There has been some interest in simulators lately so I thought it would be good to have a dedicated thread so people can find this info in the future.
Recently I started putting one together. Here's a list of what I bought:
Skytrak with protective case, $1100, bought it used from a friend of mine. I think they're like $2400-$2500 new.
SkyTrak Game Improvement Plan (1 year), $99.95, need this software subscription so save setting and connect other software to the Skytrak
TruGolf E6 Connect Expand - Annual (PC/iOS), $600, gives me 90+ courses including Pinehurst #2, Bandon, Bayhill, etc. I think the perpetual license was $2500, but I decided to do the annual because I didn't want to spend that much and I may or not switch software in the next 5 years. Could have bought the Basic version for $300/yr, but I wanted to additional courses. I also considered TGC 2019. It's cheaper, but I read some stuff that the company that makes TGC 2019 has other priorities and rarely makes updates. E6 is focused on golf simulator software and has 6-7 updates per year.
Hitting mat, $149.99, I like this because it's 5'x4'. But I've noticed I'm already wearing footprints in it. Not sure how long it's going to hold up.
Indoor tees, $18.99
Ball tray, $29.99
BenQ TH671ST 1080p Short Throw Gaming Projector, $806.77 Got it on sale. Reading a lot of golf simulator forums and websites it seemed to be high quality and popular. I also looked at 4K projectors, but those are crazy expensive and I was concerned it might drive me to spend even more on computer hardware.
Ceiling mount for projector, $14.99
Dell G15 Gaming Laptop, Just using my current laptop for now. Eventually, I'd like to get a dedicated computer for the sim because bringing in the basement every time I want to hit is a pain. But it's not a big enough pain that I want to buy another gaming laptop right now. Read up on the requirements for SkyTrak and E6, you want to make sure you have a decent GPU.
144" x 105" screen and frame, $699, A friend of mine turned me on to these folks from Ebay. They provide the screen and the pipe fittings and other associated hardware. Then you have to buy 3/4" x 10' long metal pipes and some PVC pipes on your own. Their instructions sucked pretty bad...... I also failed to notice that I had an i-beam that limited me to 120" wide, so I kind of wrapped the screen around the side and made some other modifications to get it to fit. Eventually I might figure out how to notch it and expand to the width to 12'.
Pipes, fittings, hacksaw, mitre box, and misc stuff from Home Depot, $308
3/4" foam gym matting, $453 This will go between the concrete floor and the putting carpet, building it up just enough that I can cut some shallow cups in it for putting.
4x 1" deep cups, $46
15'x16' TFD Putting Elite Turf, $673
Right now I have most of the rubber flooring in, need to put down the rest and figure out how to get the putting turf into the basement. The roll is 15' long and weighs 240 pounds. I'm doing to try to get it down one of the window wells. The screen is all set up and I have the projector installed, have been hitting in it for a couple of weeks so far and it works great. I can post more photos of how it looks so far tomorrow.
This is not my normal ball speed, but the accuracy is pretty typical:
Last edited by campfirewest; 11-13-2021 at 11:36 PM.