Carl’s impact screen distance at 7 ft

[Joe M]

I was advised today by a rep at Carl’s that the minimum recommended distance between the tee and screen sho7ld be 10-12 ft. Unfortunately the distance for me will be only 7 feet. She made me feel that this was unsafe? Can anyone tell me if they are hitting 7 feet from the screen and if they find it unsafe?

[Ironstrokes]

I'm at like 8 or 9 feet and would feel perfectly fine moving to 7ft if I had to. You can always adjust your screen tightness to have it so the ball doesn't bounce back at all and just falls straight down. You'll be fine

[gnomike]

You will be completely fine. 100%. I have a small sim... really pushing the limits and I did a TON of research on this site before building. I have the Carl's Premium screen mounted just 6' from my hitting zone. (Actually, 5'7" - 5'11" depending on ball placement). My screen itself is just 7" from the back wall. Tensioned correctly, you will get little to no bounce back. (I have a net & mem foam behind screen) My driver ball speeds don't go past 140mph, but my buddy hits it up to 155mph and it's fine for him too.

[Trickle007]

I am real close to the screen as well. Been playing for 3 years now and never had an issue, my driver swing comes inches from the screen. As mentioned above as long as you have the proper tension the ball should just drop right in front of the screen.

[Genghis]

I'm also close to the screen so much that my driver head practically skims the screen on my follow through. I was worried about bounce back and the added wear on the screen, but when you hit the ball X mph with the driver, moving 2-4 feet closer isn't really going to have much effect on ball speed at impact.

[gnomike]

There's an added benefit to us small sim peeps who hit close to the screen (close + offset even better). Since we're so close, the dispersion of the balls hitting the screen is very small, so my screen wear and tear is all in the bottom right quadrant. When it eventually gets bad, I will rotate my screen 90degrees to have a fresh impact zone. In theory I could do this three times and get amazing screen longevity!