Golf simulator garden rooms: height, size and planning

The height problem

Simulator suppliers say ceiling height is almost always the limiting factor. A driver swing needs about 2.8 m for most adults and 3 m to be comfortable. After the floor and roof build-up, a flat-roofed garden room built to the 3 m limit gives roughly 2.4 to 2.6 m inside. That's fine for putting and short irons, but you'll likely hit the ceiling with a driver.

Width and depth

• Width: 3 m minimum. 4 m or more lets left- and right-handed players use the same set-up.
• Depth: about 4 to 4.5 m for camera-based launch monitors, about 5 m for radar ones, measured from the screen to the back wall.

A 5 × 4 m room, drawn to scale:

Ways to get the height

1. A tiled or slated pitched roof. The 4 m limit applies, giving well over 3 m at the ridge. Position the hitting area under the highest point. See pitched or flat roof.
2. A thinner floor and roof build-up. A supplier may squeeze out a few centimetres, but it rarely gets a flat-roofed room to 2.8 m.
3. Apply for planning permission for a taller flat-roofed room. See applying for planning permission.

Height is measured from the ground next to the room. Digging the floor down below ground level is sometimes suggested; ask your council how it would treat it before relying on it.

Fit-out

• Impact screen and enclosure, with side netting to protect walls and glazing.
• Projector mounted on the ceiling, out of the swing path.
• Turf and hitting mat on a solid, level floor.
• Few windows on the screen wall, and blinds elsewhere, so the image stays bright.
• Power and data for the PC, projector and launch monitor. Plan a wired internet connection. See electrics.

What it costs

A pitched, tiled roof usually means a bespoke build at the higher end. The simulator kit is extra. Use the cost estimator for the room.