Subfloor for Turf to make same height as Fiberbuilt Insert

[ThunderBear]

I am looking to have my entire floor as TFD Putting Elite turf and using a Fiberbuilt insert to hit off of. However, the Fiberbuilt is 1.75" high and the TFD turf is 7/16" tall. What could be used to bring it up to the same height? I will be using this in the garage.

[bubbtubbs]

Did you already have a sub floor in mind or would you otherwise place the turf directly on the slab? Just wondering if it's simply a case of having to bump up the rest of the turf or if you're looking for something that is more comfortable and breathes.

[ThunderBear]

Did you already have a sub floor in mind or would you otherwise place the turf directly on the slab? Just wondering if it's simply a case of having to bump up the rest of the turf or if you're looking for something that is more comfortable and breathes.

I have nothing in mind. I’m installing this in my garage so there’s concrete now but the I need to try and get the other turf flush with the fiber built strip

[Ronsc1985]

Plywood spacer but 7/16 thick mat is too thin for a stance mat unless you play on rock hard courses IRL. You could try and find out what the commercial stance mats use for their underlay.but even there you will come up short on height as you have to make up 1.3 inches. If you are on concrete you will also need some method to stick whatever you come up with, to the floor as it will slide around continuously just from the torque your feet will apply while swinging. One method is a few threaded concrete anchors on the corners of the setup and tabs glued on the underlay. The same applies to the hitting strip.

[ThunderBear]

What I'm considering right now is to do 1/2" eva foam against the concrete and then also 3/4" horse stall mats on top of that. That gets me to 1.25" which is basically the 1.3" I need. The horse stall mats are made of rubber and are heavy and extremely durable. This would guarantee nothing moves under my feet and provides a bit of give which I chip.

Do you think this could work? Also considering doing 1/2" plywood instead of eva foam.

[JakeGeezy]

Cheap carpet + carpet tape. Pile the carpet in as many layers as you need, secure each layer with carpet tape. Cheap and works beautifully. Also, carpet tape is awesome. Even better than duct tape.

[Brettster]

Interesting option I never thought of JakeGeezy! Would you recommend that for normal floor buildup? I'm planning on 2x4s around the edge, then 2" foam insulation board (foamular) followed by 1/2" plywood on top - and then cutting out spaces for ProTee sensor and other hitting strips. This is the recommended method for ProTee at least, but I have 2 7/8" I think to get to the top of the ProTee sensor Fiberbuilt mat.

[JakeGeezy]

Yes, I did it for my entire studio. The carpet is piled 3-ish inches and then the putting turf is on top, which brought the whole floor level to the Quattro hitting mat.

[Ronsc1985]

All I can tell you is even a CCE elite mat which is heavy and about 1.5 inches thick moves around when hitting. It isn't that it moves a lot on every shot but the cumulative effect after a few shits is to get the hitting area misaligned with the Launch Monitor, if you are using a camera type system. If using radar then not so much of a problem but still not ideal.


A Fiberbuilt hitting strip is mounted in a metal frame and it will slide like crazy on concrete every time you hit a ball. What you need to do is attach both hitting mat and strike mat to the floor or each other so that they retain the same orientation to each other.and the launch monitor. Best arrangement in my opinion is to stick everything to the floor so the orientations never change. An alternative would be to lock the hitting mat, hitting strip and launch monitor together.so if they move they move together.

Remember all launch monitors measure relative to themselves so if the distance or angle relationship between the monitor and the hitting area changes your computed results will vary even if you hit the exact same shot

[Scottygolf]

Are you making this permanent or temp situation? I built mine and made a sub floor frame to compensate for the slope of the concrete in the garage. I laid two different sizes of plywood down and a wood floor barrier to prevent the squeaks (very annoying when you walk on it). Then cut out the depth of the hitting stirp (I used divot action) and figured in my TFD batting cage depth. My frame is secured to the wall so nothing slips. As one mentioned above, it will slip unless it is secured is what I found out. attached is an image og what it looked like prior to adding turf and strip

[Brettster]

I see Scottygolf - that looks real solid. I wonder what the thickness was of the 2 types of plywood you laid? Was one OSB (oriented strand board), or where they both layered plywood, and how thick was each? I have some 3/4" plywood already that I could use for subfloor underlayment but thought that might be too thick, and maybe go with 1/2" so it has some give when walking on it, a little like walking on sod - it's not as hard as concrete, and I don't want it to feel that way.

I've spent long hours on hard/concrete floors as a sales associate and it is not kind to muscles after 4-6 hours - certainly a long time in the Sim, but one that I expect I may spend some days, especially on weekends, as I plan to watch quite a bit of golf on the projection screen, as well as do some course designing on that large screen may be fun, if I can get comfortable in there - as a separate space when I'm not using it as a Golf Sim!

Also, that top curtain, and side panels, where did you find those - as well as that top net, all look like something I'll need to complete protection above and to both sides... can't wait to get 'balls up', but know it's going to be a while - we're still getting playing weather (50's-60's) over the next few weeks - after that will be patchy and hit/miss, really want to have my mini-split in place by mid-November.

[Scottygolf]

Brettster - the side panels came from AK Athletics. 4x6 padded wresting wall mats. Since they are vinyl, make sure your temp is above 60 degrees or if a ball hits it then it may crack (my wife found that our for me). The curtain was given to me so I have no idea where that came from. The netting was some basic netting from West Coast netting.

Back to the subfloor, I think they were 1/2 and 5/8 plywood sheets. I had to match them to the TFD nylon and divot action mat insert. the TFD has padding and is comfortable to walk on. I had a CCE mat and that was too squishy for my liking so I went this route. One thing I did by the suggestion of a friend is when I laid out the TFD I left an extra 6 inches in the front so when the ball drops, it rolls back. It works nicely and covers the bottom of the screen too. I will see if I can get an image of that.

And yes, the minisplit is a must for the garage. Originally the home had a gas heater and I added the mini for AC this summer. Not cheap but one of the smartest moves I have done as it also protects all the electronics as the garage is at 70-72 degrees all summer just running the de-humidifier portion.

[ThunderBear]

Are you making this permanent or temp situation? I built mine and made a sub floor frame to compensate for the slope of the concrete in the garage. I laid two different sizes of plywood down and a wood floor barrier to prevent the squeaks (very annoying when you walk on it). Then cut out the depth of the hitting stirp (I used divot action) and figured in my TFD batting cage depth. My frame is secured to the wall so nothing slips. As one mentioned above, it will slip unless it is secured is what I found out. attached is an image og what it looked like prior to adding turf and strip

how do you secure plywood to the garage floor?

[Brettster]

Exactly what I'm going to have to do Scottygolf - I have a slight decline down to screen, starting with concrete slab that is under my shed. I have thought I will use shims underneath sections closer to screen to raise them up (about 1/2").

I wonder, how many frame pieces did you use for your underneath frame - as another option I've heard of is to just frame the outside (12'x16' for me), and then drop in the insulation board and plywood over the top, with no frame pieces (joists) underneath any part of it except for the outer edges - not sure I like that idea. Do you have a pic of your framed up floor area before you secured the plywood?

[Scottygolf]

Brettster - I do not have any pics of the sub floor frame. What I learned the first time is I did not use enough 2x4 on the floor as part of the frame as I had a little sagging or movement under my feet when I walked on the platform. It also squeaked. So when I updated I added more 2x4, I think I am like every 12 inches across on the base to ensure it was a solid floor and did not squeak. I suggest creating a chalk line before screwing down the plywood to ensure you hit the 2 x4. learned that lesson the first time. In the back of the frame I used a 2x6 so any balls that came off hot would be caught by the 2x6. When I added the 2nd layer of plywood on top of the first so I could cut in the divot action, I did add a wood floor barrier to stop and squeaks. $20 spent but to me well worth it. As much as I wish I could have done this in the house and had 14 or 16 feet wide, the garage slot at 10.6 inches wide worked perfect and not taking up sq footage of the house. I still get 3 cars in without taking any space away from the sim.

I did also have to shim a couple of the 2x4's to get everything level.

[Brettster]

Hey Scottygolf - sorry I missed your reply... been working... In fact, I just came in tonight from shimming the subfloor. I'll put some pics up on my 'build post'. I read where cut shingles make an excellent shim material and I happen to have a bundle that the owners left behind from the shed anyway, so I've been trimming those up with tin snips. I've got 6 main 'joists' across my 12' of width to my shed. I added 4 cross joists near my hitting sensors and mat to makes sure there is very little space with more than 24" between joists and I'm using 3/4" plywood so should help? My 2x4s are laid down on their sides which should help too - I tried a board out on top the other day and it was perfect... Can't wait to get it all done - likely tomorrow as I received my turf today and so heavy I can't get it out of the van! Will be paying installers to haul it out and drop it in my shed tomorrow so I have to finish the subfloor by then, shimming and all!

You might find this hard to believe but because there is such a slow from front door to back wall - I have about 1 1/2" of Shims across the entire back wall of my shed.... Never seen so many shims in my life! Thanks to the guy who posted to use Shingles as shims, as I would have never thought of it and they work great.

[GullLakeMi]

I have a 5x5 mat. I put 1" 2x2 interlocking gym mats on 3 sides and covered with grass carpet from HD. The transition from mat to carpet is flush. The gym mat's/carpet fit inside my conduit frame. None of it moves.

[SkipNorth]

I am in this same situation. The plan is:
- 28x20 Permanent turf covering half of the barn
- Mevo+ Behind
- 16x10 screen in front

It is a multi-use area, that we will be using for agility and workout area when the golf sim isn’t in use. The other half of the barn is a basketball court.

I was considering the double mats just like you. I am not as worried about the mats sticking to the floor and each other (you can find some posts here about what types of glue work best), but I am concerned about the “cushy-ness” of the mats on top of each other.

Also, if the turf is going to surround a larger area, with a cutout in the middle for the Fiberbuilt, it won’t slide around.

I did not consider plywood because I did not want to put that directly on the floor. I was not considering doing a sub-floor because I don’t want a high transition from the workout/sim area to the basketball court.

Not sure if this helps, but right now, the double mats or plywood-type material (possibly something moisture-resistant as mine is in a garage as well) are the only 2 I was considering.

[ThunderBear]

I am in this same situation. The plan is:
- 28x20 Permanent turf covering half of the barn
- Mevo+ Behind
- 16x10 screen in front

It is a multi-use area, that we will be using for agility and workout area when the golf sim isn’t in use. The other half of the barn is a basketball court.

I was considering the double mats just like you. I am not as worried about the mats sticking to the floor and each other (you can find some posts here about what types of glue work best), but I am concerned about the “cushy-ness” of the mats on top of each other.

Also, if the turf is going to surround a larger area, with a cutout in the middle for the Fiberbuilt, it won’t slide around.

I did not consider plywood because I did not want to put that directly on the floor. I was not considering doing a sub-floor because I don’t want a high transition from the workout/sim area to the basketball court.

Not sure if this helps, but right now, the double mats or plywood-type material (possibly something moisture-resistant as mine is in a garage as well) are the only 2 I was considering.

I'm putting mine together within the next couple of days so I will let you know how soft the floor is with two layers of mats

[SkipNorth]

I'm putting mine together within the next couple of days so I will let you know how soft the floor is with two layers of mats

I appreciate that!

[huntsaver]

Any update on 2 layers of foam flooring?

[ThunderBear]

Any update on 2 layers of foam flooring?

I put eva on the bottom and horse mats over the top of it to build up the flooring. The flooring is perfect if you ask me. I'm cutting holes to put in the turf. Worked out better than I thought.

[Brettster]

ThunderBear - I'd like to see it, got any pics? That does sound 'squishy'.... My putting turf arrived today, and I'm trying to decide when I lay it over the top of 3/4" plywood how stiff it may feel, and if I should consider cutting out a 4'x5' area and replacing the 3/4" plywood with something else like what you mention, or just a purchased stance mat? By the way, are you the real 'Thunder Bear', from EU?