How to Fit a Golf Impact Screen to a Custom Frame (UK Guide)

Last week a customer sent me the measurements of his garden building. It was 2.7m wide and 5m long, with a pitched roof that drops to 2.4m at the walls. He'd set his heart on a SimSpace UltraMAX enclosure. The problem is that our smallest enclosure, the SIM 1, measures about 2.7m across its outer frame, and we recommend at least 8cm clear on each side of it. That means a room around 2.86m wide where the enclosure stands, before you think about the roof.

When a room is that close, there are two routes. You can change the room to suit the enclosure, or you can fit an impact screen to a frame built into the room. This guide covers the second one: how to fit an impact screen to a custom timber frame, what to buy, what to ask your builder for, and what it costs.

When a custom frame makes more sense than an enclosure

An enclosure is the simplest way to build a simulator. It's freestanding, it comes as one kit, and the netting is part of the design. I'd always start there. A custom frame is worth considering when:

• The room is narrower than the enclosure plus its clearance. Every centimetre counts in a narrow room, and a frame fixed to the walls uses all of the width.
• The ceiling is sloped or low at one end. Most enclosures are 2.5m tall. A frame can follow the shape of the room.
• You want a built-in finish in a garden room or conversion, with the screen and padding part of the room itself.
• A door or window sits where the enclosure would stand. A frame on the end wall can often leave the door clear.

If you're still deciding between the two, our guide on whether you need an enclosure or can pad the walls covers the trade-offs.

What you need

A custom frame build has more parts than an enclosure, because the enclosure's frame, netting and padding are replaced by things you choose separately.

• An impact screen with eyelets. The eyelets are what the bungees go through, so check for them before you buy. In a narrow room, the GolfBays Pro+ impact screen at 2.30 × 2.252m (£785.00) is the smallest Pro+ size and fits a frame about 2.4m wide inside. Our impact screen comparison covers the other screens we sell.
• Bungee cords to hold the screen in the frame. They're usually sold separately from the screen, so add them to your list.
• A foam pelmet. The impact screen pelmet kit (£340.00) frames the screen, covers the timber and fixings, and means an edge-shot lands on foam.
• Foam wall and ceiling tiles. Without an enclosure's side netting, the side walls and ceiling need protecting. Bevelled foam tiles are £240.00 for a pack of ten, covering 5m².
• The timber frame itself, which your builder or a joiner makes and fits.

Step 1: build the frame

The frame is a simple rectangle of timber across the end wall, fixed into the side-wall studs and the ceiling joists so it can't move when a ball lands. Size the inside of the frame so the screen fits with a few centimetres all round for the bungees to pull against. For a 2.30m-wide screen, that's a frame about 2.4m wide inside. The exact timber section and fixings are your builder's call, because they depend on what the walls and ceiling are made of.

Step 2: leave a gap behind the screen

This is the part people most often get wrong. An impact screen works by giving when the ball hits it, so it needs space to move into. We recommend at least 30cm between the back of the screen and the wall. A screen fitted tight to brick or plasterboard will bounce balls straight back towards you, and the wall will take the impact through the screen.

Step 3: hang the screen on bungees

Unpack the screen and lay it flat for a while so the folds from the packaging relax. A handheld steamer will smooth out any stubborn creases. Then fix it into the frame with bungee cords through the eyelets, working around the screen so the tension is even on every side. Even tension is what stops the screen sagging in the middle, which would spoil the picture and change how the ball comes off it.

Step 4: finish the edges and protect the room

Fit the foam pelmet around the frame so the timber and bungees are covered. Then line both side walls and the ceiling with foam tiles from the screen back to roughly where you stand to hit. That's the zone a mishit can reach. In a 2.7m-wide room with a pitched roof, protecting the first 2.5m of both walls and the ceiling comes to just under 20m², which is four packs of tiles.

Step 5: position the projector

A short-throw projector keeps the picture big without the projector sitting in your swing. The BenQ AH500ST has a 0.499:1 throw ratio, so it fills a 2.3m-wide screen from about 1.15m away. Ceiling-mounted at that distance, it sits in front of you and well above your swing. Ask your builder for a fixing point in the ceiling there, a double socket close by, and a cable route back to the launch monitor. BenQ's own AH500ST specifications list the throw and connections.

Step 6: place the launch monitor

In a narrow room, the type of launch monitor matters as much as the screen. Camera units that sit beside the ball, like the Garmin Approach R50, need no space behind you. Garmin's manual puts the R50 about 0.5m to the side of the tee, facing the golfer, which means it sits on the opposite side of the ball to you. In a 2.7m room, that puts the ball a little right of centre for a right-handed golfer. Radar units that sit behind you need far more length, so they suit longer rooms.

A checklist for your builder

• Timber frame across the end wall, fixed to studs and joists, about 10cm wider and taller inside than the screen.
• At least 30cm clear between the back of the screen and the wall.
• A ceiling fixing point for the projector at the right throw distance from the screen.
• A double socket near the projector, and a cable route from the projector to the launch monitor.
• Foam tiles on both side walls and the ceiling, from the screen back to the hitting area.
• Somewhere level for the hitting mat and launch monitor. Rubber flooring under both is worth it.

What a custom frame build costs

Here's the kit for the 2.7 × 5m garden building above, at today's prices, with a Garmin R50 and the BenQ projector. The timber frame, bungees and your builder's time are on top.

For comparison, the SimSpace UltraMAX SIM 1 enclosure is £1,499.99, with its grey screen and frame included. If your room can take an enclosure, it's usually the simpler and cheaper route. The custom frame earns its place when the room can't.

Common questions

Can I fit the screen myself?

Hanging the screen and fitting the pelmet and tiles is a straightforward job. The frame is the part I'd hand to a builder or joiner, because it has to be fixed properly into the structure of the room.

Do I need side netting as well?

Not if the side walls and ceiling are padded with foam tiles in the hitting zone. The tiles do the job the netting does in an enclosure.

Can I use any impact screen?

You need one designed to be hung, with eyelets or a bungee edge. Check that before you buy, and size it to the inside of your frame, not to the wall.

What if my room is only just too narrow for an enclosure?

Sometimes a small change, like leaving the wall boarding off one section, gives you the width an enclosure needs. It's worth measuring carefully before you decide. Our room size guide covers the dimensions to check.

If you'd like a hand working out which route suits your room, send me your measurements and I'll put together a free design with every cost on the table.