Basement Room 26' Long only 8-10' Wide - Options?

[games]

My first question is "Should I even bother trying to make this into a sim room?" (Assume RH only; no driver; no putting; really driving range only; a course or two would be OK).

I have a basement room 26' long with 8'8" ceiling. The first 13' of the room is 7.5' wide due to a utility room wall. Where the wall ends, the width expands to 9.5'.

Currently, I only use the wide half, and I get 8' of flight, hitting from a mat in the middle of the room into my Net Return Pro. However,this brings the wall to my back into play with 5-iron.

My idea: Mount a cubicle curtain track in a "U" on the ceiling of the narrow side and hang archery netting. I could position the mat to give me up to 12' of flight, which I think opens up more sim possibilities. I could comfortably swing 3-wood since I would have more room at my back. (The Net Return base is 8' wide and would not fit in the 7.5' space. Grrr...)

Thoughts on using the room? Keep as is or switch around? Again, since I'm only looking for full swing and driving range sim, I was thinking of seeking out a Flightscope X2 for the club data.

[SkeetShooter]

9 feet is going to be awfully tight for the ceiling. Is it a drop, or is that to the rafters? I don't know if I would do it.

[tapefighter]

I have to say, I’m 6’ and I have a 9’ ceiling and it’s fine with driver and all. Makes me think I have a flat swing but when I try to steepen it I’m still good. I guess it depends?

[trhuke]

I'd take my driver and a friend to observe and start off swinging VERY slowly and carefully and note what you can get away with and how much clearance you have. If the careful swings work okay swing a little harder and monitor clearances. That ought to tell you what you need to know instead of theoretical estimates. I was really surprised at how much space I needed around me when I thought the problem would be too low a ceiling. Also, my screen is only about 9 feet in front of the tee off spot and seems to work fine.

[games]

Thanks All! I think I said no driver, and I'm OK with that. It'll be 3-wood max. I hit 19* hybrid last night on the current setup and it was OK. I'll bring my MEVO down this week to see if it registers with metallic dots at 8' of flight and see how close I am on video. Also, I'll post a pic of the room.

I forgot to add there is one other minor obstacle in the room: A 3-inch steel support pole sitting one foot away from the corner formed where the room widens. The placement is more of an annoyance than anything. On one hand, I can't believe the builder just didn't install it flush with the wall. On the other hand, the sticker on the pole suggests it's load-bearing capacity is 16,000 pounds, so I have to believe the calculations they used to determine placement had to be fairly precise...

Any thoughts on unit selection? For the space, and my minimal requirements (driving range only; courses are OK but not required) is something like a Flightscope X2 or Xi+ do-able? Or, am I into GC2 or Uneekor territory? Again, the club data of the X2 or an unlocked Xi would be really nice.

[Jwheels9876]

You could always start off with a skytrak and see if it works out before spending alot more on the other options. Plus it comes with the skytrak range so that will fulfill that need.

[games]

Since it's more of a practice tool, I'd prefer "real" club data. Based on the delta in price, I'd rather pay the extra for a used Flightscope if I can get good club data.

[games]

A few more pics about the room in question. Since I'm right handed, I'm considering hanging a net about halfway across the green in the picture.

[bigwill29]

A few more pics about the room in question. Since I'm right handed, I'm considering hanging a net about halfway across the green in the picture.

That space makes me incredibly claustrophobic.