Bottom of Impact Screen Question

[goldsboro_golf]

I am close to finishing my sim room and have a question about the bottom of the impact screen options.

Our room is in the basement and we installed PT 2x4 sleepers, 3/4" sub floor above the concrete slab and then added putting and hitting turf on the floor to allow for us to drop in a handful of 4" deep putting cups. This works great but I am tweaking my Par2Pro SQ Raw screen before I finalized side panels and have a few final questions related to how to handle the bottom of the screen. Based on my research, I believe that I have the following options:

1- Hem the bottom of the screen and insert a full width bungee attached to the angle iron on the sides

2- Hem the bottom and fill a 1.5" nylong tube with sand and adjust height so it is just touching the floor

3- Leave the bottom loose with 4"+ resting on the bottom of the floor

After thinking through my options, I was wondering if anyone has used tarp clips and bungee cords to anchor the bottom of the screen in the same manner as the sides and top? Since I have 4-3/4" of built up flooring, I could easily cut this away and anchor an angle to the concrete slab and connect the bottom of the screen with tarp clips and bungees below the height of the floor to eliminate the fear of bounce back or balls getting behind the net. I would address hitting screen bounce back through the tension of the bungees.

My only concern would be the hitting screen being too tight and increasing the wear on the screen prematurely as I don't have netting or memory foam behind it now.

Thoughts, comments or other ideas would be appreciated.

[shwag33]

Without memory foam it'll be too tight. I've spent a lot of time trying to get mine very tight but no bounce back. I've actually broken the tarp clips on the bottom with my driver. I have a ramp that hides them so you can't hit them directly, but there's so much impact the plastic thread on the clips snaps off. I'm in the process of drilling the center out and using metal threads to tighten the clips.

[goldsboro_golf]

Thanks Shwag33. I am guessing that you have tried connecting the bottom of your screen with tarp clips based on your response. Maybe a hem and grommet / bungee connection is a more secure solution but my situation would have the tarp clip and bungee below the floor so a direct hit would be impossible.

[gene438]

Your setup is very similar to mine. I would suggest doing what I did. I would remove the subfloor about a foot out from your screen. This does 2 things. 1) it will create a trench if front of your screen that will accumulate the balls as they drop down. 2) When viewing movies or your golf software from behind the golfer, it gives the illusion of the bottom of the screen melting or fading into your turf(it hides the bottom edge of the screen).

If you do this, I would simply let the screen hang loose on the bottom...you don't need it tight, you want the balls to just fall down into the trench.

I simply removed by subfloor and put the turn back on the concrete slab.....now all my balls accumulate in the trench and keeps my putting surface clear.

Here are couple of pics.

[Gman17]

I built a sub-floor out of 2x4's and then made a ramp by cutting a 4' section of a 2x4 diagonally. That left me with 6" of impact screen laying on the ramp and it has worked well. The screen hangs flat and the bounce back is zero! I used ball bungee's on the other three sides.

[goldsboro_golf]

Thanks. These are all great comments. Can anyone comment on their experience connecting the bottom of the screen? My screen is not final adjusted so perhaps the wrinkles will fall based on gravity but this is why I am exploring this as an option to allow a smooth screen. I am NOT using it for television viewing....ONLY golf.

[Smudge7204]

I have a garage set-up and hated that my screen would flare up when i hit it, especially with a driver. What i ended up doing was i gave some additional slack on my screen and then turned it under itself and pegged it with large clips to the back of my turf (which was under the screen), it has worked great. With you having a more permanent set-up you would be able to do a variety of things. I originally tried the tarp clips but they just didn't open up enough for me to play with the slack. This is what i used:

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07G9HBKHJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[BGCurtis2nd]

I use the 1 1/2" tube full of sand, I keep the screen just off the floor with a 2 x 4 split at an angel and wrapped in turf for a ramp in front, I have very little bounce back and bungees on the side are not very tight, the weight of the sand makes the screen look taught.

[gene438]

and yes, I am capable of shanking a shot that bad.......

[BGCurtis2nd]

gene438 that gorgeous wood has shale we say a few ball marks on it, there have been quite a few wild shots made in that room. Nice thing is the marks don't show unless you get real close and the balls so far have ricocheted into the screen and netting and not back at anyone. One of the main reasons I love my Uneekor is every-time someone would hit a wild shot I worried if my launch monitor would survive, the way the Uneekor mounts I no longer have that worry.

[rkenn_]

Thanks for sharing, helpful. What 1 1/2” tubing did you use and fill with sand? And then curious how you would cap the end. Figured need something special so it doesn’t burst from a worm burner?

[goldsboro_golf]

Thanks BG. I like the look of your room as well and appreciate the feedback on the sand filled tube approach. I like that option better than the continuous bungee running through the bottom but I am torn and am still thinking that an angle iron connection at the bottom below the hitting surface might be the cleanest look.

[LeftyLeff52]

Can someone post some pictures of what kind of tube would u fill at bottom to hold sand.

[andygg1986]

Maybe a garden hose would work? You could use a dowel as a plug and a hose clamp to keep the ends closed.

[tkvaughn999]

I tried the "tube of sand' method and was not impressed. I finally settled on building a gentle 3" tall wooden ramp/subfloor that slopes back to hitting area. Not only does it return the balls but offers protection for bottom of screen/skull shots, it gives you something to loosely attach the bottom of the screen to.

[Godfather]

I leave mine loose at the bottom, but no extra - it’s actually about 1/8” above my carpet. A net is taut behind the screen with a few extra inches folded back. I put a couple 1” PVC pipes wrapped in foam pipe insulation on the net just in case a perfect worm burner went under. Has worked perfectly.

[wanabe]

I use the 1 1/2" tube full of sand, I keep the screen just off the floor with a 2 x 4 split at an angel and wrapped in turf for a ramp in front, I have very little bounce back and bungees on the side are not very tight, the weight of the sand makes the screen look taught.

I am thinking of using this method of filling a tube with sand to weight down the screen on my proposed build, but i am initially, to save costs, going to use an Archery Screen as my projection and impact screen, but i do not know how i could attach or wrap the tube to the bottom of the Archery Netting i will use, without having fixings visible, as i intend to have my screen just touch the floor. Was going to use a tarp clip both sides to create taughtness laterally.

Any ideas?

[BGCurtis2nd]

Wrap a line around the tube to support it, or use zip-ties.

[JKCapeCod]

Another approach that works very well. Build a ramp 6 inches from the bottom the screen (2x4's on edge), loosely tie the bottom of the screen with bungie cords. Almost every shot you hit drops to the ramp and rolls back to the hitting mat, very convenient. Adjust the projector accordingly.

[scotch607]

Nice setup! What kind of padding is that on your walls and ceiling? I am trying to figure out ceiling protection for my garage set-up.

[JKCapeCod]

The panels are from vantpanels.com. Easy to install and work great.

[Opedog16]

Hi Goldsboro... a little late to your thread but wanted to chime in and see if you had anything conclusive on your screen. I have been working on a sim studio for the last few months and had no idea this forum existed. (And it totally mimics my pizza oven forum that I subscribe to, so terribly easy to navigate! :-) )

The issue I'm having on my screen is tearing at the bottom. My screen hangs approx 3" from the floor ( I'll be the first to admit I didn't order it long enough) and I wanted it weighted to keep it taught. This screen is on a retractable roller and also doubles for movie-watching. The screen itself is great (10' w by 7.5 tall) and it's the premium impact screen from Carl's Place. It arrests the balls nicely and sound isn't too bad. Bounce back is non-existent with my hitting mat placed 10' from the screen itself.

So to keep it weighted and taught, I first used the flat, aluminum bar that came with the roller assembly. Because of the length it was cut in half and 2 separate pieces. I didn't like the look of this too much (with a split in the middle) and after a few worm-burner shots it easily dented anyway. That came off and I used a 1/2" piece of EMT (already at 10' lengths from the hardware store). I looped the bottom of the screen and stapled a seam, creating a sleeve for the emt. I then took a 1" piece of white pvc and ripped a slit down it lengthwise with the table saw. This slid over the bottom portion and seemed to give it a nice tidy, finished appearance. Well, after a handful of shots with the the woods, the staples gave way and ripped the screen out from the assembly.

Next I tried zip ties but with the same results. ( And larger tears..) Next I tried a new hem with many, many more staples. Same issue.

So the lower, more forceful shots seem to just pull out any stitching I try. I can only surmise that this is because I have a weighted bottom and the force of the ball is too great with the screen free hanging.

I've already concluded that I need to order a new screen about 6" longer so it gets to the floor and then some. (I figure for movies I can scroll the screen up a bit so it still hangs taught..) My main question / curiosity is if anyone has successfully hung a screen that doesn't go all the way to the floor with any weights on it? If I don't use a weighted bar, it does ok for iron shots. But is wavy for movie watching and wisps back when struck solid with a lower iron or wood. I don't much care for that.

I'll have to start a thread for my build.. but glad to see someone else is going through the same considerations I am. :-)