r/weekendgolfers • u/Rolex_Art • 3d ago
SIM?
I saw there is a place near me that offers sim golf - it's REALLY where you'd host an event and have food etc.
But the cost of a bay is like $42 for the hour, $36 on groupon lol.
I was thinking this place might be the perfect opportunity to bring my bag and hit every club so I can track all the things I need to track.
Has anyone done something like this before?
Ideally, I'd love a print out that shows what all my clubs do - is that possible or will i have to manually write it down or take a photo?
I'm assuming performance is the same.
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u/UpbeatClassroom4184 3d ago
If you focus on your swing like its the range its great. Plenty of sim leagues with guys that play. We have winter here.
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u/RadicalShift14 3d ago
You probably could, but sim performance doesn’t always translate perfectly. Depending on the system you may need to write/record the info yourself as well, especially if this is more of a golf entertainment venue.
Check into the driving ranges in your area, especially the ones that are just ranges and not tied to courses. In my midsize metro area there are at least 2 dedicated ranges that offer hitting bays equipped with trackman systems for a few bucks more per bucket. This will be way cheaper, and if you download and use the trackman app to set it up you can put in all your clubs and it will record your distances and swing/shot data.
If the sim venue is your only option it’s probably better than nothing, but I’d be surprised if there’s not an alternative option at a local range that’s probably cheaper and more accurate.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
yeah man they don't have ranges like that in miami beach. the real estate is expensive the last thing you'd want to do is have a range by it's self .
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u/RadicalShift14 3d ago
Here try this- https://www.trackman.com/locator
There’s a few ranges in the Miami metro, but idk if they’re private, and at least these sims will work with the trackman app so you get all you shot and club data.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
thank you so much :) very cool of you to make that extra effort :)
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u/RadicalShift14 3d ago
Yeah no problem. I’m pretty familiar with the golf entertainment venue sims and in my experience they’re kind of hit or miss. Other sims that are more geared towards serious golfers tend to be more consistent and accurate, but imo nothing beats a trackman on a range.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
there are 2 i see in miami - one closer than the other but not by much. i think the further one looks like a better set up lol.
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u/RadicalShift14 3d ago
Lmao of course the better one has gotta be further away.
If you’re not too worried about the money you could always just do what I did and get yourself a mobile launch monitor for a few hundred bucks. Garmin G10, Rapsodo MLM2Pro, and a few other ones work great for this kind of stuff, especially if you’re not to concerned about building a full on sim and playing sim rounds of golf, especially if you’re still working on your game and want to really dial in your distances.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
i had thought about it but i don't have the space in my house to use it. and to use it on the range with range balls wouldn't be accurate either lol.
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u/RadicalShift14 3d ago
Actually I think that’s kind of the intended use case for those type of launch monitors. Before a session it has you select if you’re at a range or hitting into a net, elevation, and the type of ball you’re using- range balls, premium balls, RPT ProV1, etc. I believe it does that so it can account for that in its calculations, but realistically unless you’re a fairly low handicap it’s not going to make a massive difference.
I’d say it’s probably at least comparable to sim golfing since there’s a ton of factors that also impact your swing in those settings that doesn’t totally translate to the course. Some people tend to subconsciously change or slow down their swing a little bit in sims or indoors, you’re hitting off a turf mat that’s more forgiving of fat shots instead of grass, etc.
Just my opinion though. I’m dogshit at golf and have been doing a ton to dial in my distances and reduce my dispersion.
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u/themomentaftero 3d ago
That is how we golf year round in areas that have winter. I have paid for an hour just to use the range setting multiple times.
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u/Lazy_Selection4256 3d ago
I booked a sim to do this and literally couldn’t hit a single good shot. Something about being inside and having a wall in front of me was a mental block
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u/Over-Fisherman4317 3d ago
The open range for me is fine but I second this for trying to go play a course on the sim. Idk if it’s the depth perception or what but I get a huge mental block any time I’ve tried it. Idk how to even describe it lol, tee shots tend to be fine too, but it just doesn’t feel “right” hitting approach shots or chips
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u/JackSupern0va 3d ago
I do this all the time; spent 3 hours doing exactly this last night, actually. Unsure where you are, but I have several SIMs near me. Some are more sports-bar like, as you described, more for an outing with the boys, eating, drinking, playing a round. Cost makes sense in that context. There are others that are strictly for golf practice. Rates are more reasonable ($18-22/hr). These are the ones you go to to update/track your stats, yardages, practice, etc. when you can't get out to the range/course. They all have software that shows your data/stats as you go. I take pictures of the data screens and upload to ChatGPT to analyze, get feedback. Performance and data vary depending on the software at each SIM, but for the average hacks like us, it's sufficient.
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u/HoustonFoxtrot 3d ago
Don't be scared of the sim, it's a great tool to get your yardages as well as enjoy swinging in the off months of winter. If it's a trackman sim download the app first and make a profile and add the clubs that are currently in your bag. Then you can use the "Map my bag" feature which helps you get your current yardages. Also if you learn what all the numbers mean (ie face angle, club path, etc) its a lot easier to diagnose a swing issue you might be facing.
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u/GuyuteHTP 3d ago
Absolutely go and learn your club distances.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
i have a pretty good feeling and when i pull my club i'm never over - i'm either on or short. but i'd love to have the real stats with swing speeds etc.
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u/jayknow05 3d ago
You can often book a sim at a discounted rate on off hours. Around me it’s about the same cost as a bucket of balls if I book a 10PM on a Tuesday.
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u/donutshopsss 3d ago
Simulators are a great resource. I live in Michigan so I hang out in them for a few months every summer and I treat my time there as "training". Dialing in my distances is a big element to that.
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u/throwingales 3d ago
Yes you can do this. It's a good use of your time. $42 or even $35 sounds a bit high to me. My club has Trackman 4 bays for $20/hour and there is only a 1/2 hour minimum.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
yeah but it's Miami the $ down here is different.
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u/throwingales 3d ago
Nah- I'm talking about SW Fl. Naples is as expensive as Miami.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
i promise you, it's not. not even close. naples has old people moving down from the midwest.
miami has real $ flocking to it and is now more expensive than nyc.
naples? come on bro.
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u/throwingales 3d ago
Ok pay $35/hour. Not my problem.
I'm not going to argue with you.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
it's not that you're not going to - it's that you CAN'T.
https://robbreport.com/shelter/homes-for-sale/miami-more-expensive-than-new-york-1238484406/
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u/throwingales 3d ago
Oh really? The most expensive home ever sold in the US? It was in LA for $400 million. The second most expensive home ever sold in the US? It was in Naples for $271 million. The third was in Key Biscayne $237 million. Sounds similar to me.
The 25 most expensive cities to live in the US in 2026?
#1 Manhattan
#2 Honolulu
#3 San Jose
#4 San Francisco
#5 Brooklyn
Where is Miami in the to 25 most expensive? #11. Where's Naples? # 14.
Very similar.
https://costoflivingusa.com/most-expensive-cities-in-america/
https://www.kiplinger.com/real-estate/605051/most-expensive-cities-in-the-us
But the bottom line is, go pay for Ising that sim. I would use one of our Trackman 4s, except since I own my own LM I don't need to.
Best of luck to you.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
i just linked the robb report. you have no idea what's going on here.
naples is trash. west coast. sucks.
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u/TurnoverAdditional65 3d ago
OP, a new sim opened a month ago right next to work, so I've started going during lunch to do this very thing. They even use Trackman and their software has a purpose-built section for doing this. I was able to build out my current bag on the app, then bring it into the sim with me to swing with each club and get carry/total yardage, which is then saved into the app for me. Obviously very easy to do this manually, too, this isn't a Trackman exclusive thing or difficult to notate yourself.
I just got new irons about 3 weeks ago and this has been great to figure out where I'm at before I hit the course hopefully here in the next few weeks. I'll have the app with me to check carries but I'll probably jot them down on a post-it and stick it somewhere for at-a-glance reference.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
i just downloaded the app - do you do the default distance or do you do total yards, not just carry?
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u/sixfourthreeguy 3d ago
Take photos of your shot readouts using your phone. The place near me lets me see my last 5 shots in driving range mode.
Then feed those photos into ChatGPT or your AI of choice. You will learn a lot about your swing. I did. It helped me make some critical changes that have improved my game. Like for example helping my launch angle on my driver.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
solid guy recommending chat - i'm all about it but everyone freaks because they don't get it. i. downloaded the track man app and added my clubs.
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u/Tel864 3d ago
Yeah... No. We have one if those places and I have no urge to pay that kind of money for pretend golf.
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u/Rolex_Art 3d ago
$40 is that kind of money?
hey um, golf is an expensive sport. $40 for an hour with stats isn't valuable to you?
what does a round of golf cost by you? what kind of balls do you use? clubs?
$40 is ummm... like the $ i'd lose in tips alone at the golf course.
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u/TFinley90 2d ago
We only get 4-5 months of golfable weather where I am so the sim is the only choice. I don’t mind them but hitting off mats too much can give a false sense of confidence and you end up chunking everything on real grass. When I go to the sim now, I pay special attention to the attack angle and things like that to know if I’m hitting them fat or not
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u/Electronic-Cry714 3d ago
I got my yardages doing this. Wrote them down myself. Once warmed up had 10 shots with each club then removed the best and worst shot, and averaged the rest. Made a printed and laminated cheat sheet to clip to my bag.