First time playing Sim golf

[Wolfstrum]

Played sim golf for the first time today. I hope I am not the only one who finds sim golf awkward.  Booked three hours at Envision Golf and took two of my sons with me. For whatever reason I struggled to relax. I do okay at the driving range adjusting to the mats. Mats+indoors+hitting into a screen made me tense. By the last hour I was swinging my short irons well. I did get one decent hit with my driver. 
 

With  more time at an indoor sim I expect I will get more comfortable and swing more like I do outdoors on the course.

Not sure the brand of launch monitor that Envision uses but it seemed to be about 10-15 yards shorter compared to distances I hit outdoors. I wasn’t expecting that much variance. 

[Rob Person]

I've only played at a sim twice. Regardless of the system used, the hardest 2 things to overcome are the ground impact variances, and the visual target fixations.

Outside, your eyes and brain connect to everything you see, allowing for a broader spectrum view, no restrictions mentally. Inside, your line of sight is very close and the focal points are narrowed by 70% i would guess. The brain can interpret this as being placed in a box, and your awareness is automatically fixed to a box your standing in. It has very similar traits to indoor vs outdoor gun ranges when it comes to mental focus.

[cnosil]

5 hours ago, Wolfstrum said:

 

With  more time at an indoor sim I expect I will get more comfortable and swing more like I do outdoors on the course.

Not sure the brand of launch monitor that Envision uses but it seemed to be about 10-15 yards shorter compared to distances I hit outdoors. I wasn’t expecting that much variance. 

Some get more comfortable and some never do.  
 

There are numerous reasons for distance variances…launch monitor setup and your indoor swing tension are two key reasons.

[Wolfstrum]

Thanks for the responses so far. Glad to know it is not just me. I really want to leverage LM data to help me improve my hitting and sim golf to continue improving my game during the winter months. Hoping that after some more sessions I can get comfortable in the indoor sim setting and the work I do indoors will translate to on course improvements as well.