Frame Against Wall

[GeerGuy]

I have a screen frame with 4' top and sides. I would like to position it against or as close as possible to a finished drywalled wall on one side. How close can I put it to the wall or can I protect the wall with something to allow it to be closer?

[jasonreg]

General recommendation for a backwall is 12" but it really depends on how much deflection you get in the screen. Now on the sides, you will not get as much deflection but it will not be "0" if you really crank one sideways. It will also depend on how much give you have in your side panels.

I would say (and this is just an educated guess) that between the lower energy of the miss-hit, coupled with the lower vector into the wall (ball is still going more forward than not) and assuming the side panels are reasonably taught, 2-3" should be good. Would start there and re-assess as needed. My two cents.

[GeerGuy]

I might have to assemble and test it. Was thinking that maybe I could cover the wall with a higher density, 3/4" puzzle style foam tile and then put the side either right up to it or 1" away.

[Stetson]

I want to see the video on YouTube of your first driver swing with the screen that close to the wall. Def going to be an America’s funniest home video if you survive the bounce back middle at your face

[Brettster]

GeerGuy - I can tell you Stetson is right... There is no way you can go 1" away from a wall, even if it is covered with gym foam tile mats. You can find up here someone that filmed a video behind their screen with about 12"-18" behind it (I think) to see how far the screen pushed in, and it was at least 4"-6" from what I remember.

I have 8" behind my screen and it works fine, but I had to make sure the bottom is tight, as well as the top and all sides by using tarp clips and ball bungee cords, like these:

Bungee Ball Cords: https://tinyurl.com/6inch-Ball-Bungee-Cords

Tarp Clips 1": https://tinyurl.com/HeavyDuty-TarpClips-1in
Tarp Clips 2": https://tinyurl.com/HeavyDuty-TarpClips-2in

Here is the post on my thread that shows the 8" behind my screen and the work I did to secure it:

https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum/golf-simulator-forum/simulator-builds/348365-golf-sim-shed-build-finally?p=382241#post382241

I can tell you - your safety, and the safety of others in your Golf Sim should be your Home priority. It only takes one ball coming back at high speed to do a lot of damage to your head, legs, arms, and anywhere else it hits!

[WannaBScratch]

Pretty sure OP was asking about distance for the side wall and not impact screen. I currently have about 3 inches on one side as well but still in the process of finishing out my build. It is on the left side and I am the right handed player so pulling it that far to the left "should" be a low probability but not impossible.

[jasonreg]

Pretty sure OP was asking about distance for the side wall and not impact screen.

You may be correct. If so, I cannot see how you could get to an inch or two and still use some type of bungee - there just would not be any give. IMO 4-6 " is the sweet spot for sides with 3-4 as a minimum. Any tighter would increase the bounce=back to an unacceptable (dangerous) level I would expect.

[Brettster]

jasonreg - you're right, with my (right side) curtains it's more like 6"-8". That's why on the (left side) I went with tri-fold gym mats which I mounted to the wall by grommeting the top. It's a good way to have only 2"-3" on left side and gain more screen width. Hardly ever get a ball that far left and hitting those. Here's the post in my thread where it shows them:
https://golfsimulatorforum.com/forum...387#post365387