GOLF SIMULATOR BUILD AND INSTALL AT OAK ROYAL GOLF CLUB
Set in the heart of one of Lancashire’s most picturesque rural locations lies Withnell, home to the Oak Royal Golf & Country Club, boasting stunning views of the Pennine Moors, Pendle Hill and surrounding countryside is the perfect course for seasoned golfers and beginners.
Since it opened in August 2007, many thousands of players have enjoyed the nine- hole course with its tree-lined undulating fairways and all-year-round greens meticulously designed and built to USGA Standard. The introduction to a further nine tees soon after the course opened not only afforded a different perspective when played as an 18-hole course but also offered a fairer test for golfers of all abilities.
The club have over the last few years invested heavily in facilities at Oak Royal and to complete their refurbishment of the club house decided to invest in an indoor golf simulator set up. The owners of Oak Royal Golf Club reached out to Inswing to advise and educate on all available options to suit requirement and budget. The purpose of the investment was to add extra value to the membership and also attract new and non golfers in the area to try golf and to facilitate golf tuition indoors using some of todays great technology.
The space available was perfect and Oak Royal made adjustment to the ground floor area to accommodate a room size of 4.5m in width by 7m in length, a perfect size for the golf simulator to be homed. After weighing up the features and benefits of many options, The club decided on the fantastic ProTee VX overhead launch monitor. This allowed a clear space for with nothing on the floor and ease of use for all of its users.
The ProTee VX using an amazing combination of Vision and AI (Artificial Intelligence), fitted the bill perfectly to remain within the budget set. At a little over £6000.00 the ProTee VX packs a massive punch using high speed cameras and AI to deliver a launch monitor that is insanely fast, accurate and offers 23 key data parameters enough for even the highest level of golfer to contemplate.
Ball data (measured):
- Ball speed
- Back Spin
- Side spin
- Total spin
- Spin axis
- Launch direction
- Launch angle
- Club data (measured):
- Club Speed
- Club trajectory
- Clubface Angle
- Clubface Path
- Angle of attack
- Dynamic loft
- Club lean angle
- Vertical and horizontal impact points
Flight data :
- Flight path
- Apex height
- Apex time
- Total distance
- Carry distance
- Offline
- Air time
- Descent angle
The ProTee VX is further complimented by the ability to use an array of the best simulation software on the market to offer the user a huge choice of golf courses and features to enjoy with the VX. Current simulation software options include the infamous TGC 2019, ProTee Play, GSpro, E6 Connect, Creative Golf, Golfissimo and with many more planned for integration it really does offer the user an incredible choice.
For Oak Royal it was TGC 2019 due to its extensive course offerings including the best courses in the world being available for their members and visitors all from a wall mounted touch screen and powered by an Inswing Golf custom built gaming PC.
The owners of the club were extremely handy and did all the their build work in house and with assistance on and off site from Inswing Golf, they were able to create a superbly clean looking finish using fantastic product from Inswing Golf. The installation of the VX system itself was a very easy task. The system is designed to be an easy install option in both fixing and software set ups. You can literally be up and running in around 45 minutes!
Full and easy to follow instruction that is provided makes it a much less daunting task for a DIY installation than you would expect. Taking time to carefully measure the positioning of the unit to the chosen ball position as per instructed, the unit itself flew up and quickly connected to the pc via its data cable, one click calibration made it ready for shots within seconds!
The side walls and ceiling were prepared to fix the impact screen. 3” x 2” timber was fixed to the walls and ceiling with the centre of the timbers 30cm from the solid rear wall, a safe and recommended distance to allow an impact screen to move without the ball being able to hit something solid and bounce back. The owners wanted a screen that would give a great image for the user but also offer ultimate durability and chose the Inswing Golf Superknit Baffle Screen with its integrated blackout backing which enhances image quality. The screen was prepared for installation and fitted using bungees to eye screw fixings in the timber.
The floor had been prepared to accommodate the artificial putting and hitting surfaces to be used in the simulator. Inswing Dura Tee Turf was chosen as the hitting surface due to its highly durable nylon yarn and 32mm depth, perfect for hitting any shot from and and taking any tee peg for teeing up those big drives. Surrounding the hitting surface and completing the floor finish was the Inswing Premium Putting Turf. Being available in 4.5m widths meant this was the perfect wall to wall fit with no need for any kind of edging or infill of fringe turf. The PE 16mm turf with a stimp of 10-11 was enhanced by the introduction of 2 putting cups allowing some putting practice if you were worn out from the hitting addiction the VX creates.
The Panasonic PT VZ580 5000 lumen projector was fitted and the easy to use corner correction feature tweaked to fit the full image in a 16:10 ratio onto the screen to give an impressive image which hits you when you walk in room. The combination of this projector, now replaced in the Panasonic range by the awesome VMZ51 laser projector and the Superknit Baffle screen achieved the great image and durability the club wanted from their set up.
The Final finish of the screen and surrounding area was the introduction of the acoustic tiling to offer some sound reduction around the screen on impact but also to cover and protect the freshly plastered walls from any errand shots and to give the screen area a lovely contemporary look. The Inswing 500mm x 500mm x50mm Flat Face Bevel tile was chosen in dark charcoal to create a stunning classy finish.
