If you've ever tried to watch a projected image in a bright room, you know the struggle: colors fade, blacks turn gray, and everything starts to look a little...meh. That same problem shows up in golf simulators, especially anywhere with extra overhead or natural light.
Traditionally, golf impact screens have been white, which works great in dark rooms with full light control. But once ambient light gets in, a white screen can wash out your entire sim experience.
Carl's background in both home theater and golf simulator projection materials is where our High-Contrast Gray Impact Screen came from.
A gray screen soaks up more of the ambient light hitting it, so less glare bounces back at you. Blacks stay dark, and colors don't fade out the second someone opens the blinds.
You get a clear picture without turning your sim room into a cave. Which matters, because you want to practice how you play, and nobody plays golf in the dark.
Carl didn't start in golf. He started in home theater back in 2006, making projection screen material for people who wanted a better picture at home.
In that world, gray screens were already the go-to fix for rooms that couldn't go fully dark. Golf impact screens were a different story. White was the only option out there.
A gray impact screen had been in the back of Carl's head for years. Problem was, you couldn't just go buy gray impact material. It didn't exist. So Carl went the custom route: his specs, his testing, and a lot of back and forth before it was sim ready.
On April 9, 2025, Carl's Place announced the High-Contrast Gray Impact Screen. It was the first gray golf impact screen material.
A gray impact screen (or grey, depending on how you spell it) is a golf simulator screen built to take full-speed golf shots, just like a white one, but made in gray to improve image quality in rooms with ambient light like overhead lights or windows.
Gray screen material does two main things:
Gray does reflect less light overall, including light from your projector, so the image will be a bit dimmer than it would be on white. A brighter projector makes up for it. Our projector guide covers what to look for.
Traditional white screens reflect all light, not just the image from your projector. So if your room has overhead lights, windows, or just general ambient light, the picture can look washed out.
Gray absorbs that stray light instead of bouncing it back at you, so the image holds up when the lighting isn't ideal.
It's a good fit for:
Gray isn't always the answer. If your golf simulator is in a dedicated space with full light control, a white impact screen might still be your best bet.
Best for:
This isn’t just about color. The launch of Carl’s High-Contrast Gray Impact Screen coincides with us honing our Premium impact screen material - available in both White and (soon) Gray. After testing hundreds of formulations, we’ve landed on a screen that balances:
Durability to handle full-speed golf shots
Image quality for a cinematic simulation experience
Longevity, even in commercial environments
Whether you're building a DIY setup in your garage or outfitting a commercial sim studio, the new High-Contrast Gray Impact Screen gives you another tool in your kit to make sure your visuals are as dialed as your swing.
Dark, dedicated room with blackout curtains? White.
Windows, overhead lights, or a room that pulls double duty? Gray.
Not sure how much light you can actually control? Our guide on how to control ambient light in a golf simulator walks through the room, the enclosure, curtains, and projector.
We make both, so pick the one that fits your room.