Square Golf Home Simulator Package Review (UK): Who It Suits and What You Get

The Square Golf home simulator package is our lowest-cost complete room: a SimSpace enclosure, the Square Golf camera unit beside the ball, a Tee Turf mat, rubber base and a BenQ short-throw projector. It fits a 4.2 m room, starts without a PC and has no subscription. It gives up data depth and polish to the R50 and GC3.

Who this package is for

I would put this package in front of three kinds of golfer. The first has a garage or spare room that measures at least 3.0 m wide, 2.7 m to the ceiling and 4.2 m long, and wants a proper screen to hit into rather than a net and a phone. The second has set a budget in the under £5k band and wants everything in one delivery rather than piecing a room together over a year. The third is wary of running a gaming PC and would rather play from an app on a phone, tablet or laptop they already own.

If you are chasing the deepest club data, or you want the simulator to feel like a games console the moment it is switched on, this is not the package to pick, and I will explain why further down. For a first room on a sensible budget, though, it is the one I find myself describing most often. If you want to see how it sits against the other rooms we sell, our Sim Buyer Docs page on golf simulator packages by budget and room lines all of them up by price band and room length.

What is in the box, and what is not

The package is built around the same five parts as every SimSpace room we sell, and the launch monitor is the only thing that changes between them.

• SimSpace enclosure in the size you choose, with velour side and ceiling panels and the impact screen. Sizes run from SIM 0 (3.3 × 2.5 × 1 m, which comes with its own side netting) through SIM 1 to SIM 4 at 2.5 m tall, up to SIM 5 and SIM 6 at 3 m tall and 3 m deep.
• Square Golf launch monitor, the camera unit, with its battery, USB-C cable, remote, swing stick and three dotted balls in Square's box.
• SimSpace Tee Turf hitting mat, a switchable mat so left- and right-handers can share it.
• Rubber base under the mat, which is kinder on your joints than a mat laid straight on concrete.
• BenQ AH500ST short-throw projector in a floor case, so the lens sits inside the bay rather than over your head. Its 0.499 throw ratio puts the lens about 2.04 m from a 2.3 m-high screen.

Now the list people miss. Side netting is an add-on (except on SIM 0, which includes its own). The HDMI cable from your device to the projector is an add-on. The ball tray is a paid add-on. And there is no PC in the box. That last point matters more for Square Golf than for most units, which brings me to how you actually play.

How you play: app first, PC optional

Square Golf runs from its own free app on iOS, Android or Windows. The unit connects over Bluetooth Low Energy, and the picture on the screen comes from whichever device runs the app, not from the launch monitor itself. So for a phone or tablet you need an HDMI adapter for its charging port, which Square does not publish a guide for. In our experience the simplest permanent setup is a Windows laptop or small PC with one HDMI lead to the projector. It does not need to be a gaming machine for Square's own app, though it does if you later want GSPro.

The driving range, closest-to-the-pin and putting practice modes cost nothing. Course play uses credits at one credit per hole per player, and 1,000 welcome credits come with the device. After that you buy top-ups from Square Golf UK as you go. There is no monthly or yearly fee, which is unusual at this level and one of the main reasons the package sits where it does on price. If you later want more, Square's own third-party software page confirms GSPro (with a GSPro Square licence on a Windows PC), E6 Connect and Awesome Golf, and you pay those makers directly with no Square Golf plan in between. The yearly figures for all of them are kept current on our software costs page.

The camera unit beside the ball

Square Golf is a camera (photometric) launch monitor made for indoor use. It sits on the floor at ball height, beside and slightly in front of the ball, and photographs the ball in the instant after impact. You set the target line with the supplied stick in the app, then hit from the marked hitting zone in front of the unit.

Because nothing sits behind you, the package works in our 4.2 m minimum room: about 30 cm behind the screen, 2.5 m from ball to screen, and the rest for you to swing. A radar unit such as the Mevo Gen2 needs 2.4 m behind the ball on top of that, so a 5.2 m room. For a lot of UK garages that single fact decides it.

It measures ball speed, launch angle, direction and spin, and Square lists swing path, face angle, dynamic loft and angle of attack as standard club data. Square says backspin is measured with the dotted balls in the box and estimated with an ordinary ball, so I recommend keeping those dotted balls for the shots where spin matters to you.

Where it falls short next to the R50 and GC3

Here is the comparison I run through when someone asks whether to stretch to the next room up. No prices in the table because they move; follow the links for live figures.

The R50 is the one most people are weighing it against. Its advantage is not accuracy so much as the experience: Home Tee Hero runs on the unit's own touchscreen, so you plug one HDMI lead into the projector and you are on a course with no app, no Bluetooth pairing and no laptop. The trade-off is that course play needs a Garmin Golf membership, and the package costs more. With Square Golf you accept a little more fiddling at setup in return for the lowest buy-in and no subscription.

The GC3 is a different conversation. It is the club-data benchmark, which is why coaches and fitters use it, and if fixing your swing is the whole point, that depth is worth paying for. But course play on the projector needs Foresight Premier on a Windows PC, plus Foresight's own plans, so the running cost and the kit list are both longer.

Two smaller things I noticed that are worth knowing before you order. The picture comes from the device running the app, so plan where that laptop or PC will sit and how the HDMI lead reaches the projector. And Square links double reads to a screen set too close, because the ball rebounding off the screen confuses the unit, so keep to the 2.5 m we plan for.

Setting the room up

Measure first, at the lowest and narrowest points, counting beams, lights and door runners. Then allow the enclosure's outer frame plus 8 cm each side. If you are not sure which size fits, our room-fit page has a table for each enclosure, and the free 3D room design checks the exact dimensions you send over before anything is ordered.

For the unit itself: stand it at ball height on flat ground, keep it out of direct sunlight, use a mat that contrasts with the ball (the Tee Turf does) and keep reflective clutter out of its view. Charge it the night before so setup day is not spent waiting on the battery.

The SimSpace enclosure is a push-fit frame and goes up without tools. We supply and support the room; we do not install it. Most people build it themselves or book a local tradesperson through Airtasker if they would rather not.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Square Golf package need a subscription?

No. The app is free, practice modes are free, and course play uses credits at one per hole per player with 1,000 included. You only pay more if you choose GSPro, E6 or Awesome Golf, and then to those makers rather than to Square Golf.

Do I need a gaming PC?

Not for Square's own app, which runs on a phone, tablet or ordinary Windows laptop. For the projector a Windows device with an HDMI lead is the tidiest route. You only need a gaming-spec PC if you want GSPro later.

Will it fit a single garage?

If the garage gives you 3.0 m of width, a 2.7 m ceiling and 4.2 m of length, yes, and the camera unit beside the ball is exactly why. Under those figures I would not recommend a full-swing room from us; a garden cage or a launch monitor for the range is the better start.

Can left- and right-handers share it?

Yes. Handedness is set in your profile in the app, the Tee Turf mat is switchable, and the unit moves to the other side of the ball. In a shared household the ball sits in the middle of the bay, so pick an enclosure width with that in mind.

Which I would pick

For a first room in a 4.2 m space on an under £5k budget, the Square Golf package is where I would start, and the lack of any subscription makes it easy to live with. If you can stretch, and you want to switch on and play with nothing to pair, the R50 room is the step up I recommend. If swing data is the goal, go to the GC3 and budget for the PC. Whichever you choose, 14-day returns apply to the launch monitor, and I would use the included credits before buying any more.

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