Measuring your Space for an Indoor Golf Simulator

We frequently get asked about measuring your space for an indoor golf simulator. Here are some tips from the team at Carl’s Place:

What size space is required for an indoor golf simulator?

From garages and basements to spare rooms and attics, our customers have successfully turned virtually any space into a golf simulator room. If you’re looking to build a setup of your own, understanding the space requirements is a great first step. In this article we cover the basic considerations for measuring your space for an indoor golf simulator, including specific requirements for our most popular launch monitors.

The Basics of Measuring your Space for an Indoor Golf Simulator

1. Height

The number one consideration, of course, is that you have enough room to comfortably swing your golf club. Depending on your height, wingspan and club length you might be comfortable in a space as short as 8’ or you might need 9 or 10’ feet to avoid coming into contact with the ceiling. Some people are comfortable with even less, but at shorter ceiling heights you will be limited to swinging your shorter irons only, which is better than nothing!

Carl’s Tip: Grab your longest club and take a few practice swings in the room you’re planning to use for your simulator. You’ll quickly be able to tell whether the height available is going to work for you. You can be confident that you’ll have enough room if you can easily take a full swing of the club without modifying how you swing.

2. Width

The swing area to the left and right of the tee position is also important. If your simulator will need to accommodate both right and left handed golfers you will likely need more width than if you’re the only one that will be practicing there. The general rule is to allow 9-10’ of space at minimum, but ultimately you’ll simply need to make sure that you have enough room to swing without hitting a wall on either side. Especially when accommodating both right and left handed users, 12’ total is recommended, and 15’ or more is ideal.

3. Depth

Easily one of the most debated considerations is the amount of depth required for a golf simulator. The ideal depth will include not only the space from the tee to the impact screen, but also buffer space behind the screen and room to safely swing. To start, we recommend about 12-16” of space between the impact screen and any wall or hard surface behind it. Then, it’s a best practice to place your tee 10-15’ away from the impact screen. Finally, make sure you have enough room behind the tee to comfortably swing. This results in an ideal room depth of at least 15’ total.

Carl’s Tip: Having enough depth is an important factor in reducing impact screen bounceback and extending the life of your impact screen.

One of the easiest ways to build a golf simulator in an existing space is to pick up a Golf Simulator Enclosure kit from Carl’s Place. By purchasing the DIY Golf Simulator Enclosure Kit, you get an easy to install solution with protection again mis-hits. For high-end and commercial installations, the Pro Golf Enclosure Kit is a great choice and you can find a comprehensive assembly video right here. If you’re considering a kit, this article reviews how to choose the best enclosure size.

With the basic space considerations out of the way, it’s important to remember that each simulator technology on the market has their own specific setup recommendations and space requirements. Before you buy your system you’ll want to consult the specifications listed for the manufacturer and model. For example, let’s look at the requirements for two different Uneekor setups.

The Uneekor QED and Uneekor EYE XO mount above the tee from either the ceiling of your room or from a Carl’s Place Pro Golf Enclosure Kit. The FlightScope Mevo+ sits on the ground behind the golfer, while the SkyTrak sits on the ground next to the golfer.

Uneekor QED Space Requirements

Swing area: 13 Ft diameter with player in the center (Recommended)
Ceiling height: 9-10.5 Ft (Required)
Player’s distance from hitting screen: 12 Ft or more (Recommended)

Uneekor EYE XO Space Requirements

Swing area: 13 Ft diameter with player in the center (Recommended)
Ceiling height: 9-10.5 Ft (Required)
Player’s distance from hitting screen: 12 Ft or more (Recommended)

FlightScope Mevo+ Space Requirements

Swing area: 13 Ft diameter with player in the center (Recommended)
Ceiling height: 9-10.5 Ft (Optimal)
Player’s distance from hitting screen: 12 Ft or more (Recommended)

SkyTrak Space Requirements

Swing area: 13 Ft diameter with player in the center (Recommended)
Ceiling height: 9-10.5 Ft (Optimal)
Player’s distance from hitting screen: 12 Ft or more (Recommended)

In summary, measuring your space is an important step in designing your home golf simulator. Following the basic guidelines for height, width and depth is a great start but you should not forget to consult the specific requirements of the launch monitor you choose.