Golf stands as one of the most popular sports in the entire world. Ever since its invention in Scotland nearly 500 years ago, golfers around the world have visited many fine courses to tee off in tournaments. Today, golf is most popular in the United States, Japan, and of course, its native Scotland. There’s all sorts of equipment for a golfer, ranging from their clubs and outfit to the caddy and even a golf cart. Like any other athlete, a golfer needs to set aside time to practice their game, and this can be done on any number of golf courses to practice some swings. However, sometimes a golfer may have trouble getting this practice done. Bad weather such as strong wind, hail, or a thunderstorm might cancel a practice session, or a golfer may live too far away from the nearest course to visit except for tournaments. The solution is to build a home golf simulator. This is just what it sounds like: a setup in one’s home that recreates a golf course. The top golf simulators can’t 100% reproduce a real golf course, but it can come close, and this is a fine chance for golfers to practice at any time. What do the top golf simulators look like? What might they cost?
Golfers
One might first consider the size of the industry. Golf has rapidly expanded since its invention in the Renaissance, and Americans love to play this sport. Even as far back as the year 1900, over a thousand golf clubs (as in organizations) could be found across the United States, and there are certainly more of them now. Nearly 2.2 million people took up this sport in 2015, and golfers are more varied than some may realize. More and more women are taking part in golf, and while they are a minority among golfers, they have established a solid presence in the professional scene. Many younger adults are joining their parents’ generation out on the golf course, and many Millennials (those born 1982-1995) are eagerly taking up this sport. It is clear that the game is still widely loved and in good hands. How can someone build a simulator to practice if they can’t reach a course? The top golf simulators can be built without too much hassle right there in the home.
Build the Simulator
The top golf simulators can do a great job recreating the course, and even more budget-friendly simulators can do a lot of good. To start with, the golfer will designate a room or space in the house for the simulator, such as the basement (a clean one) or an unused room. The simulator should be somewhere that won’t be overly obstructive, and the room should be big enough for this purpose. A cramped, small room will block the golfer’s movements.
Once a room is chosen, the hardware can be set up. For one thing, the golfer may purchase and install a digital projector, which will project images of the simulated golf course on a wall. This may be a better idea than setting up a flat screen TV, since a TV might get damaged from flying golf balls. Along with a projector, the golfer will need a laptop or a PC that can run the simulator program, and use cables to connect the computer to the projector to feed the data to the projector. Along with this computer setup, the golfer is advised to set up nets on either side of the room to catch flying golf balls and prevent the balls from striking other items in the room (if there are any). At any rate, a net makes it easier to recover struck balls. The last piece of hardware, meanwhile, is a patch of false turf where the golf tee and ball are placed.
The simulator is complete once the golfer buys the simulator program, installs it on the computer, and runs it on the projector. This allows them to simulate many different golf courses on the wall’s image, the perfect chance to practice for all sorts of terrain. This can be a fine chance to test out new golf clubs or putters before going to the next tournament or casual game.
