Best Projector for Golf Simulator

If are like me and you love golf and you have a man cave or games room, I have some great news for you. You can practice your game by setting up a golf simulator in your man cave or garage with a high quality projector to track your every shot and provide a reliable playback option. 

To help choose the best golf simulator projector we have reviewed several of the most popular and hottest-selling projectors on the market today, and remarked on the pros and cons associated with each of them.  We have also included a Projector for Golf Simulator Buying Guide, in which we will highlight and explain the various factors and characteristics you should consider when shopping for the best projector for your particular golf simulator.

Golf Projector Simulator Reviews

1.LG PF1000UW Ultra Short Throw Smart Home Theater Projector

One of the best features of the LG PF1000UW Ultra Short Throw Smart Home Theater Projector is its ability to deliver vivid imagery within a very short distance of the projection surface.  Set the device just 15 inches from a wall or projection screen and you’ll receive 100 inches of bright, vivid viewing that works incredibly with your golf simulator.

The LG PF1000UW Ultra Short Throw Smart Home Theater Projector delivers a full high definition (1920 x 1080) picture with up to 1000 lumens for amazing brightness.  In addition to working well with your golf simulator, it is also LG Smart TV compatible and the magic remote makes watching and playback very easy.  The projector has Bluetooth sound out and a wireless screen share connection that works with Android and Apple devices, including most laptop computers.  LG’s exclusive Smart TV platform is very simple to set up and offers easy discovery of exciting premium content from the most popular providers. The included remote control makes navigation fast and fun, with optional voice remote capability.

2. Optoma HD142X 1080p 3000 Lumens 3D DLP Home Theater Projector

The Optoma HD142X 1080p 3000 Lumens 3D DLP Home Theater Projector is available in many different sizes, with screen sizes ranging from 8 feet and 66-inches when measured diagonally, to 12 feet and 107 inches.  Offering incredible brightness, the projector is equipped with 3,000 ANSI lumens; and it is compatible with a number of different computer types, including FHD, HD, WXGA, UXGA, SXGA, XGA, SVGA, VGA, and MAC.  It boasts a contrast ratio of 23,000 to 1 and automatic keystone correction, although it lacks automatic lens shifting capability.

Not only does this projector work amazing with golf simulators, it is also perfect for all of your media.  With this projector you can watch movies and play games with stunning colors in any environment. The 3,000 ANSI lumens combined with a sharp contrast ratio enable a near perfect reproduction of the REC.709 color spectrum, the international standard for HDTV viewing.  The projector comes equipped with 2 HDMI and one audio port; and the 10W built-in speaker provides powerful, crystal clear sound.  The 8,000 hour lamp life lowers the cost of its use, and the sharper more detailed projection, with 1920 x 1080 pixels, makes it perfect for watching Blu-ray movies without downscaling or compression.

3.BenQ HT2150ST 1080p Home Theater Projector

The high resolution BenQ HT2150ST 1080p Home Theater Projector has native 1080P full high definition quality with a high brightness rating of 2200 ANSI lumens and a stunning 15,000 to 1 contrast ratio.  Additionally, its 6x RGBRGB color wheel delivers lifelike colors which are calibrated for gaming, making it the perfect projector for your golf simulator.  The projector has a specialized low input lag and unique modes that ensure an ultra-smooth and comprehensive viewing experience.

The BenQ HT2150ST 1080p Home Theater Projector delivers a movie theater-like sound experience thanks to the two built-in 10W speakers with BenQ Cinema Master and Audio+ tech, which work together to add brilliant sounds and enhance your golf simulation experience. The true colors of this projector go a long way towards evoking emotion by preserving the original image.  All BenQ home projectors embody the company’s belief that to convey the truest color is to impart the deepest feelings to the viewer. The engineers at BenQ, who have both THX and ISF certification, make up a great team of CinematicColor professionals, who together provide Rec.709 HDTV standard color coverage to ensure perfect color consistency to your viewing experience.

Projector for Golf Simulator Buying Guide

If you intend to purchase a projector for your golf simulator in the near future there are some key features of these products of which you should always be aware.  Knowing and understanding these features and characteristics will allow you to make a more educated buying decision and even aid in the final selection process.  Here are some of the features you will need to consider:

Lumens

As you might have guessed from our three product descriptions below, the number of lumens determines the brightness of the image your projector displays on the screen.  If you plan to operate the projector in a fully-lit room, you will need a high quality projector that offers the maximum number of lumens, somewhere in the 3,000 to 3,500 range.  However, if you plan to use your projector in a slightly darkened room, such as you might when giving a presentation; you can usually get away with one in the 1,000-2,500 lumens range.

Throw Ratio

The throw ratio is another very important factor to consider when selecting a projector to go with your golf simulation equipment.  In short, this measure refers to the distance the projector must be from the screen versus how wide the screen is. If you do not want your shadow showing up on your hitting screen as you swing the golf club, you will need what is called a short throw or ultra-short throw projector, which ranges anywhere between 3:1 and 1:1 in throw ratio.  To determine the best throw ratio for your setup you will need to divide the distance from your projector to your screen by the width of your screen. For instance, if your screen is 10 feet wide and your projector is 5 feet away from the screen, your optimal throw ratio would be 5:1.

Aspect Ratio and Resolution

The aspect ratio and resolution are two factors that will usually go hand-in-hand in a golf simulator projector. To put it in the simplest terms, the aspect ratio refers to the shape the image will take when it is on the screen or the ratio between the width and height of the image you are projecting.  Similarly, the resolution refers to the number of pixels inside the image. The more pixels you have, the higher the image quality will be and thus the clearer the picture on the screen.

HDMI Connectivity

Finally, you should always look at HDMI connectivity, the latest in audio and video connections.  When selecting your projector, always make sure it has the necessary number of HDMI input ports to accept all the equipment you will be using with the projector.

The above should help choosing the best projector for a golf simulator a little easier. Do you also want to improve your putting? Our indoor puttung green guide may be of interest and we’d love to hear about your choices in the comments below.