Enclosure Size/Material Help

[mlurie31]

Hi, I'm looking to put an enclosure in my garage, and I'd like to maximize space. I have high ceilings, but there is a bulkhead that comes down to about 9'6" that will run along a portion of where the enclosure will sit, limiting my height. How close can the enclosure come to that bulkhead and still be safe? I wouldn't want a skied driver hitting it directly and either bouncing back or putting a hole in the enclosure.

Next part to the question: I have the width available to maintain a 16:9 ratio for my enclosure, and I'd like to do that. I was looking at Carl's Place, but in order to go over 13.3' (which I would need if I wanted 16:9 at a height of 9+ feet), they say you have to upgrade to their Pro Enclosure, which is much more expensive. Are there any other good options out there that will do an enclosure around 16 feet that people recommend? I would look at a DIY design, but I want the enclosure to have a more professional look, and I'm not sure I can accomplish attaching the fabric that is pre-made to fit the enclosure and having it still look good.

Finally, I want to talk about the different fabric's out there for enclosures. Carl's place uses a nylon enclosure... my concern is that might look cheap? Their pro enclosure uses a knit fabric that probably looks more like I'm envisioning, but... $$$. Most of that cost is because they require 2" EMT's instead of 1", which becomes expensive quickly. Anyone have thoughts on the fabric, and have recommendations?

Thanks!

[mjgolf123]

A skied driver will go almost vertical. I've skied mine and it put a hole in my cold air return duct about 4' in front of my mat. If you absolutely cannot afford to hit the bulkhead, then you need some protection. Remember though a badly skied driver isn't going to have much energy. As long as you have a reasonably thick fabric, it likely is only going to deflect 2 or 3 inches.

If you want to save money, I would suggest you buy the impact screen you want and then source the EMT and enclosure material separately. Also, you don't need to use EMT (2x4's and eyehooks work great too). I had the same fear as you with it not looking professional, but what Carl's doing is not all that elaborate. There are lots of options for curtains and enclosure material that are considerably cheaper than buying a kit.

On my sim I have no ceiling protection (yet). I did purchase some black stage curtains from PeakTarps.com. They have grommets that make them easy to hang, and they have no problem stopping a shanked ball.

[preludesam]

Definitely BUY curtains if you’re going that route. I thought I was going to be all DIY and made my own curtains. I think the final cost was $50 less and with a ton of time in it they look terrible in comparison.

I did use expensive Commando Cloth thinking it need to be super strong but like mjgolf123 said miss hits have a lot less energy. I especially versus and driver center strike.

[tntfox]

mlurie31, I built my own enclosure completely. Take a look at my posts and you can see the video of my completely custom enclosure. Everyone that has walked into my sim room has said, "holy s%*#!" This is the real deal! I used outdoor awning material that I got from a second hand fabric store. Every bigger city has many of them so you can touch the stuff before you buy it. Luckily, my wife has a sewing machine and was willing to help me. She just doubled up the material and sewed it so I could add grommets so mine is a perfect, custom fit. To build the enclosure, I would recommend going to a canopy company like www.canopiesandtarps.com. They sell all the corner pieces you need to build your enclosure. Then you buy the conduit at Home Depot. If you need a really wide enclosure, you can use two conduits connected with T-joints. Like preludesam said, though, you can build or buy and sometimes buying is easier even if its costlier.

I was a much worse golfer when I built my enclosure (14 hcp) and I never skied a driver. I have hit the side curtains several times and they have held up perfectly. You're not hitting them straight on so a glancing blow probably wont go thru them. For the top of my enclosure, I actually bent the conduit so it has a gentle 'S' shape that makes the pipe across the front / top of the enclosure higher than if I left them straight. This gives me about 4 inches more clearance for a driver.

Good luck and don't give up. Hitting balls at home any time you want is awesome.