Home Simulators Lets Talk About Them!

[dxdgenert]

I’ll get around to posting some pics of my setup later but I wanted to get a post in here. I’m currently running a Skytrak with WGT software (I know, the horror!). I picked up the Skytrak with an Armour case used for $1200 cash, locally. I’m hitting into the Haack net, off of the included mat. While it has been OK, I felt I wanted a little more so I just purchased the Fiberbuilt Practice Station for $199 from Costco. I live in MN and everything set up in my garage. The garage is partially insulted but is very cold in our extreme winters. I run a propane heater and can get things up to 50-55 degrees.

 

My humble setup. I have a 32 inch LCD that I can Apple Air Play the iPad on to but lots of times, I just run the iPad alone.

[wundej]

Country club elite from Costco.

 

What size and how much are they selling them for if I might ask?

Don’t consider this if you hit balls with any regularity. They are brutal on the joints after a while. Fiberbuilt is one of the safest options. Magstrike and Divot Action are not good too. They all have their downsides, but FB is probably the most popular and easy on the joints. CCE is a great mat otherwise.

[clevited]

I highly recommend the fiberbuilt performance mat, only complaint is that the hitting part does not go all the way to the edge which would be especially nice if you were putting. It is much easier on joints than other mats. I came from the Monster mat which is similar to the country club elite mats albeit probably lesser quality, it was pretty good but I did still get elbow pain after awhile. Fiberbuilt gives no elbow pain for me even with long sessions. Because it's so soft it is terrible to putt from, I always auto put on the simulator so don't really care.

 

Yeah I have heard CCE mats can hurt you bad. I am a digger with my irons so it would be an even worse problem for me. I have never tried a Fiberbuilt but they cost so much its crazy. I am due to get my new mat tomorrow, it s a cheap alternative but it has been sworn to work very well. Doesn't hurt writsts, lasts a long time and you can putt off it. I need all of that for my sim play online.

[SDL]

I have been using a CCE insert that I placed in a cut-out made in an old stance mat from my earlier P3ProSwing set-up. The CCE turf has worked pretty well and I haven't experienced the wrist pain others have mentioned. This may be due to the fact that all of my clubs have graphite shafts, except for my putter. I'm not super happy with putting off the CCE, but it sounds like the Fiberbuilt turf is worse.

 

I know a golf shop that recently started using the Truestrike, and they've been raving about it. I know it's expensive, but it sounds like it feels a lot like a real fairway and can work for putting. Does anyone have any extended experience with the Truestrike mats?

[clevited]

I have been using a CCE insert that I placed in a cut-out made in an old stance mat from my earlier P3ProSwing set-up. The CCE turf has worked pretty well and I haven't experienced the wrist pain others have mentioned. This may be due to the fact that all of my clubs have graphite shafts, except for my putter. I'm not super happy with putting off the CCE, but it sounds like the Fiberbuilt turf is worse.

 

I know a golf shop that recently started using the Truestrike, and they've been raving about it. I know it's expensive, but it sounds like it feels a lot like a real fairway and can work for putting. Does anyone have any extended experience with the Truestrike mats?

 

Yes, I have played on them at a local simulator place. They are pretty good. Decently durable, and didn't hurt my hands or wrists much if at all. I think it still punished you for fat hits, but not nearly as bad as some. It was also good to putt off of.

 

I agree that your graphite shafts may be saving your wrists and stuff, those absorb a lot of vibrations and can flex more I think when hitting down and through. It also depends likely on how you swing. If you tend to take deep divots, it can be a big problem, perhaps you tend to take shallower ones as well?

[SDL]

I have been using a CCE insert that I placed in a cut-out made in an old stance mat from my earlier P3ProSwing set-up. The CCE turf has worked pretty well and I haven't experienced the wrist pain others have mentioned. This may be due to the fact that all of my clubs have graphite shafts, except for my putter. I'm not super happy with putting off the CCE, but it sounds like the Fiberbuilt turf is worse.

 

I know a golf shop that recently started using the Truestrike, and they've been raving about it. I know it's expensive, but it sounds like it feels a lot like a real fairway and can work for putting. Does anyone have any extended experience with the Truestrike mats?

 

Yes, I have played on them at a local simulator place. They are pretty good. Decently durable, and didn't hurt my hands or wrists much if at all. I think it still punished you for fat hits, but not nearly as bad as some. It was also good to putt off of.

 

I agree that your graphite shafts may be saving your wrists and stuff, those absorb a lot of vibrations and can flex more I think when hitting down and through. It also depends likely on how you swing. If you tend to take deep divots, it can be a big problem, perhaps you tend to take shallower ones as well?

 

You're correct, I take very shallow divots, so that (along with using graphite shafts) may be helping my joints avoid the worst effects of the CCE turf.

 

I also had a chance today to check out the TrueStrike turf I was talking about. Unfortunately, after only a few months of use, there seems to be quite a bit of wear from club contact on the "grass" part of the turf. You can now see the beige backing where the the green carpet fibers have worn down in one spot. The gel layer underneath the backing does not appear to be affected. I'm sure I wouldn't get anywhere near the use on my sim that a golf shop does, but I do have some questions about long-term durability.

[clevited]

I have been using a CCE insert that I placed in a cut-out made in an old stance mat from my earlier P3ProSwing set-up. The CCE turf has worked pretty well and I haven't experienced the wrist pain others have mentioned. This may be due to the fact that all of my clubs have graphite shafts, except for my putter. I'm not super happy with putting off the CCE, but it sounds like the Fiberbuilt turf is worse.

 

I know a golf shop that recently started using the Truestrike, and they've been raving about it. I know it's expensive, but it sounds like it feels a lot like a real fairway and can work for putting. Does anyone have any extended experience with the Truestrike mats?

 

Yes, I have played on them at a local simulator place. They are pretty good. Decently durable, and didn't hurt my hands or wrists much if at all. I think it still punished you for fat hits, but not nearly as bad as some. It was also good to putt off of.

 

I agree that your graphite shafts may be saving your wrists and stuff, those absorb a lot of vibrations and can flex more I think when hitting down and through. It also depends likely on how you swing. If you tend to take deep divots, it can be a big problem, perhaps you tend to take shallower ones as well?

 

You're correct, I take very shallow divots, so that (along with using graphite shafts) may be helping my joints avoid the worst effects of the CCE turf.

 

I also had a chance today to check out the TrueStrike turf I was talking about. Unfortunately, after only a few months of use, there seems to be quite a bit of wear from club contact on the "grass" part of the turf. You can now see the beige backing where the the green carpet fibers have worn down in one spot. The gel layer underneath the backing does not appear to be affected. I'm sure I wouldn't get anywhere near the use on my sim that a golf shop does, but I do have some questions about long-term durability.

 

I observed the same thing but figured it would last quite a lot longer for just me. I just purchased 2 mats that seem similar to truestrike. Just got them today and they reminded me of them a lot. Will see how they hold up.

[Clambake]

Curious if those with the sims have found their swing changing after a lot of use due to the mats. I’d think that either consciously or unconsciously, one might get shallower or be more of a picker just to avoid the long term impact shock.

 

I’ve thought about putting together a nice system but haven’t researched it much. Appreciate all the info on here!

[SDL]

I observed the same thing but figured it would last quite a lot longer for just me. I just purchased 2 mats that seem similar to truestrike. Just got them today and they reminded me of them a lot. Will see how they hold up.

 

What is the brand or source of the mats you just purchased?

[SDL]

Curious if those with the sims have found their swing changing after a lot of use due to the mats. I’d think that either consciously or unconsciously, one might get shallower or be more of a picker just to avoid the long term impact shock.

 

I’ve thought about putting together a nice system but haven’t researched it much. Appreciate all the info on here!

 

I think that firm, traditional mats can encourage more of "picker" swing and can be hard on the joints. The newer mats designed to give a little after ball contact should not produce as much change in how a player makes contact with the ball, but they're not exactly like real turf either. The CCE turf that I use is often described as being likely to produce a loss in ball speed on "fat" shots where the club hits the turf before hitting the ball. You can't bounce the clubhead into the ball on the CCE mat like you can with a firmer mat. However, the CCE does not really allow you to compress the ball against the turf like you can with real grass.

[clevited]

I observed the same thing but figured it would last quite a lot longer for just me. I just purchased 2 mats that seem similar to truestrike. Just got them today and they reminded me of them a lot. Will see how they hold up.

 

What is the brand or source of the mats you just purchased?

 

Duffer Commercial Golf Mats- and I mis-spoke on the truestrike comparison. I forgot those were the gel ones. My local simulator did have those, and I liked them but also didn't like them. They wore out too quick I thought. They must have concurred because they ended up going to something similar to the duffer mats, in fact, they might be duffer brand mats. I thought they were truestrike but they were replacements for their truestrikes. They held up very well and they still buy them to this day. I will have to confirm the brand they purchased.

[clevited]

Curious if those with the sims have found their swing changing after a lot of use due to the mats. I’d think that either consciously or unconsciously, one might get shallower or be more of a picker just to avoid the long term impact shock.

 

I’ve thought about putting together a nice system but haven’t researched it much. Appreciate all the info on here!

 

I think that firm, traditional mats can encourage more of "picker" swing and can be hard on the joints. The newer mats designed to give a little after ball contact should not produce as much change in how a player makes contact with the ball, but they're not exactly like real turf either. The CCE turf that I use is often described as being likely to produce a loss in ball speed on "fat" shots where the club hits the turf before hitting the ball. You can't bounce the clubhead into the ball on the CCE mat like you can with a firmer mat. However, the CCE does not really allow you to compress the ball against the turf like you can with real grass.

 

I have been hoping to do a home experiment one of these days, but I have theorized the mechanism that makes some of these mats not hit like grass (mostly talking about launch numbers like spin and vertical launch angle) has almost entirely to do with mat friction (and firmness plays a roll in that). Other mechanisms that are more golfer controlled are things like contact. On grass, the ground gives but might not give as much as a mat does and that can be the difference between a very very slightly fat shot hitting a couple grooves higher on the face off a mat then grass, and producing a weaker flight. Some day I will hopefully do my official experiment, you just reminded me of it again.

[Milfordlefty]

Any one adding any extra padding under their mats? Think of the rubber mats sold at big box stores that are sort of like puzzle pieces which you can lock together to make a footprint of your own size. The link is only to give a better visual representation vs my description. https://www.foamtiles.com/tiles/78-tatami-tile.html?utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=s_pcrid_245280606923_pkw__pmt__pdv_c_&gclid=CjwKCAiA0uLgBRABEiwAecFnk0xQguCMOyAKzVXfLfY1oGDi4-nKz3jdYGr_jeWXsmlwg0gNmNP2qhoCaU8QAvD_BwE

[fairways4life]

Any one adding any extra padding under their mats? Think of the rubber mats sold at big box stores that are sort of like puzzle pieces which you can lock together to make a footprint of your own size. The link is only to give a better visual representation vs my description. https://www.foamtile...qhoCaU8QAvD_BwE

 

Funny you mention those. We put down a bunch of this in our daughter's playroom and have some pieces left over. I was actually just looking at the extra pieces the other day when I was cleaning up and thinking about how those would be perfect under a hitting mat. They're cheap too.

[Ri_Redneck]

Living in New England, I hit a ton of balls off mats summer AND winter. Using graphite shafts is the only way to go for extended use of a mat. The ones at my regular lunchtime range down the street are practically nothing but foam and I have no joint issues at all. For a digger like me, that is saying something. I will typically hit close to 400 balls a week of these when I'm in the office. When I was using steel, there was no way I could do that. Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

BT

[fairways4life]

Living in New England, I hit a ton of balls off mats summer AND winter. Using graphite shafts is the only way to go for extended use of a mat. The ones at my regular lunchtime range down the street are practically nothing but foam and I have no joint issues at all. For a digger like me, that is saying something. I will typically hit close to 400 balls a week of these when I'm in the office. When I was using steel, there was no way I could do that. Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

BT

 

If the mat is square, could you just rotate it a quarter-turn each time it gets worn down? Could use all 4 sides before the entire mat would have to be replaced.

[JTA10wt]

Any one adding any extra padding under their mats? Think of the rubber mats sold at big box stores that are sort of like puzzle pieces which you can lock together to make a footprint of your own size. The link is only to give a better visual representation vs my description. https://www.foamtile...qhoCaU8QAvD_BwE

 

Funny you mention those. We put down a bunch of this in our daughter's playroom and have some pieces left over. I was actually just looking at the extra pieces the other day when I was cleaning up and thinking about how those would be perfect under a hitting mat. They're cheap too.

 

I'm putting together a hitting bay in the basement as we speak with future plans for a simulator. The best solution for padding under the mat that I've found are thick rubber stall mats sold at Tractor Supply Company and other sources like a Farmer's Co-Op. TSC sells them in 4' x 8' sheets and 3/4" thick for $25.99 each.

[Stuart_G]

Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

Just a thought, try a search for a mat that was designed to be used with the ProTee sensor.

[clevited]

Living in New England, I hit a ton of balls off mats summer AND winter. Using graphite shafts is the only way to go for extended use of a mat. The ones at my regular lunchtime range down the street are practically nothing but foam and I have no joint issues at all. For a digger like me, that is saying something. I will typically hit close to 400 balls a week of these when I'm in the office. When I was using steel, there was no way I could do that. Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

BT

 

Many sim builders build a stance area that is composed of a stance mat with a cut out for replacing with a 3X1 strip like you mention. I just purchased 2 3X1 strips and put them end to end for putting as well as hitting off of. Working pretty good so far.

[Dcoop86]

Living in New England, I hit a ton of balls off mats summer AND winter. Using graphite shafts is the only way to go for extended use of a mat. The ones at my regular lunchtime range down the street are practically nothing but foam and I have no joint issues at all. For a digger like me, that is saying something. I will typically hit close to 400 balls a week of these when I'm in the office. When I was using steel, there was no way I could do that. Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

BT

 

Many sim builders build a stance area that is composed of a stance mat with a cut out for replacing with a 3X1 strip like you mention. I just purchased 2 3X1 strips and put them end to end for putting as well as hitting off of. Working pretty good so far.

 

What do you use for your strip? I’m looking to build a turf section embedded in a gym (I’ll have 13mm rubber flooring that I’ll try to match)

[clevited]

Living in New England, I hit a ton of balls off mats summer AND winter. Using graphite shafts is the only way to go for extended use of a mat. The ones at my regular lunchtime range down the street are practically nothing but foam and I have no joint issues at all. For a digger like me, that is saying something. I will typically hit close to 400 balls a week of these when I'm in the office. When I was using steel, there was no way I could do that. Personally, I think they should make mats with a replaceable hitting area. Say a 3'x1' strip that is easy to remove and replace. Seems that would be the most logical way to do it. Anyone aware of a mat with that feature?

 

BT

 

Many sim builders build a stance area that is composed of a stance mat with a cut out for replacing with a 3X1 strip like you mention. I just purchased 2 3X1 strips and put them end to end for putting as well as hitting off of. Working pretty good so far.

 

What do you use for your strip? I’m looking to build a turf section embedded in a gym (I’ll have 13mm rubber flooring that I’ll try to match)

 

I just bought 2 12x36 strips of "Duffer" brand turf. So far so good. I used industrial velcro to secure it to my floor and put them end to end so I have a longer putting surface.

 

I have only used it a few times but so far, taking a divot no longer hurts at all. If I hit fat, it still slows my swing down enough to make me not want to do that. My previous mat was so bad I developed a habit of thinning the ball due to I am guessing my fear of the pain when taking a divot.

 

No idea about durability yet, a friend recommended them to me.

[fairways4life]

I took 2 very important steps towards my simulator build during my Christmas break from work.

 

1. I got the ok from the wife.

2. I cleared room in the garage. We use our garage for storage (live in NC so parking in the driveway year round is no problem). I built some shelves to get stuff off the floor and threw out a lot of stuff we didn't need. I now have a large area with 12 foot celiengs.

 

Has anyone here done the monthly financing for skytrack? The commercial says $58 a month but I haven't looked into all the terms and conditions of that.

[Cruisin1966]

. . .

Has anyone here done the monthly financing for skytrack? The commercial says $58 a month but I haven't looked into all the terms and conditions of that.

 

I wish that was an option for us Canucks. :-(

[clevited]

I took 2 very important steps towards my simulator build during my Christmas break from work.

 

1. I got the ok from the wife.

2. I cleared room in the garage. We use our garage for storage (live in NC so parking in the driveway year round is no problem). I built some shelves to get stuff off the floor and threw out a lot of stuff we didn't need. I now have a large area with 12 foot celiengs.

 

Has anyone here done the monthly financing for skytrack? The commercial says $58 a month but I haven't looked into all the terms and conditions of that.

 

If I remember correctly, its 58 bucks or something close to that at 0 percent interest for 1 year, then it jumps to like 21 percent interest. It would be best to pay it off in that first year which obviously requires payments beyond that 58 bucks. Also, I had excellent credit, so depending on your credit it could be slightly better or a lot worse. Idk.

[sdrthedj]

Curious if those with the sims have found their swing changing after a lot of use due to the mats. I’d think that either consciously or unconsciously, one might get shallower or be more of a picker just to avoid the long term impact shock.

 

I’ve thought about putting together a nice system but haven’t researched it much. Appreciate all the info on here!

 

I use a fiberbuilt and it allows me to hit down and through and not worry about hurting wrists/elbows. When I hit on other surfaces that are harder I start to get shallow.

[dxdgenert]

I’m curious why there seems to be an absolute rivalry between The Golf Club vs Jack Nicklaus Perfect Golf? There is genuine vitriol whenever the topic comes up and I don’t understand why.

[fairways4life]

I took 2 very important steps towards my simulator build during my Christmas break from work.

 

1. I got the ok from the wife.

2. I cleared room in the garage. We use our garage for storage (live in NC so parking in the driveway year round is no problem). I built some shelves to get stuff off the floor and threw out a lot of stuff we didn't need. I now have a large area with 12 foot celiengs.

 

Has anyone here done the monthly financing for skytrack? The commercial says $58 a month but I haven't looked into all the terms and conditions of that.

 

If I remember correctly, its 58 bucks or something close to that at 0 percent interest for 1 year, then it jumps to like 21 percent interest. It would be best to pay it off in that first year which obviously requires payments beyond that 58 bucks. Also, I had excellent credit, so depending on your credit it could be slightly better or a lot worse. Idk.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have to read the fine print. I'm still pretty far out from the purchasing stage of this project but good to get a heads up on it. Now that I've created the space, a net and mat will be the first purchases.

[Badshaft]

As far as hitting mats go, I bought The Golf Mat (sponsored by Vijay Singh) 10+ years ago with hitting seems like thousands of golf balls and has performed perfectly ... You can hit down and through the ball like turf with an arched piece of plastic type material added.

 

 

I find it weird that they don't seem to be out there anymore..It has worked as described and doesn't hurt the joints...Anyway if you find one they work great...

[highandright]

Here's my setup (sorry for the blurry pics) with Skytrak. I've had a Skytrak a little over a year now, and it's been great. I previously used an Optishot, and those are a complete waste of time. I mostly us the Skytrak software for practicing on the range. I have TGC for sim play. TGC is fun, but hoping the 2019 update makes some improvements (better short game and green speed physics, for one)

 

I started off with a CCE hitting mat (from Costco). It is very unforgiving on heavy shots, and I had some minor wrist injuries using it. I've since relegated the CCE mat to the stance mat, and got a Fiberbuilt section several months ago (not pictured here). The Fiberbuilt is definitely the way to go- punishing on heavy shots in terms of distance loss, but not at all painful. I use tomahawk tees for driver.

 

You can barely make it out in the crappy photo, but the grey rectangular box thingy next to the Skytrak is a DIY aiming input device for Simulator play. It's just the guts of an old keyboard and some arcade buttons. It's rigged up to make moving your point of aim in TGC possible without having to walk over to the keyboard.

 

The putting green is from Big Moss, which I also highly recommend.

 

 

 

 

[fairways4life]

^^^^^^ Wow. I'm pretty sure I'd never leave that room lol. Awesome setup!