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You can hit drivers into a screen all winter, but the putter is still the club that decides the card. You can putt on a golf simulator, as long as the launch monitor reads putts and the software knows what to do with them. Here's how simulator putting works, which setups do it well, and the turf, mats and lighting that make it feel like a real green.

Can you putt on a golf simulator?

Yes, as long as your launch monitor can read a putt and your software supports putting. When both are true, you make a real stroke, the ball rolls off towards the screen, and the software plays the rest of the putt out on the virtual green, break and all.

When they aren't, the software putts for you. Either way, simulator software gives you 3 ways to finish a hole:

• Putt it out. You hit every putt and the launch monitor reads each one. The most realistic, and the slowest.
• Gimmes. Anything inside a set distance of the hole counts as holed, so you only putt the ones that matter.
• Auto-putt. The software gives you a number of putts based on where your approach finished, and you walk straight to the next tee.

You can mix them: putt out when practising, gimmes when 4 of you are playing a round on a school night.

How does putting work on a golf simulator?

It comes down to how your launch monitor reads the ball. The software only draws what the launch monitor tells it, so a putt the launch monitor can't measure is a putt the software can't show.

Camera launch monitors and putting

Camera units sit beside the ball, across from you, and photograph it at impact. Ball speed and direction off the face are what the software needs to roll the putt out, and a camera reads both before the ball has rolled anywhere.

That's why putting is a strength of the camera launch monitors that sit beside the ball, and why they suit smaller rooms too: they need about 4.5m of depth, against 5m for a radar unit behind you.

Radar launch monitors and putting

Radar units sit behind you and measure the ball as it travels away from them. For a full shot that's straightforward: the Garmin R10, for example, wants at least 2.4m of ball flight indoors. A putt is slow and stays on the ground, which gives the radar far less to work with.

So radar units tend to handle putting less well. If you're on radar, keep the roll flat and clear all the way to the screen, so the unit sees as much of each putt as it can.

Type	Where it sits	How it reads a putt	Putting
Camera launch monitor	Beside the ball, across from you	Photographs the ball at impact	Reads putts well; the one to choose if putting matters
Radar launch monitor	1.8m to 3m behind the ball	Tracks the ball as it travels	Less reliable on short, slow putts; gimmes and auto-putt fill the gap
Dedicated putting simulator	On a stand on its own mat	A camera tracks the ball and the putter	Putting only, in detail

Which golf simulators allow putting?

Any simulator can finish a hole, but only one built on a launch monitor that reads putts lets you putt it out. The home golf simulators that putt well all start there, so check the launch monitor's listing for a putting mode, not just short game data.

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The Square Golf launch monitor is the clearest example at the budget end. Its high-speed camera sits beside the ball, and its putting practice lets you adjust the green speed and work on short, medium or long putts, with feedback on distance control, ball speed and the putt's trajectory, for £689.

The catch: it stays indoors, and a left-hander has to lift it over to their side of the mat before they putt.

Putting settings in golf simulator software

Once the launch monitor has read the putt, the software decides how the green behaves and how strict it is with you. GSPro gives you plenty to set, from gimme circles and fixed-distance auto-putt to a stimp setting that defaults to 10, a green heat map and a putting assist (GSPro).

Gimmes

A gimme counts a short putt as holed. GSPro draws a gimme circle round the hole, and anything that stops inside it is picked up. Gimmes keep a round moving; putting everything out keeps you honest.

Auto-putt

Auto-putt skips the green and gives you a number of putts instead. It's the answer for a launch monitor that doesn't read putts, and for a round where nobody wants to watch a mate line up a 1m putt from 3 angles. In GSPro, the fixed-distance version isn't supported in Simulator Golf Tour events or online play.

Green speed

Green speed is measured on the stimp scale. A stimp reading is the average distance in feet a ball rolls on a flat part of the green after it's released from a standard ramp, the Stimpmeter, so a green running 10 rolls the ball 10 feet, about 3m (USGA).

In the software, a higher number is a faster green. GSPro defaults to 10, with stimp 6 and 7 among its slower settings, and the Square Golf lets you adjust its green speed to suit your stroke. Set it for the greens you actually play, not the ones on the telly in April.

Reading greens on screen

On a real green you read the slope with your feet as much as your eyes. In a simulator the floor is flat and the slope is drawn, so the software helps: GSPro has a green heat map on the Y key, plus putting auto aim and a putting assist.

Use them to learn how the software's greens break, then turn them off. Read the putt first, pick your line, and check the heat map afterwards, or you'll only ever putt to the arrow.

How do you make putting on a simulator feel real?

A simulator putts best on a surface that rolls like a green, in a room where the launch monitor can see the ball. That comes down to 4 things: turf, a mat or green for serious practice, a dedicated putting simulator if putting is all you're after, and light.

Putting turf in front of the screen

Start with turf across the bay floor, from the back wall to the screen. You get a surface made for putting, and something softer than concrete to stand on between shots.

Set the hitting mat flush with the turf, so a putt rolls off the mat and on towards the screen without a bump. It costs no extra floor space either, because in a simulator room layout the putting area is the turf between the hitting mat and the screen.

Length off the 4m roll	Area	Putting Turf, 11mm	Premium Putting Turf, 16mm
1m	4m²	£96	£144
2m	8m²	£192	£288
3m	12m²	£288	£432
4m	16m²	£384	£576
5m	20m²	£480	£720

Putting mats and greens

If turf across the floor isn't an option, or you want targets and breaks to practise on, a mat or a green does the job and rolls up or packs away afterwards.

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A flat mat teaches pace and start line. For break, the PuttOUT AirBreak has a flexible base you raise and lower with air pumps, for hundreds of slope combinations. It has a 108mm hole for real lip-outs, a battery-powered ball return, a stand-on podium to putt from and a green-reading app that sets up specific breaks, and the rubber-backed mat runs 10 on the stimp. It's £269.99, down from £319.99.

The catch: it's a standalone practice mat, so these putts don't play out on the simulator screen.

A dedicated putting simulator

If putting is all you want to practise, you don't need a full simulator. A dedicated putting simulator is a camera and a mat that do one job, and they fit in a lounge.

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The ExPutt RG uses a high-speed camera on a small stand on its mat to track the ball and the putter. It plugs into your TV with the HDMI cable in the box, or runs on your phone through the app, and it measures ball speed, putter path, clubface angle, launch direction, impact angle, distance and tempo (ExPutt).

You can adjust the slope and length of each putt, putt on real course greens, Pebble Beach among them, and play your mates on the sofa or other ExPutt users online over Wi-Fi. It's £389.

The catch: the camera has no speaker of its own, so the TV needs one, and it's putting only: your driver stays in the bag.

Lighting the putting area

Camera units, and the ExPutt's camera, have to see the ball clearly to read it. Poor light on the ball is one reason putts don't register, and a dim garage in December is poor light.

How much does it cost to add putting to a golf simulator?

Adding putting costs anything from £14.99 for a cup to hole out in, to a few hundred pounds for turf or a dedicated putting simulator. These are GolfBays prices on 30 September 2026.

What you add	What it does	Price
Shallow Putting Cup	A cup to hole out in on turf, a mat or carpet	£14.99
PuttOut Large Putting Mat	A 367cm practice mat that reads 10 on the stimp	£129.99
Golf Simulator Light	Light on the ball for the launch monitor	£175
PuttOUT AirBreak	Adjustable breaks and a ball return	£269.99
ExPutt RG	A putting simulator on your TV	£389
Modular Putting Green	A 305cm green that packs away	£399
Putting Turf, 5m x 4m	11mm turf for a 3m by 4.5m bay	£480
Square Golf launch monitor	A camera unit with a putting mode	£689
Premium Putting Turf, 5m x 4m	16mm turf for a 3m by 4.5m bay	£720

Putting drills for a golf simulator

Simulator putting pays off when you practise with a plan, not when you knock a few at the screen between drives. These 4 drills work in any bay.

Ladder drill. Hit 5 putts each from 1m, 2m and 3m, then work back down. Note whether the misses finish short, long, left or right, and keep the score from week to week.

Breaking putts. If your software lets you place the ball on a green, hit the same breaking putt 10 times rather than playing a hole through to get one go at it. Change one thing at a time: the line or the pace, never both.

Lag putting. Set up putts of 10m and more and try to stop every one inside a 1m circle round the hole. Holing them is a bonus; the job is a tap-in next.

Pressure putts. Hole 5 in a row from 1m into the shallow cup on the turf. Miss one and start again, which gets tense faster than you'd think.

Is putting on a golf simulator realistic?

For your stroke, your start line and your pace, yes. For reading greens, less so.

• Good at: start line and pace. With a launch monitor that reads putts, every one is measured, so a miss comes with a reason.
• Good at: repetition. The same putt as often as you want it on a wet Tuesday, with nobody waiting behind you on the practice green.
• Can't do: slope underfoot. The floor is flat, so you read break with your eyes alone. The AirBreak is the exception, because its slope is real.
• Can't do: real grass. Greens change with the weather, the mowing and the season, and the virtual one doesn't.

Treat it as the place to groove your stroke and pace, and leave the real reading to the course.

Golf simulator putting FAQs

What is a putting simulator?

A putting simulator is a camera and a putting mat that measure your putt and play it out on a screen. The ExPutt RG is one: a camera on a stand on its own mat, connected to your TV or phone, with real course greens to putt on. A full simulator with a camera launch monitor does the same job alongside every other shot.

Can you putt with a radar launch monitor?

Sometimes, but less well than with a camera unit. Radar measures the ball as it travels, and a putt is slow and stays on the ground, so radar setups often lean on gimmes and auto-putt. If you're on radar, keep the roll flat and clear to the screen.

Does the Garmin R10 read putts?

Not in Garmin's own Home Tee Hero, which has no live putting and gives you your putts based on how close your approach finished. Third-party software handles putting its own way.

What green speed should a golf simulator be set to?

Start at 10 on the stimp, which is GSPro's default and about what the PuttOut mats and our modular green roll at. Then adjust it towards the greens you play most.

Why won't my putts register on a golf simulator?

There are 3 things to check: that the launch monitor supports putting at all, that there's enough light on the ball, and that the ball sits inside the unit's hitting area.

Do you need putting turf for a golf simulator?

No, but putting is better with it. You can putt off the hitting mat alone, but a putt that runs off the mat's edge onto a hard floor doesn't roll like one on a green. Our putting turf is £24 a square metre, or £480 for a 5m length that covers a 3m by 4.5m bay.

A home golf simulator is 4 things working together: a launch monitor, an enclosure with an impact screen, a hitting mat and a projector. The launch monitor sets the price and decides how much room you need, so that's how we've picked. These are the 7 GolfBays packages we'd point most UK golfers to, grouped by the space you've got and what you want to spend.

Best home golf simulators at a glance

Prices are GolfBays prices on 30 September 2026. Where a package comes in several enclosure sizes, the range runs from the smallest to the largest.

Package	Launch monitor	Where it sits	Best for	Price
SkyTrak ST+ SimBox	SkyTrak+, camera and radar	Beside the ball	Most garages and spare rooms	£2,490–£2,890
Square Golf EasySim	Square Golf, cameras	Beside the ball	Small rooms and tight budgets	£1,649–£1,849
FlightScope Mevo Gen 2 SimBox	Mevo Gen 2, radar and camera	Behind the golfer	Deeper rooms, and the range	£2,250–£2,650
Bushnell Launch Pro Indoor SimBox	Launch Pro i, 3 cameras	Beside the ball	Data you can trust	£3,159–£3,559
Garmin Approach R50 SimBox	R50, 3 cameras and a screen	Beside the ball	Real courses with little setup	£5,499–£5,908
Uneekor EYE MINI LITE Lux	EYE MINI LITE, cameras	Beside the ball	A premium, finished bay	£6,980
Trackman iO Home SimBox	Trackman iO, radar and imaging	On the ceiling	A permanent bay with a clear floor	£14,050–£14,450

1. SkyTrak ST+ SimBox package: best overall

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If you asked us for one package without telling us a thing about your room, this is the one. The SkyTrak+ reads the ball and club with a photometric camera and dual Doppler radar, and it sits beside the ball rather than behind you, so it works in the 4.5m of depth that most garages and spare rooms can find.

The package covers everything in the bay except the projector: the SkyTrak+, a SimBox enclosure, our PRO+ impact screen and a 1.5m × 1.5m hitting mat, plus a year of SkyTrak Core software. The SimBox frame clicks together without tools in under an hour, and it comes in 7 sizes, from 2.6m wide and 2.5m high up to 4m wide and 3m high.

The SkyTrak ST+ SimBox package costs £2,490 in the smallest size and £2,540 at 3m wide, which is the width we'd start from if the room allows. After the first year, SkyTrak's software is a yearly membership. Price that in before you choose between this and a FlightScope package that comes with courses to keep.

The catch: from year 2 the software is a yearly bill, so the cheapest package to buy isn't always the cheapest to own.

2. Square Golf EasySim package: best for small spaces

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The EasySim is our cheapest complete simulator, and it's built for rooms that can't give up much floor. The enclosure is 3.3m wide, 2.5m high and only 1m deep, and its 4:3 screen shape makes choosing a projector simpler.

The Square Golf launch monitor uses high-speed cameras beside the ball. It reads ball speed, launch direction and angle, backspin and sidespin, plus club path, face angle, dynamic loft and angle of attack, so you get club data as well as ball data at this price. The room still has to fit a full driver swing, so the 1m depth saves space around the screen, not around you.

The Square Golf EasySim package is £1,649, or £1,849 with a hitting mat included. The Lite impact screen inside it is designed to stay quiet when the ball hits, which matters in a garage that shares a wall with next door.

The catch: the enclosure comes in one size, so it won't grow into a wider room, and with only 1m of depth you hit from closer to the screen than you would in a SimBox.

3. FlightScope Mevo Gen 2 SimBox: best for deeper rooms

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The Mevo Gen 2 combines 3D Doppler radar with image processing, which FlightScope calls Fusion Tracking. Like most radar units it sits behind the golfer and watches the ball fly, so it wants a deeper room than a camera unit does. We plan on 5m of depth for radar.

In return you get a monitor that's just as happy on a driving range, and software you own outright. Every Mevo Gen 2 comes with a lifetime E6 Connect bundle of 8 courses, including Valderrama and Kiawah Island's Ocean Course, for iOS and PC. Indoors, radar units generally read spin more reliably from a ball with a metallic dot on it, so keep a few dotted balls for the simulator.

The FlightScope Mevo Gen 2 SimBox package runs from £2,250 to £2,650 depending on the enclosure size, which undercuts the SkyTrak package at every size.

The catch: it asks more of the room. You'll want 5m of depth and a few dotted balls, where the SkyTrak manages in 4.5m with whatever ball you tee up.

4. Bushnell Launch Pro Indoor SimBox: best for accurate data

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The Launch Pro i is the indoor edition of Bushnell's Launch Pro. It measures impact with an auto-calibrating 3-camera system and infrared, so it sees the moment of impact rather than working out what happened from the ball's flight.

It sits beside the ball like the SkyTrak, so it suits the same rooms. The difference is the software: Bushnell sells simulation as yearly plans, so the package price isn't all you'll pay to play, and it's worth deciding which plan you want before you order.

The Bushnell Launch Pro Indoor SimBox package is £3,159 to £3,559 and includes the SimBox enclosure and our standard hitting mat.

The catch: the running cost. Add a year of the simulation plan to the price before you compare it with a package that comes with software to keep.

5. Garmin Approach R50 SimBox: best all-in-one

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The R50 is a launch monitor with its own 10-inch touchscreen, so a lot of what other setups hand to a PC or tablet happens on the unit itself, and it can mirror that screen straight to a projector (Garmin). It uses 3 high-speed cameras to track more than 15 ball and club metrics, including spin rate and spin axis, indoors or out; some of the club numbers need the tracking sticker Garmin includes.

Garmin's Home Tee Hero puts more than 43,000 real courses on the screen with an active Garmin Golf membership, so your local course is probably in there. The R50 also works with third-party simulator software if you'd rather play in something else.

The Garmin Approach R50 SimBox package costs £5,499 to £5,908, a little over twice the SkyTrak package. What the extra buys is 3-camera tracking and a screen on the unit.

The catch: the 43,000 courses come with a subscription, because Home Tee Hero needs an active Garmin Golf membership.

6. Uneekor EYE MINI LITE Lux package: best premium bay

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The Lux is our top enclosure: 3.75m wide, 2.7m high and 1.5m deep, made for rooms that are staying a golf room rather than a garage with a net in it.

Inside it, the Uneekor EYE MINI LITE reads the ball with cameras from beside the mat. It runs from a Windows PC with an internet connection, and it works with Uneekor's own View, Refine+ and GameDay software as well as GSPro. You can expand the system with extra cameras later.

The Uneekor EYE MINI LITE Lux package is £6,980. Budget for the PC on top, because the EYE MINI LITE won't run without one.

The catch: the Lux comes in one size, 3.75m wide, 2.7m high and 1.5m deep, so the room has to take all of it and your swing as well.

7. Trackman iO Home SimBox: best if money's no object

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Trackman iO is Trackman's first launch monitor built purely for indoor golf. It mounts on the ceiling, combines radar, infrared and high-speed imaging, and measures 3D spin and spin axis rather than estimating them.

Being overhead solves the 2 problems every floor unit has. There's no minimum distance in front of or behind the ball (Trackman), and nothing sits on the floor to trip over or catch with a follow-through, which counts for a lot when the family shares the room.

The Trackman iO Home SimBox package starts at £14,050 in the smallest enclosure.

The catch: apart from the price, it's fixed to the ceiling, so it suits a room that's staying a golf room, not a garage the car goes back into every night.

What size room does a home golf simulator need?

At least 3m wide, 4.5m deep and 2.8m high inside for a full driver swing, with a camera launch monitor beside the ball. A radar unit that sits behind you wants 5m of depth, and 4m of width lets left and right-handers take turns on the same mat.

Where the launch monitor sits	Width	Depth	Height
Beside the ball (camera)	3m	4.5m	2.8m
Behind the golfer (radar)	3m	5m	2.8m
Shared by left and right-handers	4m	4.5m to 5m	2.8m

Height is the number that rules most rooms out. Plenty of British garages have a 2.4m ceiling, which a full driver swing won't clear for most adults, so measure the space a simulator needs from the ceiling down before you measure anything else.

Where the launch monitor sits changes more than the depth. Camera units beside the ball, like the SkyTrak+, Square Golf, Bushnell, Garmin R50 and Uneekor, read the ball at impact, so they need the least room and read putts well, but a left-hander has to move them to the other side of the mat. Radar behind you, like the Mevo Gen 2, needs the depth and dotted balls indoors, and pays you back on the driving range. Ceiling units clear the floor, at a price.

If the house has no room to spare, a garden room built around the swing gets you the height that garages lack, and a Trackman iO or ProTee VX on its ceiling keeps the floor clear.

What else do you need besides the package?

Our packages cover the launch monitor, enclosure and screen, and some include a hitting mat. 3 things usually aren't in the box: a projector, a PC or tablet to run the software, and the software itself once any included year runs out.

Brightness and throw distance matter more than resolution in most garages, so picking a simulator projector starts with the distance from the lens to the screen.

The choice between GSPro, E6 Connect and Awesome Golf comes down to the launch monitor you own and whether you'd rather subscribe or buy once.

How do you choose a home golf simulator?

4 decisions, in this order. Get the first 2 right and the rest mostly follow.

Measure the room. Height first, then depth, then width. The numbers decide whether a camera, a radar or a ceiling unit will work, which narrows the list before you've looked at a single price.

Choose the launch monitor. It sets the price bracket and the room depth, and every other choice follows from which launch monitor you choose. Camera units beside the ball suit short rooms; radar units suit deep rooms and the driving range.

Decide how you'll play. Some packages come with software you keep, others with a year of a subscription. Work out the cost of year 2 before you compare packages on price.

Set the full budget. Package, projector, software and a few fittings. If the total is more than you want to spend, a budget simulator setup starts well under £2,000, and most of the compromise sits in the launch monitor.

Is a home golf simulator worth it?

Yes, if you'll use it through the winter and on the evenings you'd never get to a range. A simulator turns 20 spare minutes into a practice session, and the launch monitor tells you your real distances with every club, which is worth having whether or not you ever play a virtual round.

It's harder to justify if the room has to be packed away after every session, or if the only space is a garage that's too short for the launch monitor you want. In that case, start with the space: a camera unit and a compact enclosure, or a garden room if the budget stretches.

Home golf simulator FAQs

What is the best golf simulator for home use in the UK?

For most homes, the SkyTrak ST+ SimBox package, because its launch monitor sits beside the ball and works in a 4.5m deep room. On a tight budget the Square Golf EasySim is the cheapest complete package at £1,649, and at the top end Trackman iO Home is the one to beat.

How much does a home golf simulator cost in the UK?

From £1,649 for our cheapest complete package, to around £3,500 for a SkyTrak setup with a short throw projector, and £14,050 upwards for Trackman iO Home. Most of the difference is the launch monitor.

What's the difference between a golf simulator and a golf net?

A net just catches the ball. A simulator adds an impact screen, a projector, a launch monitor and software, so you see the shot fly and get the numbers. A launch monitor, a net and a tablet is the cheapest way to get data at home, but it isn't a simulator.

Which golf simulator has the best putting?

Camera units, because they read the ball at impact and don't need to watch it travel. Radar units need ball flight to measure, which a short putt doesn't give them, so they tend to handle putting less well.

What is the best home golf simulator for the cost?

The FlightScope Mevo Gen 2 SimBox, if the room has 5m of depth: it's the cheapest SimBox package on this list and its E6 Connect courses are yours to keep. In a shorter room the SkyTrak ST+ SimBox is the better buy, because it works in 4.5m.

How long does a home golf simulator take to set up?

The SimBox frame clicks together without tools in under an hour. Allow longer for hanging the screen, laying the mat and fixing the projector, which is the fiddly part, because it has to line up with the screen.

Can left-handed golfers use a home golf simulator?

Yes. A floor unit beside the ball just moves to the other side of the mat, and the ProTee VX, a ceiling unit built for right and left-handers, doesn't move at all. If left and right-handers share the room, 4m of width lets you centre the mat for both.

Start with the room, then pick the kit

The best home golf simulator is the one your room can take. Measure the height, choose the launch monitor that fits the depth, and the package more or less picks itself.

A golf simulator is a screen, a mat and a launch monitor. A golf simulator room is the place you actually want to be on a wet Tuesday in February. The difference is the layout, the walls, the floor, the light and somewhere for your mates to sit. Here are the ideas that work in UK garages, spare rooms, garden rooms and lofts, with our prices for the kit behind them.

What is the best layout for a golf simulator room?

Screen on a short wall, hitting along the length of the room, with the mat in the middle of the width and everything else behind the golfer. That gives you 3 zones: the screen end, the hitting zone and a lounge.

The screen end is the enclosure, the impact screen and the walls around it. Nothing lives here but the screen, so keep it dark, keep it clear and keep anything breakable well away from it.

The hitting zone is the mat and the space your swing needs around it. The launch monitor sits beside the ball or behind it, depending on the type, and the projector goes on the ceiling above the ball flight, where your shadow can't reach the picture.

The lounge is everything behind the golfer: seats, a side screen for the scores, the PC and the clubs. The room behind the swing has to be there anyway, so the lounge costs you no extra floor.

Centre the mat across the width if left and right-handers will share the room. A camera unit on the floor has to swap sides between them, so leave it room on both sides of the mat.

How big should a golf simulator room be?

For a full swing with a driver, at least 2.8m high, 3m wide and 4.5m deep with a camera launch monitor beside the ball, or 5m deep with a radar unit behind it. We plan every room on the same room size rules, from a garage or a spare room to a garden cabin.

Inside the room	Minimum	Comfortable
Height	2.8m	3m
Width	3m	4m
Depth, camera unit beside the ball	4.5m	5.5m to 6m
Depth, radar unit behind the ball	5m	5.5m to 6m

The comfortable column is what turns a bay into a room. At 4m wide the mat goes in the middle for everyone, and the extra depth leaves space behind the golfer for seats.

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Then fit the bay to the width you've got. The SimBox enclosure comes in 7 sizes, from 2.6m to 4m wide and from 2.5m to 3m tall, for £1,161 to £1,709 depending on the size and the screen. Its aluminium frame clicks together without tools, and the black velvet surround makes the projected picture look crisper.

Golf simulator room ideas by room

The usual homes for a simulator are a garage, a spare room, a garden room and a loft, and each has its own limit: the car in a garage, the ceiling in a spare room, the budget for a garden room and the roof slope in a loft.

Garage

The garage is the most popular home for a simulator, with more depth than most spare rooms and a concrete floor a mat can sit straight on. It's also cold, echoey and often shared with a car, and a garage golf simulator has to deal with all 3.

The screen goes on the back wall, so you hit away from the door. The door end then takes the storage, the PC and the way in, all behind the golfer, and a stray shot heads for the screen rather than the up-and-over door. Acoustic tiles on the side walls beside the mat take the ring out of bare blockwork, and a heater and a dehumidifier keep the screen, projector and PC dry through the winter.

Spare room

A spare room is warm, dry and already wired, so you're only adding the kit. The catch is the ceiling. Standard UK rooms sit at around 2.4m, and the ceiling height a driver needs is about 2.8m for most adults.

That makes most bedrooms an irons room. Our free-standing enclosures start at 2.5m tall, so under a 2.4m ceiling the usual answer is a practice net and a camera launch monitor beside the ball, with the ball flight on a TV or a tablet next to you.

Upstairs, check the floor as well. Suspended timber floors flex, so a firm sub-base under the mat keeps it level and stops every strike thudding through to the room below.

Garden room or cabin

A garden room is built around the golf rather than the other way round. You choose the height, width and depth before anything goes up, the simulator never has to be packed away, and the noise stays at the bottom of the garden. That's the case for a garden room built for golf, and the price is the case against.

In England, most golf cabins can go up under permitted development if they meet the outbuilding rules, and height is the rule to watch: within 2m of a boundary, a garden building can be no more than 2.5m tall under those rules, according to the Planning Portal.

Plan the glass with the screen in mind. Daylight on the screen washes out the picture, so put the windows and glazed doors where they can't light the screen, well away from the hitting area. Run a data cable out with the power, too, because garden Wi-Fi drops out at the worst moment of an online round.

Loft

A loft works when it's already a proper room with a proper floor. The height is the problem: under a pitched roof there's only one strip that's tall enough, down the middle, so the mat goes under the ridge and you hit along it towards the gable wall, where the screen goes.

Measure at the mat, with a slow practice swing, not at the highest point of the room. The floor needs the same firm base under the mat as a bedroom's, or whoever sleeps underneath will hear every strike.

Front room: our Congleton install

Sometimes the simulator gets a room to itself. We fitted a Trackman bay in a Congleton front room in a new house: 5m wide, 2.9m high and 7m deep, which beats the comfortable width and depth in the table above and clears the 2.8m a driver needs.

The owner wanted a fitted bay rather than a free-standing enclosure, and chose grey upholstered leatherette tiles for the walls, handmade to the room's measurements before the install. The room doubles as a cinema, so the projector and the screen were chosen for films as well as golf, and we built a gaming PC for it. The install took about 3 days.

What colour is best for a golf simulator room?

Dark and matt, at least at the screen end. Black, charcoal, dark grey and navy all work. Light from the projector that spills past the screen lands on the walls around it, and a pale wall throws it straight back onto the picture, so the colours go flat and the blacks go grey.

That's why the SimBox surround is black velvet, and why the tiles and curtains below are black or grey. Matt matters as much as dark, because gloss paint and shiny floors reflect the projector and every light in the room. Take the dark colour onto the ceiling above the screen end as well.

The lounge end is where a lighter colour, a club crest or a framed scorecard can go, well behind the golfer.

Wall ideas for a golf simulator room

The walls do 3 jobs in a sim room: they soak up the noise, they take the odd mishit and they finish the look.

Acoustic tiles

Foam tiles on the walls beside and behind the golfer take the echo out of the room, and it's the garage, with its bare block walls, that needs them most.

Curtains

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Curtains are the quickest way to change a room. Hung from a ceiling track, they close the bay off from the rest of a garage, black out a window, or hide the shelves and the chest freezer when the golf starts.

Our heavy duty golf simulator curtains are made to order in black or grey, in drops from 2.3m to 3.2m and widths from 1.3m to 3.8m, from £239.20 for the smallest to £972.80 for the largest. Allow 5 to 7 days for them to arrive.

Blackout behind the screen

Projector light doesn't all stop at the screen. Some of it passes through and lights up the wall behind, and that's light the picture has lost.

What flooring works in a golf simulator room?

A firm, level base under the mat, and something softer everywhere else. A concrete garage floor is perfect under a mat as it is, while a timber floor in a bedroom or a loft needs a firm sub-base first, or the mat shifts as you hit.

Around the mat, turf is the obvious finish. It looks like golf, it's kind to a dropped club, and it blends the mat into the floor.

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GolfBays putting turf is sold by the square metre at £24, cut from a roll 4m wide: £288 covers a 3m by 4m floor around the mat, and £384 a 4m by 4m room.

Run the turf on towards the screen and you've got a putting area in the room, so the short game gets practised between rounds rather than skipped.

How do you light a golf simulator room?

Light the golfer and the ball, and keep light off the screen. Every lamp that reaches the screen competes with the projector, which is why lighting a sim room without washing out the screen comes down to where each light points rather than how bright the room is.

In practice that means 2 circuits. The first is a light over the hitting area, because camera launch monitors are sensitive to lighting quality. The second is dimmable lighting in the lounge, so the room can be bright for a chat and dark for a round.

Keep downlights away from the screen end, and treat daylight the same way, with a blackout blind or a heavy curtain on any window near the hitting area.

Seating and hosting ideas for a golf simulator man cave

The seats go behind the golfer, not beside. From behind, everyone can see the screen and talk to whoever's hitting while staying well out of reach of a club.

Bar stools see over the golfer. Higher seats keep the screen in view over the head of whoever's up, and a narrow counter along the back wall holds the drinks.

A sofa comes out of the depth. Against the back wall it runs across the room's width, but every centimetre it sticks out comes off the space behind the swing, so measure the sofa and add it to the depth your launch monitor needs.

A second screen keeps the scores. A screen on the side wall shows the scorecard, the shot data or the football, while the big picture stays on the golf.

Small extras earn their space. A drinks fridge under the counter and a table that folds flat against the wall make the room work for a night in without eating into the floor.

Storage ideas for a golf simulator room

Clubs, balls, tees, gloves and the bags: none of it can live on the floor of a room where people swing. Get it onto the walls, or into the lounge behind the golfer.

Keep a tray just outside the swing for balls, tees and your phone, so you're not walking to the back of the room between shots. Everything else, from spare gloves to the launch monitor's case, goes in the lounge.

How do you keep a golf simulator room quiet?

You can't make a simulator silent, but you can make it quiet enough for the house and the neighbours. The noise comes from 3 places: the club on the mat, the ball on the screen, and the echo of both off hard walls.

The screen takes the full force of every shot, so it's the one to choose carefully if you share a wall with next door.

The walls take the acoustic tiles, which stop a hard-walled room ringing after every strike.

The floor takes the underlay, which cushions each strike before it reaches the slab or the joists.

The clock matters too. In England, councils can serve warning notices for noise above permitted levels between 11pm and 7am, and they must look into complaints about noise that could be a statutory nuisance, according to government guidance on noise nuisances. Evening rounds that finish well before 11pm keep everyone on side.

Where should the tech go in a golf simulator room?

The projector goes on the ceiling, close to the screen and above the ball flight, out of your swing and out of your shadow.

The launch monitor goes where its type needs it: a camera unit on the floor beside the ball, a radar unit behind you, or a ceiling unit overhead. A floor unit can also leave the room: radar units, and camera units built for the range, work outside, so in summer the same launch monitor, a net and a mat make an outdoor golf simulator on the lawn.

The PC goes in the lounge, away from the swing and within reach of the projector's HDMI cable.

The cables go in before the finish. Run the projector's power and HDMI across the ceiling, the launch monitor's under the turf, and a data cable to the PC, so nothing trails across the floor and the PC isn't relying on Wi-Fi.

How much does it cost to finish a golf simulator room?

Under £1,000 for the basics in a garage bay, and most of it can be added a piece at a time. These are GolfBays prices on 30 September 2026.

Finish	What it does	Price
Diamond acoustic tiles, 10 × 50cm	Takes the echo out of the room	£74.99
Foam leatherette tiles, 10 × 50cm	Quietens and protects the walls	£200
Heavy duty curtains	Close off the bay, a window or the shelves	£239.20–£972.80
Enclosure blackout screen	Stops light bleeding through the screen	£199–£319
Putting turf	Turf around the mat, per square metre	£24
Turf underlay	Cushions the floor under the turf	£85
Modular putting green	A green you can pack away	£399
Golf simulator light	Lights the ball for the launch monitor	£175
24-inch 4K touchscreen	Scores and controls on the wall	£449
Real Oak club organiser	Holds a full set	£199
Wall-mounted bag rack	Gets the bag off the floor	£89.99
Universal projector mount	Holds the projector on the ceiling	£39.99
PC cabinet	Hides and cools the PC	£379.99
Close-Knit Baffle impact screen	A quieter screen	£246–£336

How do you build a golf simulator room?

In this order, because each step is harder to change once the next one's done.

1. Measure the room. Height where you'll swing, width, depth and the lowest point above the mat. Note the sockets, the windows and the door.

2. Choose the kit for the room. The launch monitor decides the depth you need and where the mat goes, so the simulator itself is chosen to fit the measurements, not the other way round.

3. Mark it out. Tape the mat, the swing zone and the screen line on the floor.

4. Do the shell. Insulation, heating, power and the data cable, with the cables run across the ceiling before anything goes on the walls.

5. Paint and tile. Dark, matt paint at the screen end, then the acoustic tiles.

6. Lay the floor. Firm base, underlay, then turf.

7. Put up the bay. Enclosure, screen and blackout layer, launch monitor and projector, then line the picture up with the screen.

8. Furnish it. Seats, the side screen and the storage, all outside the tape.

Golf simulator room FAQs

Is an 8ft ceiling enough for a golf simulator?

It's a room for irons and wedges. 8ft is about 2.4m, well short of what a full driver swing needs, so build an 8ft room around a practice net with the launch monitor beside the ball, and take a slow swing with the driver before you rule it in or out.

Is a 15x15 room big enough for a golf simulator?

For width and depth, yes, with a camera launch monitor. 15ft is about 4.6m, which clears the 3m of width and the 4.5m of depth a camera unit needs, but falls short of the 5m we'd want for radar. Height is a separate question: a full driver swing needs about 2.8m.

Can you put a golf simulator in a spare bedroom?

Yes, if you're happy mostly hitting irons. Most spare rooms are around 2.4m high, which suits wedges and short irons but not a driver for most adults, and our free-standing enclosures start at 2.5m tall, so a bedroom setup is usually a net, a camera launch monitor and a TV.

How much does it cost to build a golf simulator room?

The finishes are the smaller part. Tiles, a blackout layer, turf, a light, a projector mount and a bag rack come to £961.96 for a 3m garage bay at our prices, on top of the simulator itself, where our cheapest package, a launch monitor with an enclosure and screen, is £1,649.

Do you need to soundproof a golf simulator room?

Not to start with. Full soundproofing is a building job, while a quieter screen, acoustic tiles on the walls and underlay under the turf take the edge off every strike with no builders involved.

Can a golf simulator room double as a cinema?

Yes. The projector and screen that show the golf will show a film, and our Congleton install was built to do both, with a Pro+ screen for the picture. Put the sofa behind the mat and the room works either way.

Can you put a golf simulator in a loft?

Sometimes. Under a pitched roof only the middle of the loft is tall enough to swing, so the mat has to sit under the ridge, and the timber floor needs a firm base under the mat and some thought for whoever sleeps below.

How do you turn a golf simulator into a man cave?

Add the lounge: seats behind the golfer, a side screen for the scores, a drinks fridge and the clubs on the wall. Keep all of it behind the swing, and the bay still works as a practice room when you're on your own.