In software engineering, there’s a concept called “fail fast”. The idea is to quickly identify issues and address them before they become a bigger problem. Essentially, the goal is fast iteration. Let me tell you, I have certainly failed fast and often in this chapter of the project.

Choosing an impact screen

I knew that I was going to go with a high-quality impact screen. You can get some fairly cheap ones, but they are usually made from a single layer of fabric. This is not only bad for the longevity of the screen, but also for the sound dampening. I wanted a screen that would last and that would dampen the sound of the ball hitting it. So, I knew it was going to be a 2 or 3-layer screen.

Last week I showed you how I sound-proofed a wall that’s shared with the neighboring unit. After the project was complete, I stated it’s hard to tell how much of an improvement it made because the door was now the weakest link.

To no one’s surprise, this week’s project was to tackle the door. In fact, this project started in parallel with the wall project. This is because I wasn’t sure whether I would buid the wall with drywall and stone wool or with foam. Drywall was never really an option for the door, so I ordered some foam panels. That was meant to improve the door, but also to give me some experience with foam before I decided on the wall.

One of my main concerns when I started thinking about building a golf sim was noise. First up, I don’t want to annoy my partner with the constant noise, but also I live in a side-by-side duplex and I don’t want to annoy my neighbors. The worst thing that could happen is that I invest a lot of money into a golf sim and then I can’t use it because of noise complaints.