Planning to install a custom golf screen and not sure what size to get? Whether you're designing for a commercial golf facility or a DIY home golf setup, this article walks you through the factors that actually matter when choosing your golf simulator screen size.
The fastest way to find your answer is Carl's Build Your Own Golf Simulator tool. Put in your room dimensions and the 3D visualizer shows you how your screen fits in your space before you buy anything. If you want to understand the why behind the sizing decisions, keep reading.
When it comes to selecting the right golf screen size, bigger is almost always better. A larger screen creates a more immersive experience and gives you more room to contain imperfect shots. Of course, you'll still need to make sure the screen, enclosure, golfer and projector all work within the space you actually have.
What's the right size indoor golf screen?
Your ideal golf simulator screen size is the largest screen that safely fits your room while leaving enough space for installation, ball impact, the golfer and your projector.
For many setups, aspect ratio becomes the final piece of the puzzle because it determines how well the projected image uses that screen space.
Let’s break down the five biggest deciding factors for choosing a golf screen size:
First, look around the space where you plan to put the golf screen. Are there things like doors, carpet, pipes, soffits, vents, lights, etc., that will interfere with your setup? For most people, we don't recommend indoor golfing in a space smaller than 96" high or 100" wide.
For the safety of both the golfer and the screen, we recommend standing a minimum of 10-12 feet away from the screen. Please do not stand closer than 10 feet from the screen. Golfers who stand closer will likely experience more bounce back and increase the risk of injury.
It's important to account for some buffer space so your golf screen avoids touching anything. There are an infinite number of ways to design your golf simulator, but generally speaking we recommend:
This general guideline assumes you are using our 6” black ball bungees and hanging the screen from 1-inch pipe. If you're using a different method, this should get you close, but make sure your design allows for fine-tuning. An impact screen needs some movement and should never be installed completely tight or rigid.
Also important: Pay attention to the space requirements of your launch monitor. Different launch monitors have different placement and room-depth requirements.
Not sure how all of this applies to your specific room? Put your dimensions into the Build Your Own Golf Simulator Tool and the 3D visualizer accounts for buffer space automatically. No math required.
Now that you have mastered the first two deciding factors for choosing a golf screen, let's get on the same page about the dimensions of your golf screen.
You'll notice two main measurements when we talk about golf screens:
And there's another related measurement you need to pay attention to if you're attaching the screen to a frame or custom-built enclosure:
Enclosure Size - The overall width and height of the frame that holds your golf screen.
Viewable size vs. total size matters. If you're trying to calculate a projector image or aspect ratio, use the viewable screen dimensions, not the overall dimensions including the finished border.
Please allow for slight sizing variances as all Carl's Place golf screens are made by hand.
Make sure you have enough room to safely swing the club. A larger golf screen gives you more margin for mishits, which matters more than most people expect until they're actually swinging in an enclosed space.
If you have friends who are golfers, or more importantly who are NOT golfers, make sure to consider their wild swings as well. A deeper enclosure contains more chaos. Just something to think about before you invite people over.
For taller golfers, ceiling height becomes the real constraint. Carl's Build Your Own Golf Simulator Tool factors in golfer height when sizing your setup so the screen position works for whoever is actually swinging.
Aspect ratio should be part of your golf screen sizing decision because it determines the shape of the projected image. A screen can physically fit your room perfectly and still leave you with unused screen space if its shape doesn't work well with the image coming from your projector.
What is the best aspect ratio for a golf simulator?
There isn't one best aspect ratio for every golf simulator. 16:9 gives you a wide image when you have enough room. 4:3 uses less width for the same image height, which makes it a popular choice in narrower golf rooms. 16:10 falls between the two. Your available room dimensions and projector ultimately determine which makes the most sense.
Aspect ratio is the relationship between the width of your screen and its height.
For example, a square has an aspect ratio of 1:1 because it is exactly as wide as it is tall. A rectangle that is twice as wide as it is tall has an aspect ratio of 2:1.
Another way of showing aspect ratio is as a fraction or decimal. A 16:9 image has a width that is 16/9, or about 1.78 times, its height.
To swing an iron, the average golfer needs a bare minimum of 8' ceiling height. That's the ":9" part of the aspect ratio. A helpful hint: 16 is bigger than 9, so your room must be quite a bit wider than it is tall.
So if a 16:9 projected image is 8 feet tall:
8 × 16 ÷ 9 = 14 feet wide
Comparatively, a 4:3 image that is 8 feet tall only needs to be:
8 × 4 ÷ 3 = 10.67 feet wide
That's nearly a four-foot difference in room width for the same image height, which is why aspect ratio matters so much in a golf simulator.
| Aspect Ratio | Shape | What It Means for a Golf Simulator |
|---|---|---|
| 16:9 | Wide | Works well in wider rooms and aligns with common HD and 4K resolutions. |
| 16:10 | Slightly taller than 16:9 | A middle ground between widescreen 16:9 and taller 4:3. |
| 4:3 | Taller | Useful when room width is limited and you want more image height. |
| 1:1 | Square | Can make sense in especially narrow spaces or custom simulator builds. |
For many golf simulator rooms, the decision between 4:3 and 16:9 comes down to available width.
A 16:9 golf simulator screen gives you a wide, immersive image and works naturally with common HD and 4K projector resolutions. The tradeoff is that you need substantially more room width to maintain the same screen height.
A 4:3 golf simulator screen gives you more height relative to its width. That can make it a better fit when your room is tall enough for a good golf screen but isn't wide enough for a similarly tall 16:9 image.
Let's use a 9-foot image height as an example. The same 9-foot image height for each aspect ratio needs this much width:
16:9 = 16 feet wide
16:10 = 14.4 feet wide
4:3 = 12 feet wide
That's why there isn't a universal answer to the best golf simulator aspect ratio. The best choice is the one that gives you the screen size you want without fighting the dimensions of your room.
This is where aspect ratio gets a little confusing. Your physical impact screen has an aspect ratio based on its viewable width and height, while your projected image also has an aspect ratio based on the resolution being sent to the projector.
For example:
Your projector has its own native resolution as well. Ideally, the screen shape and projected image work together so you're using as much of your impact screen as possible without stretching or cutting off the image.
We've noticed in the golf simulator industry that there are golfers who want their projected image to perfectly fill their impact screen and golfers who just want to play.
If you fall into the first bucket, pay close attention to your screen dimensions, projector and available output resolutions. If you're fine with a little unused impact screen around the projected image, you have more flexibility.
If you fit the full width of a 16:9 projected image onto a 4:3 screen, you'll have unused screen space above and below the image.
If you instead enlarge that same 16:9 image until its height fills the 4:3 screen, part of the image extends beyond the left and right sides.
Depending on your computer and projector, you may also be able to use a different or custom output resolution that better matches your golf screen.
If you just want to golf with an image on your screen and it doesn't have to line up perfectly to every corner, leaving some unused screen area can work just fine.
If you know the viewable width and height of your golf screen, divide the width by the height.
Screen width ÷ screen height = aspect ratio
For example, a screen that is 12 feet wide and 9 feet tall has a width-to-height ratio of:
12 ÷ 9 = 1.33
That's a 4:3 aspect ratio.
A screen that is 16 feet wide and 9 feet tall gives you:
16 ÷ 9 = 1.78
That's a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Don't want to calculate it? Carl's Screen Size Calculator can help you match screen dimensions and aspect ratio.
Your golf simulator screen doesn't have to be exactly 16:9, 16:10, 4:3 or 1:1.
If the largest screen that safely fits your room has a nonstandard shape, that can still be the right screen for your setup. The important thing to understand is that your projected image may not fill every inch of the viewable screen unless your equipment can output a matching resolution.
In other words, screen size and projected image size don't always have to be identical. For some golfers, maximizing the physical impact area matters more than achieving a perfect edge-to-edge projected image.
Keep in mind that throw distance, the distance between the impact screen and your projector, plays a big role in how large the projected image will be on your screen.
A screen may have the perfect aspect ratio for your projector but still require a throw distance your room can't accommodate. That's why screen size, aspect ratio and projector placement should be planned together.
We help you through all the factors when choosing a golf simulator projector. Or put your dimensions into Carl's Build Your Own Golf Simulator Tool and it calculates projector compatibility and throw distance based on your actual setup.
Did you know? We can also customize the finishing and size of your golf screen. If you're trying to maintain a standard aspect ratio, changing the height also changes the ideal width, and vice versa. Aspect ratio is about the shape of the viewable screen, not simply its overall size.
The best golf simulator screen size is generally the largest screen that safely fits your available width and height while leaving enough room for installation, screen movement, your enclosure and the golfer. Start with your room dimensions rather than choosing a screen size first.
There isn't one required width. Your available room width, desired screen height and aspect ratio all affect the answer. For example, a 9-foot-tall 16:9 image is 16 feet wide, while a 9-foot-tall 4:3 image is only 12 feet wide.
16:9, 16:10 and 4:3 can all work well for golf simulators. 16:9 works well when you have plenty of width and want a wide image. 4:3 can make better use of taller, narrower rooms. 16:10 falls between the two. The best aspect ratio depends on your room dimensions and projector.
No. A golf impact screen can have a different aspect ratio than the image produced by your projector. However, mismatched ratios can leave unused screen space or cause part of the projected image to extend beyond the screen. Compatible custom resolutions may provide another option depending on your projector and computer.
We generally recommend 12-16 inches between the impact screen and the wall behind it so the screen has room to move when hit.
Whether you're a master DIY-er crafting the ultimate golf oasis or a budget-savvy handy person confident in building your own golf simulator, these five factors will help you choose a golf impact screen size that works with your room, golfer and projector.
If you're looking for a hassle-free way to get your golf simulator up and running, you might want to consider Carl's easy-to-assemble golf simulator kits. For more information on selecting the best size golf simulator enclosure, check out How to Choose the Best Size Golf Simulator Enclosure.
You just learned more about golf screen sizing than most people ever will. Truly.
About 1% of people buying a golf screen do this much research. The rest put their dimensions into Carl's golf sim planning tool and let the real-time sizing and compatibility checks handle everything. The tool is built on the same expertise you just read. Now you know where it comes from. Put in your dimensions and see it for yourself.