Garage Simulator Equipment

[Effington]

Hey guys,

I'm hoping to put a golf simulator in my garage, and looking for suggestions as to how to keep the price down.  Once ready, I plan to use it nearly every day, so don't want it to look like crap.

It was suggested to me from some avid golfer friends to go with the Bushnell Launch Pro, they said it was the best quality before you get into the crazy/professional level details that cost double/triple the price, but would love any other suggestions.

For the screen, projector, and software, do any of you know of a good piecemeal set-up, or is it better to go with a package?  I'm not handy at all, but I was told with some research, they're not too hard to put together.

My goal is to be able to play a few courses, hitting into a screen, and with accurate figures.  Would also like some swing data, but don't need to go crazy with it.

My friends suggested I could have a nice set-up (BLP launch monitor, screen, projector, software) for about $7k (if I assembled myself), is that a good estimate?

[Vinsk]

Did you search the site for this? I’m pretty sure there’s an extensive thread discussing this.🙂

[DoubleAce]

The Bushnell is a solid unit. It's just a rebadged Foresight GC3. But minus all the software the comes with the GC3. And with not needing to pay taxes on digital software, you can end up with everything a GC3 has for a little less.

A lot depends on your needs and goals. Will you be doing significant ball/club analysis and fitting? Or, are you more interested in having something that provides some decent data? And also doubles as a sim. If the latter, there are options to save you a considerable amount of money. 

For instance, if you went with a Garmin R10 or Mevo plus. You'd still get a lot of good data. But would probably be into the whole setup (mat, projector, pc, screen, etc.) for less than you'll spend on a fully unlocked Bushnell or GC3.

Personally, I fall in the camp that doesn't need a lot out of a sim. If it gives me accurate distance and direction/shape datas, plus somewhat accurate spin data, I'm happy. I don't need all the club data. For me, it's just more about making practice more fun than hitting into a net.

If you do want to go higher end, you can piece it together a little at a time. Like suppose you get a launch monitor, net, and mat. It's still a lot of fun to run the sim on an iPad or your pc. Then add the screen and projector later down the road. 

The above is where I'm at now. Initially went with a swinglogic SLX club attached sensor. Which was pretty darn accurate in terms of distance and shot shape. But I had issues with its battery and returned it. Instead of exchanging, I was told they have a new sim coming out in the next couple months. Which will be a hybrid radar based system for around $400. So I'm holding off until that gets released. 

Point is, if you want to spend the money, great. But you can spend a lot less cash, and still end up with 90% of the fun and experience.

[DoubleAce]

FYI. SwingLogic is now taking reservations for that new monitor/sim I'd mentioned. I went ahead and snagged my spot on the list. The unit looks awesome. 
 

SwingLogic - Coming Soon

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The SLX Hybrid X3 Pro is your loyal companion for on-course as well as virtual play. Take your device with you for GPS distances for over 30,000 pre-loaded

 

[Gene438]

Hi Effington, 

I can jump in with some advice as I have been down this path.  I have a double garage that I converted into a home theater/simulator several years ago.  I started with batting cage type system (protee) the advanced to a skytrak and then to a Uneekor EyeXo.  I absolutely love my simulator.  I love being able to go out for 30 minutes and hit balls and not take up the entire morning or evening.  I use several software packages but my favorite is GSPRO which has an excellent online community and we play scrambles almost every night.

Budget wise, the range is from 3 or 4k up to 40K plus.  You basically need a launch monitor, hitting mat, projector, screen, computer, and software.  I've researched about all that are out there and it really depends on how you plan to use the unit.....practice, online tournaments, social, etc....

Let me know your questions and I can steer you in the right direction.

PS...I have attached a couple of pics to show you how my system has developed over the years.  I will warn you that it never ends, I am always tweaking or adding on to my system....can get expensive.