The Tekbud Setup Guide
Built to Run
My Courses & RISE
This isn't another "best simulator gear" roundup. It's the three complete builds I'd actually put together, at three budgets, specced to run GSPro, Tekbud courses, and RISE the way they're meant to be played.
Some links are affiliate links. You pay the same price, I may earn a small commission.
Build 01
The Night-One Build
about $1,500You want in. A garage or spare room, a net, and you're hitting balls into Tekbud courses tonight. Nothing here is wasted money, every piece carries forward when you upgrade later.
Launch monitor
Garmin Approach R10
$499The proven cheap seat. Connects to GSPro through Garmin's official GSPro Connect now, no community bridge, no subscription.
PC
Used RTX 4060 / 3060 Ti tower, 16GB RAM
~$600The used market is where the value is right now. Any tower with a 4060-class card and 16GB runs GSPro at 1080p high.
Net
A solid 10x7 practice net
~$200Hit into the net, watch the shot on your TV. It's how half the GSPro community started, including plenty of RISE players.
Mat
Budget 4x5 hitting mat
~$150Fine for year one. Your wrists will tell you when it's time for a real mat.
What it plays like
≈ $1,450 all-in
GSPro at 1080p high on your TV. Every Tekbud course plays, full RISE, full calibration, full seasons. The only thing missing is the projector-and-screen immersion, and you can add that later without replacing anything here.
Build 02
The Sweet Spot
about $3,500What I'd build today if I were starting over with a real budget. A proper enclosure, a projector, and a launch monitor with ball and club data. Nothing on this list is a compromise you'll regret.
Launch monitor
Square Golf (Home)
$699The best value in sim golf right now. Photometric, ball and club data, official GSPro support, and no subscription. Radar alternative if you have 16+ ft of depth: FlightScope Mevo Gen2, $1,299.
PC
RTX 5070 prebuilt, 32GB RAM
~$1,600Runs GSPro at 1440p and 4K ultra with Tekbud course detail maxed. This is the card I'd buy today.
Enclosure + screen
Carl's Place DIY Enclosure with Premium gray screen
~$900 speccedSpec it in their builder for your room. Go the high-contrast gray screen if you have any ambient light, trust me on this.
Projector
BenQ TH671ST
$949The budget short-throw standard for sim golf. 1080p, bright enough, and Carl's sells it set up for exactly this use.
Mat
Carl's HotShot Mat System
from $499Dense, honest feedback, pairs with their enclosures. The piece people skimp on and always re-buy.
What it plays like
≈ $3,600 all-in
The full experience. Ball flight on a real impact screen, Tekbud courses with the detail cranked, and a monitor accurate enough that your RISE calibration means something. Most members are on a build like this one.
Build 03
The Forever Build
about $8,000The room you stop upgrading. Foresight tech tracking the ball, a laser projector from BenQ's golf line, and gear that will outlast several PCs.
Launch monitor
Bushnell Launch Pro
$2,999Foresight GCQuad camera tech, and what I trust my own numbers to. Be honest with yourself about the running costs: GSPro connectivity needs Bushnell's Gold plan at $499/yr on top of GSPro's $250/yr. Tip: the newer Launch Pro Indoor ($2,799) includes the first year of both.
PC
RTX 5070 prebuilt, 32GB RAM
~$1,600Same pick as the Sweet Spot, because it's the right one. Put the savings into the room, not a bigger GPU you won't feel.
Enclosure + screen
Carl's Place DIY Enclosure, premium spec
~$1,000 speccedFull-size, blacked out, Premium gray screen. See the upgrade below if you have the space for the real showpiece.
Projector
BenQ AH700ST
~$1,899BenQ's purpose-built golf sim line. Laser light source, so no lamp swaps, and it's bright enough to keep the room lights on.
Mat
Fiberbuilt Performance Turf
from $479Fiber turf that hits like fairway. Thousands of swings a year, zero joint tax.
What it plays like
≈ $8,000 all-in
Tour-grade numbers, 4K ultra, every Tekbud course exactly the way I built it to look. This is the setup the courses are designed on and for.
The upgrade that matters
Carl's Place Curved Enclosure Kit $4,895
The one upgrade that changes the feeling of the room: the first DIY curved enclosure on the market, screen included. The panoramic wrap is the closest thing to standing on a real tee box. If the budget and the space are there, swap it into either build above.
PC Specs for GSPro & Tekbud Courses
GSPro is well optimized, but my courses push the detail envelope. Here's the honest line between "it runs" and "it looks the way I built it".
Minimum · plays everything
- GPU: RTX 5060, or a used RTX 4060 / 3060 Ti
- CPU: Modern i5 / Ryzen 5
- RAM: 16GB
- Storage: SSD, ~1GB per course
1080p high, every Tekbud course, full RISE. Roughly $600-700 used, $1,100 as a new prebuilt.
Recommended · maxed out
- GPU: RTX 5070
- CPU: i7 / Ryzen 7
- RAM: 32GB
- Storage: 1TB NVMe
1440p and 4K ultra with Tekbud detail maxed. About $1,600 as a prebuilt with 32GB.
Should you wait for the next GPU generation? No. NVIDIA isn't shipping a new gaming generation in 2026, and the 60-series looks like 2027 at the earliest. Prices are running a bit over MSRP thanks to the memory shortage, but there's nothing around the corner worth waiting for. Buy when you're ready to play.
Already have the PC and want to know what to play on it? Browse the courses or jump straight into RISE.
Launch Monitors That Play Nice With GSPro
Every unit below is on GSPro's official device list, and if it runs GSPro, it runs RISE. The thing nobody puts in the headline price is the subscriptions, so I did.
Garmin Approach R10
Official GSPro Connect, no subscription. The cheapest legitimate way in.
$499
Square Golf (Home)
Ball and club data, native GSPro, no subscription. Best value going.
$699
FlightScope Mevo Gen2
Radar done right, no subscription. Needs about 16 ft of room depth.
$1,299
Uneekor Eye Mini Lite
Premium camera unit with the lightest subscription stack in its class ($199/yr for GSPro).
$2,749
Bushnell Launch Pro
Foresight tech, my pick. Budget for Gold ($499/yr) plus GSPro ($250/yr), or get the Indoor version with year one included.
$2,999
Whatever you pick, RISE calibrates to your numbers on your setup, so an R10 player and a Launch Pro player climb the same leaderboard on equal footing. Here's how that works →
Setup Questions, Answered
What do I need to run Tekbud courses and RISE?+
Four things: GSPro ($250/yr), a launch monitor on GSPro's supported device list (from the $499 Garmin R10 up), a PC with an RTX-class GPU, and the Tekbud Patreon for course downloads and RISE access. A screen and projector are optional at the start, plenty of players begin with a net and a TV.
How much does a golf simulator setup cost in 2026?+
About $1,500 gets you playing tonight: a Garmin R10, a used RTX 4060-class PC, a net, and a mat. Around $3,500 buys the full experience with an enclosure, impact screen, short-throw projector, and a Square Golf launch monitor. A no-compromise room with a Bushnell Launch Pro runs about $8,000. Every piece of the starter build carries forward when you upgrade.
What PC do I need to run GSPro and Tekbud courses?+
Minimum: an RTX 5060 (or used RTX 4060 / 3060 Ti), a modern i5/Ryzen 5, and 16GB RAM for 1080p high. Recommended: an RTX 5070, i7/Ryzen 7, and 32GB RAM for 1440p-4K with Tekbud course detail maxed. Don't wait on the next GPU generation, NVIDIA isn't shipping one in 2026.
What's the best budget launch monitor for GSPro?+
The Square Golf (Home) at $699 is the best value right now: photometric ball and club data, official GSPro support, and no subscription. The Garmin Approach R10 at $499 is the cheapest way in and now connects through Garmin's official GSPro Connect. Both run RISE fully, RISE calibrates to your numbers on your hardware.
How much space do I need for a golf simulator?+
Comfortable minimum is 10 ft ceilings, 12 ft width, and 15 ft depth. The ceiling is the hard constraint, measure your driver swing arc before buying anything. Camera units like the Square Golf or Bushnell Launch Pro sit beside or in front of you and are more forgiving in tight rooms than radar, which wants ~16 ft of depth.
Do I need a projector, or can I use a TV?+
A TV works and many people start there, but hitting into an impact screen with a projector is the immersion that makes a simulator feel like golf instead of a video game. The BenQ TH671ST is the budget short-throw standard; BenQ's newer AH/AK golf line is the laser upgrade.
More setup questions? The full FAQ covers GSPro install, courses, and RISE.
The Gear Is the Easy Part
Any build on this page gets you a simulator. What it won't give you is a reason to turn it on in July. That's what RISE is for: calibrated challenges, boss battles, and a Rise Score that only goes up. Free with the Tekbud Patreon, along with every course.
Kids in the house? The same build runs RISE Kids, a golf simulator career mode for ages 6 to 14, at no extra cost.
Odd-shaped room, weird ceiling, tight budget? Reach out and I'll point you in the right direction.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I personally use or would use. These recommendations are based on my experience as a professional course designer and thousands of hours in sim golf. Prices checked July 30, 2026; street prices move, so treat them as ballpark.