It’s the current craze on the minds of many golfers: the indoor simulator. It captured our son’s attention for the usual reasons, but also because his ability to travel and play 18 holes is limited due to disc and tendon issues. Golfing together was our favorite family pastime, and we’ve all missed it – though it has been fun playing with his golfer dog, Bella – a short haired border collie who loves to retrieve almostGolf balls when chipped.
In life, you play with the cards you’re dealt, so Mike sold the poker table in his living/dining room to make space for a simulator. Voilá took a long time coming, after months of researching companies and components, mainly through YouTube videos of players showing off their setups and game results. One thing became clear: “easy simulator” is an oxymoron.
Some might be lured into buying a full screen with an enclosure that disappears up to the ceiling at the push of a button. But not creative, critical-thinking, die-hard DIYers. A large piece of left-over artificial turf installed in our front yard, inspired Mike, whose goal was to assemble the most economical, full-graphics, realistic golf simulator possible. Quality on the cheap side of pricing.
Mike is a creative artist and figured that with his cathedral ceiling he could MacGyver a system to play golf without interfering with daily living – a self-reward after years of hard work. A $3,000 budget was aggressive, and he would have met it – if not for the $1300 gaming computer. That wasn’t in the original plan, but after many videos, and visits to commercial simulators, the graphic difference was impossible to ignore. And to an artist, that’s a big deal. The expense for the whole project was justified by comparing the cost of one trip to Pebble Beach versus playing it virtually.
Mike narrowed his basic component list to a launch monitor, impact screen, enclosure, hitting mat, BenQ Projector, and the GS Pro software subscription with over 300 courses. He chose Square Golf for the launch monitor because of its putting capabilities so the entire hole is played out. Others might prefer different monitors for more analytics or portability to a driving range. The BenQ projector came directly via a referral by Carl’s Place, and he made a deal with Ace Indoor Golf for a Custom HiQ Impact Screen and Fiber Built Performance Hitting Mat for injury protection. Jay Hubbard’s helpful articles on the Ace Indoor Golf website assisted with planning and decision-making.
Installation was a family affair. Mike played the mathematician/engineer, designing the framework with handy Danny sawing the poles. Danny also lent his Okie know-how for the ceiling projector installation – crawling through the attic rafters like a roof rat, hunting for wires. Mom was the seamstress for the blackout window curtains and the blackout enclosure draped over the frame and down the sides with gap bumpers. Have sewing machine, will work for golf with love in every stitch.
The process had its starts and stops, trials and errors, Amazon orders and returns. Murphy’s Law applied: everything that can go wrong did. And we created our own DIY law: everything will take more time and cost more than you plan. Affixing materials are not all equal – bungees, zip ties, grommets, Velcro, staples – we tried them all with varying degrees of success. Double-sided sticky tape seemed like a winner until it gave way under the duress of ball strikes. In the end, stitched Velcro did the trick.
One day as we labored together, Mike proclaimed, “Don’t worry – it will all be worth it when we’re two under on Amen Corner.” And in the end, it was. There were lessons learned, savings of almost two grand (if you don’t count Mike’s YouTube hours), and the bonding time? Priceless.
Should you try this DIY at home? Not if you have extra funds to budget for a one-stop shop with full installation. Even receiving the packages with consultation leaves you scratching your head. The gaming computer has a life of its own and that is not something the one stop vendors provide or advise on, so plan some patience for that if you want the best graphics.
To true DIYers (not sissies), welcome to a rewarding nightmare. May your journey be filled with as much fun and as many laughs (and not too much cursing) as ours.
Sure, there could be “shouldas” – shoulda gone bigger on this, or better for that, but we have a “don’t should on yourself” policy. Our setup is great. We had a blast playing six holes at “Georgia Golf Club,” complete with blooming azaleas, falling leaves, and the punishing angles of greens where we’ve watched the Masters played. Bella was our gallery, eager to take her turn on the green in the yard. We were not two under, but what fun. This last weekend, we played “Black Ryder” course while the real Bethpage Black thrilled the Europeans. Can’t wait for our next tee time. Amen!