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This is my newly revised sim room, not sure how many iterations I’ve had but probably around 10 since 2016. I think this is the one I’ll be sticking with for a long time, although I might upgrade my projector to 4k. I hope this easy build can help some people create a good looking sim room on a budget. I splurged on extras but the foundations that really make up the room were very affordable.
The Foundation of the Sim Room (my room is 22' long x 20' wide)
Putting/ Stance Platform: $450
I went with 1.5” thick MMA mats, this is thick enough for me to insert almost any hitting strip and just the right firmness under foot to feel like a fairway. I’ve been using it for several years and think it is the perfect solution for anyone that wants to build a platform.
Surround flooring: $340
I chose 3/4” black eva foam puzzle mats for the rest of the floor, this is soft under foot, easy to clean, looks pretty good, and very easy to DIY install.
Basic Putting Turf: $100
I’ve used marine carpet from Menards as my putting surface for years, it’s cheap, has great traction and putt pretty true and quick. For the price it can’t be beat. However mine got damaged in my move and no longer putts well so I went ahead and upgraded.
New Premium Putting Turf: $500
I bought this from Turf Factory Direct because I heard great things their turf and it was pretty affordable compared to others. Rolls true at about 10 stomp.
Fiberbuilt Hitting Strip $300
I’ve probably tried around a dozen hitting strips and wish I would have bought Fiberbuilt right off the start. It is the most similar turf to real golf imo and the easiest on the joints.
DBGolf’s Direct From Mill Screen: $350
Not sure if he still sell these, but I bought it from him a few years back and it’s a great screen. Hopefully someone can comment and point to the right place to buy his screens. If not I have an alternative below. I attach this to one of the wire ropes as a backing for the front most screen, it is tensioned at the bottom using velcro. You don’t need multiple screens but because I have them may as well use them.
Par2Pro HQ Imperfect Screens: $300
I bought this as a backup for my previously mentioned screen. It’s a great price for a great screen with very minor imperfections. This is my front most screen, attached to wire rope at the top using tarp clips. Tensioned at the bottom using velcro.
Side Curtains: $30
Used for Aesthetics mostly, but also for a little added protection for if someone misses the screen. I drape these over the wire rope.
Ceiling Protection: $50
Again for aesthetics but also to protect from high lofted shots. I drape this over the wire ropes and attach with tarp clips.
Acoustic Foam: $60
Used for side wall aesthetics and side wall protection
Tarp Clips $15
Used to attach screens, side curtains, and ceiling protection to wire rope
Wire Rope $50
I use this because it’s simple, cheap, and eliminates the possibility of the ball bouncing back at you with any sort of velocity. I used 3 of them… One at 8ft off the ground and 15” from the backing wall, another at 9’ from the ground and 15” from the backing wall, the last one was at 9ft from the ground and 40” from the backing wall. This allowed for me to have multiple screens backing each as well as side curtains and ceiling protection.
Turnbuckles $10
Used to tension the wire rope
Wire Rope Clamps $20
Used for fastening a loop to attach to the turnbuckles
J-Hooks $7
Put into the studs, and used to attache wire rope to the walls
The above covers all the basics I used to create a pretty good looking budget minded sim. Everything below is more personal preference than anything else…
Personal Preference Stuff
Uneekor EyeXO $10,000
Perhaps the best, most accurate overhead camera based launch monitor that doesn’t require marked balls. If you don’t mind marked balls you can go with QED which is also great. If you don’t want or need an overhead unit then I’d recommend going with GC2.
Optoma 1090HDR $1357.00
This is a laser short throw projector, it’s bright, has good colors and a 1080p image. I’ve placed this directly over my hitting strip at 9’ off the ground. You could save a good chunk of change and go with the previous version Optoma 1080hdr and achieve a pretty similar result.
Pull Down Projection Screen $280
This is to give me the best movie/ sporting event watching experience possible. It provides a better image quality than even the most premium impact screens. Just a heads up I couldn’t find my order information so I just linked a random one from amazon, no personal experience with it.
TCL TV: $250
For a second screen and also pairs well with my speaker choice…
Roku Speakers
Good Quality Sound, and easy setup with my TCL tv
Swing Optix Cameras: $1,400
For watching back swing videos in a colored high resolution and high fps.
Other Furnishings: $1,500
Couches, chairs, mini fridge, tables, entertainment centers, rolling cart, etc
Gaming PC: $1,800
Prices have gone up since I bought but this is what I’ve got…
RTX3080
i7-10700k
16Gb ram
500gb SSD
1TB HD
In total I spent around $19k, which is more than I would have guessed, but if you were to go with a more budget friendly system like Skytrak you could be all in with a setup almost exactly like this for under $5k. Hope this inspired people to go ahead and create your dream sim room!
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