beats me from the full-length tees at our course for the first time. I've designated the channel on YouTube as "for kids": such channels can't be monetized, which is the point—I don't want to make money off videos of Kirke. It's just something for us to have fun with.

That said, here are the first two videos, taking you on a tour of our garage before we start the teardown (with cameos from my youngest daughter), and then after a couple hours of cleanup:

I'll keep posting these, and also posting here with text-based descriptions of our process. We need to get this up and running before the snow starts falling here, which is always sooner than you might expect.

[Josh Parker]

Wow!  Can't wait to see the final product!  I have been really thinking about doing this. 

[ZACHFREITAS]

Thanks for sharing your experience! One can only dream of having a space like this.

[IndyBonzo]

Congratulations @GolfSpy MPR!  Following with great interest, as I hope/plan to do the same in my garage this fall/winter, and the Skytrak+ is at the top of my potential launcher list.  Good luck with your buildout!

[GolfSpy SAM]

@GolfSpy MPR - I LOVE that you're documenting this process! If you have a spare iPhone hanging around (or, really, any camera), a time-lapse set-up might be a fun addition to be able to see the space transform, especially as you get closer to having the shelves gone and the SkyTrack installed.  That space really is perfect for the set-up! I'm jealous! Not just because my garage is a disaster zone, but because I'm not sure I have the ceilings for really going after any clubs without doing some serious damage, lol. 

Can't wait to see how it transforms, and to be able to see you and Kirke really going after it!  (FWIW: a big, comfy leather couch so that you can have people over for game-nights is going to be a must-add to the garage I'll be over as soon as it's installed ) 

[feralhog]

Definitely following this thread.  Plan to convert my media room into a full blown golf sim room next Spring and the Skytrack studio setups have been on my radar.

[GolfSpy MPR]

Made a little progress this evening before dinner. This corner will be where the screen and enclosure will go:

[GolfSpy_BEN]

5 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Made a little progress this evening before dinner. This corner will be where the screen and enclosure will go:

In terms of ceiling height in the space you’re utilizing, are they 9’?

[GolfSpy MPR]

8 hours ago, Ben Joest said:

In terms of ceiling height in the space you’re utilizing, are they 9’?

I think just under. The longest club I can swing fearlessly is a hybrid.

[GolfSpy_BEN]

16 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

I think just under. The longest club I can swing fearlessly is a hybrid.

Cool. I set up a hitting net in my basement but the ceiling clearance is 8’, which is enough for most clubs, but just so. If I swing a driver, I have to stay fairly compact in the back swing and ceiling reflects that that doesn’t always happen.

The project you have underway is cool and I look forward to watching it, as it progresses.

[MattF]

I love my ST+. I played golf with Koske at Ballyhack last week. Dude drove a green uphill.

[cnosil]

Really enjoyed the first two video installments and looking forward to seeing the follow up videos.   I am hoping to get a garage one day and setup a simulator; so this will be a great watch. 

[smithbrookes]

waiting eagerly!

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

Got into the garage pretty early this morning and made a ton of progress on the SkyTrak Studio build. We have the entire enclosure up and I've worked out a nice setup to use both the SkyTrak+ and the Mevo+ at the same time. Got a TV mounted higher up on a wall now. My last (immediate) step is to set up the projector, though I'm a bit stumped at the moment. I can't quite figure out how the ceiling mount attaches to the projector that I have. (The step after that involves reinforcing and then cutting one truss, to allow for a driver swing. Still calculating there.)

Anyway, here's the video of today's work, including a timelapse of the enclosure build:

 

[GolfSpy MPR]

A few thoughts so far on the setup process and first impressions:

• Unless I'm missing something, the Studio kit comes with very few instructions. There is a diagram for the cage assembly, but even that doesn't suggest an order for which parts should be assembled first. That said, the whole process was pretty logical; we made a couple of false starts before realizing "Nope, that's not going to work" and changing our process.
• At least on mine, I struggled mightily to get the top left side of enclosure material to get secure; it felt like it needed to be about a half-inch longer. That said, I'm probably wrong, and making the material wider would introduce a sag. But it was tough to get it secured on the second side.
• All the materials seem to be of very high quality. Absolutely nothing I opened and installed struck me as cheap or low-grade.
• The bounceback off the screen was (for us) virtually nonexistent from the very first ball. Maybe we just got lucky, but I assumed we'd have some process of tweaking the balance between getting the screen flat and taut vs. too much bounce.

Longtime members here know that we have a large putting green in our basement. The boys and I carried up the putting surface from there to the garage, and we're using that to catch balls after they hit the screen. Because we installed that with some of those interlocking foam squares underneath, it does a great job of catching the ball with a dead bounce. The putting surface that comes with the Studio package will move to our basement green (after a bit of maintenance on the under-surface of the green, fixing a popped board and covering a hole we put in the middle of the green that just gets in the way).

I'm hoping to install our projector this afternoon. I have to admit: I'm currently baffled by the ceiling mount, the bracket of which doesn't seem to fit the projector that's included with the Studio.

[Shapotomous]

Fantastic job with the install and taking us along for the ride.  

And I am still extremely envious of Kirke's swing!!  

[GolfSpy MPR]

2 hours ago, Shapotomous said:

And I am still extremely envious of Kirke's swing!!  

Me too. Still.

[Butta.Cutz]

Man that is the dream setup right there. It’s coming along great! 

[GolfSpy MPR]

Got the projector up and running after no little weeping and gnashing of teeth. I'll write the story tomorrow, but for now, I'll just say that SkyTrak Studios make for really nice family Street Fighter arcades.

[TSauer]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Got the projector up and running after no little weeping and gnashing of teeth. I'll write the story tomorrow, but for now, I'll just say that SkyTrak Studios make for really nice family Street Fighter arcades.

Love this! Thanks for documenting everything. A simulator setup that doubles as a media center is a win in my book!

HADOKEN!

[gingerbeast87]

What a wicked setup! Wife would have to pull me out of there hooked up to a tow hitch!!

[GolfSpy MPR]

We're up and functional, though we still have work to do:

I've connected an old PC to be our main computer for use with the sim. I intended to get out this morning and play a quick nine at Bandon on E6, but alas, E6 had not downloaded any courses (despite my having told it to do so, I thought), and we currently have no decent wifi signal in our garage.

This morning, I purchased a setup to extend our wifi reach, so hopefully that will be fixed. In the meantime, I need to bring the computer back inside the house to get the courses downloaded.

Other items on the to-do list:

• We're going to build a metal cage around the projector. It's not an issue in the setup in the Tweet above, but if we move back away from the screen (so that we can use the Mevo+ with the SkyTrak), the projector is definitely in danger.
• We might move the projector back away from the screen a bit. As you can see above, I've currently got my computer running in 16:9 ratio; if I change it to something 4:3, I think we can fill the full screen. The downside/challenge then is getting the bottom corners of the screen without wrinkles, so that the image (especially the data) isn't visually distorted.
• I still have a window to replace in the garage, probably with something more shatter resistant. That will get us a bit more light. I will probably also add a permanent spotlight on the ball, which is useful for Mevo+ is "seeing" the face impact location.

[importcomps]

Like like the setup. I'll have to get the notes for the build. Might as well add one in the new garage

[GolfSpy MPR]

2 minutes ago, importcomps said:

Like like the setup. I'll have to get the notes for the build. Might as well add one in the new garage

What we received here was a complete, ready-to-assemble kit from SkyTrak. The options are here: https://shop.skytrakgolf.com/simulator-studios.html

We have the SkyTrak+ Studio 12' - Pro version.

[importcomps]

Clutch. Thanks

[chupac78]

What projector are you using and where is it placed? 

[Josh Parker]

Awesome set up!  I'm hoping to build our home addition this next year and add a simulator room. 

[GolfSpy MPR]

14 minutes ago, chupac78 said:

What projector are you using and where is it placed? 

The Studio comes with the Optoma GT1080 HDR. I have it ceiling mounted, about a foot or so in front of the top bar of the enclosure. The Studio ships with a tube (the same as the rest of the cage) for mounting the projector; I preferred to mount directly to the ceiling.

[SRI1982]

Hi Guys

 

I'm fairly New to the MGS Forums. 3 years ago I embarked on this very journey and here is my finished product. I'm still haven't purchased a projector yet, but this studio serves as everything I need it for now. 

If you need any help or suggestions please don't hesitate to ask.  

 

Using the original Skytrak but would love to upgrade in the future to ST+

Any reviews on functionality of club data when you're all up and running would be appreciated. 

Nice looking swing Kirke

 

 

Will be following. 

 

Cheers

 

Shane. 

[snoopy79]

Really impressive build. Would love to be able to do this in my garage. How high is your ceiling? Mine I think is 8.5 or 9 feet. My garage door opener is right in the middle of the garage so trying to swing the longer clubs could be problematic.