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DIY Home Golf Simulator Screen - For Cheap

Mark Friesen • February 16, 2020
UPDATE MARCH 2020 - Update has been added to the end.

DIY Golf Simulator Enclosure

I’m not one for a bunch of introductory paragraphs to waste people’s time who are looking for information to solve a problem… so let’s just get into it.

My Problem: I wanted a compact golf simulator hitting area in my garage with a SkyTrak... and I’m cheap.

The first thing I needed was obviously a Skytrak, so I waited until they went on sale for $1,695.00 ($300 off normal price). This happens about 2-3 times a year, and around Christmas is one of those times you can count on. 

The setup I had before the SkyTrak;
Pro Series hitting net from The Net Return Company

Both are very good products. Problem… you can only hit into a net for so long. I did my research, plenty of research, and here is what I did.


As I mentioned before, I’m cheap and couldn’t pony up the $800 some bucks for an 8” x 10.5” DIY kit. So I made my own with the following pieces. 
Grand Total = 3,479.43  (includes SkyTrak, taxes not included)
DIY SIM Enclosure = $715.72  (only includes pieces to make the enclosure, taxes not included)

*items not mentioned because I got tired of typing: moving blankets ($20), canopy blankets ($40), grommet kit ($6), extra turf for sides ($30), zip-ties ($8), 
The Construction

After I added this all up, I was surprised how expensive this project had become. Building the frame enclosure for the screen is by far the most time consuming. Here is some images of the project.
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DO's & Don'ts
  • Don't go any less than 3000 lumens projector and make sure it's a short throw. Great website to calculate your distances: Projector Throw Calculator. The dimmer the image the further back your projector is.
  • Don't use bungee cords. They create extra spring that shoots the ball back at you. Suspend the screen with zip ties or rope.
  • Don't use moving blankets. You need more weight behind the ball. I went to Menards and purchased large 8oz. canvas drop cloths.
  • Don't try and build the enclosure... see below.
The more I continued to put together this article, the more I would advise you to purchase an enclosure. I constructed mine to be low-profile up against the wall to take up less space in my garage. However, I now have a net to right, and netting above, which explains why Carl's Golf enclosure comes 5ft towards you.

The reality is, you or one of your buddies is going to shank a shot right. Secondly, I don't know if its my construction, and I've tinkered with the configuration dozens of times, a full swing with a wedge shoots up off the screen. Without the added netting above, the ball hits the ceiling or comes back at you.

I have a iPad I connect to the SkyTrak through Wifi, and an Apple TV mounted on my projector, which is mounted to the ceiling. I use Airplay to feed the iPad image to the projector. You don't have to have Wifi to connect your iPad to your SkyTrak, but you will need Wifi to get the iPad to the Apple TV. I have a mesh Wifi network and had to add a node to extend my reach to the other end of the garage. I did set it up with an older iPad, and it lagged bigtime. Quick way to get a buzz as I had time to take a drink after I hit, and waited for it to show on the screen.

Setup:

Conclusion:
My buddy has a Carl's Place screen, and he doesn't have the bounce back I get. His screen is smaller and the setup is different. If I had it to do over again, I would purchase the Golf Simulator Enclosure Kit from Carl’s Place (8.5 x 10 x 5). I can't recommend it as I have never assembled or used one. I may, and I mean may, have saved some money with the DIY enclosure. However, the time to construct it and tinker with the setup has been the biggest negative. 

I have my setup in a good place now. Full gap and sand wedges are still a little dicey. I probably would pony up a little more money for more lumens on the projector. Short throw is a must on the projector... and don't go cheap. I tried a noname projector from Amazon that boasted 6500 lumens and had to return it. With garage doors open in the middle of the day, it's a challenge to see the screen.

Be interested to hear about other people's home golf simulators. The reason I wrote this article is because I couldn't find one when I was researching it. I'm not a writer, this was not intended to be a masterpiece of writing. This is a diary of what I learned, and hopefully someone else finds this helpful.

--- UPDATED MARCH 2020 ---
Since this article was published, the screen has broken in quite nicely, and shots are not deflecting back or up into the ceiling. I lowered the screen from where I started, so the bottom just barely rests on the ground. This DIY setup is working great right now, and I'm happy I stuck with it. The slim profile of this screen system takes up minimal space in my garage compared to pre-built systems.

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