Pro Cage Bundle vs Forza Cage: Which Golf Cage to Buy (UK)

The Pro Cage bundle and the Forza practice cage share one 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft footprint and knotless net. The Pro bundle adds a heavy-duty 42 mm frame, driving-range mat and rubber base. Buy the Pro bundle for daily use or a complete bay; buy the Forza frame and net if you own a good mat.

This is the question I get most on the cage side of the business, usually from someone with a garden, a driver and a clear idea that they want to hit full shots at home without a trip to the range. Both products do that. The difference is in how heavy the frame is, what arrives in the delivery, and how long it all lasts under daily use. I have kept prices off this page because they move; the live figures are on the product pages linked below.

What each one is

The Forza practice cage (listed on our site as the FORB Golf Practice Cage, frame and net only) is a freestanding 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft cage (3.1 m x 3.1 m x 3.1 m on the listing): a galvanised steel frame with a weatherproof 2.3 mm knotless green net that can stay outside all year. You choose the frame tube, 34 mm (the frame weighs about 88 kg) or heavy-duty 42 mm (about 112 kg), and the back panel, either the standard net or an archery-grade impact panel. It anchors with U-pegs, so no concrete and no wall fixings. It comes as one bay or two.

The Pro Golf Cage and Hitting Mat Bundle starts with the 42 mm heavy-duty version of that same cage and net, listed at 3 m x 3 m x 3 m. On the same page you choose the mat and base option: cage only, or the FORZA Driving Range mat (1.5 m x 1.5 m, which the listing pairs with four rubber tees) with no base, a Standard base or a Pro Jigsaw base, in one or two bays. Our free 90-day practice programme comes with it. Taken with the mat and base it is the complete garden bay in one delivery; see the live price on the page.

So the comparison is really two decisions stacked together: do you want the 34 mm or the 42 mm frame, and do you want the mat and base chosen and delivered with the cage or not.

Frame: 34 mm vs 42 mm

Both frames are galvanised steel and both are rated for full driver shots into the net. The 42 mm tube is thicker and the frame is about 24 kg heavier. In a cage that lives outside, that weight is what you feel in wind and in how the frame holds its shape when a drive loads the back net. The 34 mm frame is fine for regular garden practice and is the sensible choice if the cage will come down at the end of each season. The 42 mm frame is the one I recommend if the cage is staying up all year, if more than one person will use it, or if you want it to double as the enclosure for a launch monitor and screen later.

Both frames are freestanding on U-pegs. If you want the cage fixed for good, with uprights concreted into ground sockets, that is the Socketed Pro cage, which uses the same 42 mm steel. It suits clubs, schools and gardens where the cage will never move.

Net and impact panel

The net is the same on both: 2.3 mm knotless twine, green, weatherproof. Knotless means the twine is woven rather than tied at each junction, which spreads the impact and avoids the hard knots that wear first. The part that wears on any cage is the back panel, because it takes the direct strike every shot.

The Forza frame-and-net listing lets you choose the back panel: the standard net, or an archery-grade impact panel in heavy close-mesh polyester with a reinforced hem on all sides. The Pro bundle page is sold with its standard net; its options are the mat, the base and the number of bays. If you want the archery panel on a 42 mm frame, choose it on the Forza listing, or add it later through the replacement 10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft net, which fits either frame and offers a standard or archery impact panel. In our experience the archery panel is the upgrade that pays back fastest on a cage that gets used daily; the frame does not wear, the back panel does.

Mat and base: the part the Forza cage leaves out

A cage without a mat is half a practice bay. Hitting off grass wears a bare patch in a week, and a thin mat on hard ground sends the shock back up the shaft into your wrists. Choose the mat and base option on the Pro bundle page and you get the FORZA Driving Range mat, a dense 1.5 m x 1.5 m surface that takes a tee and lets you hit down and through without the club bouncing, with the base you pick under it. The Standard base lifts and levels it; the Pro Jigsaw base is thicker, interlocking rubber that gives more cushion and a firmer, flatter stance.

If you already own a decent range mat, that is the strongest case for buying the Forza frame and net alone and skipping the bundle. If you do not, buying the mat later from our hitting mats collection works, but you lose the bundle saving and you will spend the first weeks hitting off grass.

Side by side

Longevity: what wears and what doesn't

Galvanised steel does not rust through in a British garden; the frame on either cage is a long-term item. The knotless outer net is rated to stay out all year. Three things shorten a cage's life, and none of them is the frame gauge.

• The back panel. It takes every strike. Choose archery-grade if you hit driver often, and check it for thinning every few months.
• Loose pegs. A frame that rocks in wind works its joints. Re-seat the U-pegs after a storm and after the ground softens in autumn.
• The mat. A cheap mat goes bald and hard. The driving-range mat in the bundle is built for daily range use, which is why it is the one we include.

I found the 42 mm frame is the better long-term buy for anyone leaving the cage up through winter, simply because the heavier frame moves less in wind, and a frame that does not move does not wear its net at the ties.

Space, neighbours and planning

Both cages stand about 3 m tall and need a flat 3 m x 3 m footprint plus room to swing: allow 1.5 m behind the hitting position and a clear path for the club to the side. A net cage is garden equipment rather than a building, and most people put one up without any formality. If yours will sit within 2 m of a boundary, it is worth reading the Planning Portal's outbuilding guidance, which caps permanent structures near a boundary at 2.5 m, and having a word with the neighbour before the first drive rather than after. If in doubt, ask your council's planning department; the rules differ in conservation areas and for listed properties.

Adding a launch monitor later

A cage is the cheapest route to a launch monitor at home. A radar unit such as the Garmin Approach R10 sits 1.8 to 2.4 m behind the ball and shows your numbers on your phone, so you need that length behind the mat in the garden. Camera units sit beside the ball and need no space behind you. The 42 mm Pro cage is the one I would choose if a launch monitor is on your list, because it is the frame we see people build on. The golf cage collection has every version side by side, including the lighter pop-up ProFlex for golfers who want something to put away after each session.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Pro cage the same cage as the Forza cage?

The Pro bundle uses the 42 mm heavy-duty version of the same 10 ft galvanised cage and knotless net, with the FORZA Driving Range mat and a rubber base as options on the same page. The Forza listing is the frame and net only, in 34 mm or 42 mm, with a standard or archery back panel.

Is a 3 m cage tall enough for a driver?

For almost every golfer, yes. The ball leaves the face low and reaches the back net within 3 m of travel, well under the roof. Stand the mat in the middle of the cage rather than at the back so the roof net is not in the swing arc.

Can the Forza cage take an archery impact panel?

Yes. The Forza frame-and-net listing offers the standard net or the archery-grade panel. The Pro bundle comes with the standard net; the replacement net listing adds an archery panel to either frame later. Choose archery if you hit a lot of driver or more than one person uses the cage.

Which should I buy if I already have a mat?

The Forza frame and net, in 42 mm if the cage stays up all year or you plan a launch monitor, 34 mm if it comes down each season. Add the archery panel if the budget allows.

My recommendation: same footprint, same net, two different frames, and one page lets you add the mat and base to the order. If you will practise most days, want the mat and base in the same delivery and might add a launch monitor, the Pro Cage and Mat Bundle with the mat and base option is the one I would buy. If you already own a good mat or the cage is a summer-only thing, the Forza frame and net in the gauge that suits your use does the job for less.

Not sure which option fits your space or budget? Message Tom on WhatsApp for a free consultation — no obligation.