this one is the 1085ST. i need the short throw

Yeah, I shoulda thought about that

not so much the noise i was thinking about, more the third world shanty town you've turned your back yard in to.

Good thing you added the edit.

When I first read "third world" I obviously thought that you were referring to Thinman's mail-order wife.

webcam mounted for recording rounds

That's impressive thinman. Need to get you to Phoenix so you can show me what to do with mine

Thanks Josh...it was a lot less expensive then I thought it would be and can only get even less expensive with time as new launch monitors are developed.

But yeah...don't buy a big black tarp in Phoenix and then play under it all day. Pushing 97 here today and its boarder line right now. I could play if really wanted to, but I'd be sweating my ass off in a few holes.

Added a cable box and the situation has been optimized a bit...

This is the brightest time of day. I have everything ready, including additional black tarps to enclose it fully and block out all light / rain, but I'll save that for a cooler day. It is plenty usable in this lighting and I'm usually at work this time of day anyway...

Here is a pull out view that shows the additional framing I have added for the winter door. Extended 5 feet which will allow me to drop a tarp straight down without the need to move my mat forward in the cage. Will still be able to full swing from anywhere on the mat. I also have a 6'x20' to go over the extended area.

Going to rig it on pulleys so I can pull either/both open/closed and the extra pole gives a great mounting spot for the round recording cam.

Lol at having the tv on while explaining everything. Do you have back up grass when you inevitably wear through that mat?

lol, it was a good show

I have all the cut-out pieces plus a bunch of left overs from the job, plenty for sure. The mat itself is not wearing out anytime soon, plus, it's square, so just turn it every once in a while. The turf it damn strong yet pretty soft, also not wearing out anytime soon, but meh, small pieces and easy to replace if they do.

I'll likely experiment with some gel insert under the turf at some point and I am also looking for a better alternative to the mat. Fat shots on this one give you a pretty true representation of the shot...but it hurts.

I don't need a true representation that much cheaper mats, your club just kinda bunches through and it's less penal and feels much better.

The one nice one sold with a gel insert is stupidly priced and not happening.

Have you thought of getting different textures for bunkers/rough/deep rough? Or actually mapping out distances on the putting green so you can do the simulator putting on the green?

My main peeve with indoor simulators is the putting - it'd be amazing to actually have accurate attempts at a real score

I've thought about it, but you have to remember, you are never going to be able to re-create the putt you see on the screens break and slope, so you would really be doing little more than taking a normal practice putt on the green.

The devices actually putt really good and line is really the most important factor anyway. Green speeds are going to change from day-to-day, course-to-course, and the sim courses each have their own stimp setting as well, so much like real life, you just need to take a few putts and get the speed down.

For the rough and sand shots, there is an issue there as well, but much smaller. The game already penalizes you for poor lies, assuming you are playing from a perfect lie. So if you play from a simulated rough, you are double-penalizing yourself.

I played around with it today and have just about settled on using the rough inside 100 yards or so and sticking to the mat outside. Seems pretty representative of my real game yardage wise.

Chipping from the mat around the green in the rough was a bit unfair cause I could basically flight it all the way and stick it almost every time getting perfect spin off the mat. So switching to the rough mat there makes a lot of sense and it better practice anyway.

first significant rain since the build. tarp is working great. kicking back in the fresh air and rain, playing golf and watching football...

It needs a neon sign on the front or something.

Is there a delay from when you hit the golf ball to when it shows up on the screen? I've been pricing put simulators and the ones I've seen are in the 12k range, but this looks like a fantastic setup. Great job!

there is an ~2.5 sec delay on the skytrak from hit to display. the gc2 (3x cost) is near instantaneous.

when you are playing the sim, the delay because nearly unnoticeable and if anything, I prefer it because it gives you a brief moment to think about your swing feedback before seeing it. kinda hard to explain. definitely doesn't bug me though.

'sno big deal when the grass can't die.

Looks like you figured out the correct response - get a coloured ball.

You could get the RC cars out again.

It's blowin' tonight. 50+mph gusts battering the golf sim and it hasn't flinched so far.