1Will it fit? Width, depth and the 2.7 m question

An R50 room needs at least 3.0 m of width, 4.2 m of length and a 2.7 m ceiling, and 3 m or more of ceiling is better for a full driver swing. Most UK single garages clear the length easily. The ceiling is the number to measure twice.

Length is where the R50 earns its keep. Garmin’s manual puts the unit about 0.5 m to the side of the tee, facing it, so nothing sits behind you. A radar unit such as the Garmin R10 or a Mevo needs roughly 2.4 m of clear space behind the ball, which is why radar rooms realistically start at around 4.6 to 5.2 m.

The five-minute test that settles it

Stand where the mat will go and make a few slow, full driver swings. If the club brushes nothing, you are fine. Measure the ceiling at the point where you stand, not at the highest point of a pitched roof. Between 2.5 and 2.7 m, treat the driver as a maybe and plan the room around irons and wedges.

2Which of the seven bay sizes suits your room

The R50 room package comes in seven SimSpace bay sizes. Only the bay changes; the R50, projector, mat and lead are the same in every size. Width decides most rooms, height decides whether the bay has a ceiling panel overhead, and depth is how far the bay reaches back from the screen.

The bay sits inside your room, so the room needs to be a little bigger than the bay in every direction. A bay that is too wide for the room is the mistake we see planned most often. Send us the width, depth and ceiling height and we’ll name the size that fits. See every size and its price.

3Projector, screen and sound: one lead, no PC

The R50 runs the simulator itself. Its 10-inch touchscreen plays Garmin’s Home Tee Hero, and one HDMI lead sends the picture, up to 1080p, to a projector on the big screen. You only need a Windows PC if you want third-party software such as GSPro, E6 Connect or Awesome Golf.

• Projector: the package uses the BenQ AH500ST short-throw laser in a steel floor case between the mat and the screen. It fills a 2.3 m wide screen from 2.04 m away, sits in front of you so you cast no shadow, and nothing is fixed to the ceiling.
• Screen: the SimSpace impact screen comes with the bay, tensioned on all four sides, and takes full shots.
• Sound: in-game sound travels down the HDMI lead. The AH500ST plays it through its built-in 10 W mono speaker. It has no HDMI ARC, so for proper speakers put an HDMI switch with audio extraction between the R50 and the projector.
• Wi-Fi: the R50 joins the 2.4 GHz network, not the “5G” one. A long way from the router? A mesh point in the room fixes it.
• Light and floor: keep shiny floors, mirrors and glass out of the R50’s view, and light the hitting area evenly rather than with one bare bulb overhead.

The full walk-through, from switching it on to the first shot, is in How do I set up a Garmin Approach® R50?

4What’s in the box: the seven-item Approach^® R50 room package

Seven items arrive, and together they make a working room on day one. Every size is the full package.

• Garmin Approach® R50Three-camera launch monitor with the simulator built in: 43,000+ courses, no PC
• SimSpace enclosurePush-connect frame with velour side and ceiling panels, in the size you pick
• SimSpace impact screenIncluded with the enclosure, tensioned on all four sides
• BenQ AH500ST projectorShort-throw laser, 4,000 lumens, in front of you so no shadow
• SimSpace floor projector caseSteel case with a turf top; nothing fixed to the room
• SimSpace Tee Turf mat, 1.5 × 1.5 mTakes a real wooden tee anywhere on the turf
• HDMI cable, 10 mThe one lead you need, R50 to projector

Garmin’s own box adds a carrying case, the power adapter and 250 club-tracking stickers. Course play in Home Tee Hero needs a Garmin Golf membership; practice mode and the driving range are free.

See the R50 room package · See the R50 on its own