Make Your Own In-Home Golf Hitting Bay
It’s every golfer’s dream to have a hitting bay in their home to play the sport they love at any time. A lot of people, though, think it’s too expensive and requires more space than they have. In reality, you can create a really great in-home hitting bay for a reasonable price and you might already have more room than you think.
First, it’s important to know that hitting bays don’t have to be permanent. The one I have in my home can be set up and taken down in a couple minutes. It doesn’t consume a room at all times or force us to give up using space completely. Instead, mine is located in my garage and neatly folds away, allowing us to park our cars in there with no problems.
You’ve probably looked into making a place to hit some golf balls in your house before. I hear it all the time from people; they want to set something up, but don’t know where to start. That’s why I thought it’d be helpful to put together a guide to creating your own golf hitting bay, so you can practice the game you love from the comfort of your home.
I’m going to divide this project into a couple categories. First, the things you absolutely need; the essentials. Then, the things that would make it a little more sophisticated; the optional gear. Finally, I’ll give you some upgrades.
The Essentials
1. Space
The first thing you need is a room. That’s obvious. But not just any room will work. It has to be a room big enough to swing in. Growing up, my dad set up a hitting net for baseball in our basement storage room. When I started to get more into golf in high school, it was converted into a golf hitting bay as well, but the ceiling wasn’t nearly high enough for a golf swing. I didn’t use it much, but when I did, it was pretty much only for hitting chips, pitches, and other low finishing shots.
All that to say, you’re going to want to make sure you have a room with the proper clearance on all sides. This is the single biggest requirement before moving forward with the project. Something to keep in mind is who will be using it. If it’s just you (and other golfers who swing from the same side of the ball), then you can get away with less room than if you plan on having both left and right-handed golfers in the space.
I hear it asked all the time, “How much space do I need for a golf hitting bay?”
The answer is that you’ll need at least 10’ wide x 9’ high x 7’ deep. Now, remember, when picking out a space, it doesn’t necessarily have to be somewhere that is permanent. Also, this is the absolute minimum space required (in my opinion) and may vary depending on the size of the person swinging and equipment used.
2. Turf
Once you have the space picked out, it’s time for the gear. The first item you’re going to need is a mat, or piece of fake turf where you’ll hit the ball. There are a couple options, between a piece that’s just big enough for the ball and one that you’d both hit from and stand on. I have a mat that is 4’ x 5’ and works great because it responds similar to real grass (or as close as fake indoor turf can) and sets my feet on the same level as the ball.
If you choose to go with a piece of turf that is smaller, just for the ball, one thing you’ll notice is that you’re never on an even lie with the ball because it’ll be set up higher than your feet. It can work, but it’s not ideal. Also, if you just have a piece of turf for the ball, you’ll want a way to secure it to the ground. Otherwise, you’ll be chasing and readjusting the turf after every shot.
3. Net
The final requirement you’ll need is a net or something to stop the ball from flying through a wall in your house. I’ll first talk about a net because it’s the most basic of items that can accomplish the goal, but below in the “optional” section, we’ll talk about another item that you might use.
I use an archery net, meant for stopping arrows. It works great for me and I’ve never had an issue with it breaking or not stopping the ball. The net I have is 10’ x 10’, which is enough, but also not ideal. The edges of the net start to curl in over time and the actual area that you can hit into shrinks a bit. Again, though, I’ve never had an issue with missing the net. If you get the same size net, you may want to think of a way to pull the sides of the net out to keep it the size it’s meant to be. It also wouldn’t hurt to have a bit bigger net.
In order to keep the net secure, I put sandbags at the corners. This keeps it in place, so that I don’t have to keep readjusting it after each hit. If I’m lazy and decide to not set it up all the way, I have used it plenty of times without the sandbags. It just forces me to put the net back in place after each shot.
Optional Gear
1. Launch Monitor
The first piece of “optional” gear I’d recommend checking out is a launch monitor. This will allow you to have some sort of feedback and data on your shot. If you went with a smaller distance between where you hit and the net, it will make it more difficult for a launch monitor to capture the shot data.
One of the best launch monitors out there, that’d I’d recommend checking out is the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor. It’s got a “net mode” that requires you set the device up 6 feet behind where you’re hitting and the net 8 feet in front. Again, this will require a bit more space to get the best experience. It’ll give you your distance, ball speed, club speed, and several other useful data points.
Another good launch monitor to check out is the FlightScope Mevo, which can handle indoor practicing as well. Since it’s radar-based, you need to make sure you have enough space behind and in front of the ball for it to track. If you don’t have enough space, like me, be sure to find a camera-based launch monitor.
Upgrades
1. Screen
The first possible upgrade you can make is a screen instead of a net. If you’ve ever played on a golf simulator, that’s where this is headed. You could remove the net and replace it with a screen where an image of a golf course could be projected.
If you decide to go with a golf simulator instead of just a hitting bay, your room size requirements go up a bit, specifically with the depth. The depth of the room is important for the equipment to accurately measure the ball speed, spin, and other factors in order to predict the ball flight.
2. Simulator
As I mentioned, if you’re going with the full golf simulator model, you’ll need some sort of software and projector (or computer/tablet) to show the ball flight on the screen mentioned above. If you decide to keep the net, you can still use a laptop or tablet as the simulator.
Update: I’ve chosen to upgrade from a Rapsodo MLM, which is a launch monitor only, to a Bushnell Launch Pro, which is a camera-based launch monitor that doesn’t require much space to work. It uses high speed cameras to view the ball and club at impact. It also has the option through Foresight (Bushnell owns Foresight and uses the exact same hardware and software for their launch monitor and simulation software) are to simulate on their FSX software or upgrade to a second-party software, GSPro, which is what I primarily use to simulate.
Another good option for this is to check out SkyTrak, which offers a variety of options to get your golf simulator set up. Again, FlightScope is another company that offers a golf simulator package that are pre-made, good quality, and relatively easy to assemble.
Update: There’s a newer model that’s white and called the SkyTrak+, so you might want to check that one out.
What About Putting?
Now that we’ve covered the actual hitting bay, I wanted to throw in a little extra; a putting green. I’d guess that most golfers already have some sort of putting mat that they can roll out to hit some putts. If that just doesn’t scratch the itch, you might look into doing a bit more.
In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, a lot of folks took on some additional home projects when they were stuck at home. Mine was a putting green. Here’s what I made (and you can too!).
Basically, I made a frame, placed some plywood boards over it, cut out holes, and laid down a piece of turf. It took a little bit of time, but wasn’t super difficult. Total cost was just under $500.