Golf Simulator Shed: A Man's Place to Hide

Work on your golf swing. Take a moment to yourself. Create your backyard man cave. All of this is possible with a golf simulator shed. Here's how to do it.

If you’ve run out of room in your house or just need a private space to hide … I mean, improve that swing of yours, a golf simulator shed might be the perfect solution for you.

Setting up a golf simulator man cave can be a pretty simple and cost-effective project, especially if you already have a shed on your property. 

If you don’t have a shed, there will be some extra cost as you will have to buy or construct the structure, and some more aspects to consider. But that’s why we are here - to help you check off all the boxes you need to set up that ultimate golf simulator shed.

• A Convincing Argument
• Permits & Legal Stuff
• Power & Internet
• Heat
• Enough Space
• Golf Simulator Equipment
• A Shed

REASONS TO HAVE A GOLF SIMULATOR SHED

You more than likely need to convince someone that it's OK to start this project. We've got some great convincing arguments on why you need a home golf simulator shed.

• “We’ve got room in the backyard.”

Some people have the luxury of extra space inside their homes. Tall ceilings, and wide and deep rooms that fit a hitting bay make for easy golf studio setups. Others run out of space as soon as they move in, or the house is built with 8-foot ceilings and just overall not very spacious rooms.

Ah, but the backyard! You were needing a new project and won't it be rewarding once the golf simulator shed project is finished?

• “This gives me a great incentive to clean out the shed.”

So you like to hang on to nostalgic memorabilia that should have been thrown away years ago. We know, it’s hard to just let go of those youth soccer trophies from your childhood. If you already have a shed on your property, it might be time to get rid of the useless junk and fill that space with a much more useful golf simulator.

• “All the noise of hitting golf balls won’t wake up the kids.”

Plus, having your indoor golf setup in a fully separate building on your property will help convince your spouse that a golf simulator is a good investment: it keeps the ball-striking noise out of the house, as well as the obnoxiously loud, heckling friend on a Friday night. 

• “You can have more room for your crap…I mean knickknacks. All my sports memorabilia, trophies, and collectibles can be in my own man cave.”

Knowing that your new shed space will be your own personal indoor golf setup, you could deck it out and make it into the ultimate man cave (or woman den). 

• “Sometimes, on occasion, maybe, I’ll give you a temporary access code and we can have a family movie night.”

It could also work out to be a pretty neat dual-purpose room. Along with a golf sim, it could be a movie theater, workout area, or child play area. Take a break from the kid chaos and kick the kids out of the house to the shed, or keep your stinky workout sweat in a whole separate building.

GOLF SIMULATOR SHED SIZE

Golf simulator sheds come in many shapes and sizes, from super small with barely enough room for one person to swing, to large and luxurious sheds. A 12-by-20 foot shed size would certainly accommodate a usable personal golf simulator. If you want to host multiplayer events (particularly with both left- and right-handed players), you'll need a shed size closer to 16 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 10 feet tall over the hitting area.

Our ideal size for any golf simulator setup, whether it’s in a shed or in someone’s home:

• Height: 10 feet. Shorter golfers or ones with flatter swings might be able to get away with less, but to comfortably swing a driver without having the thought of hitting the ceiling in the back of your head, 10 feet is a great starting point. 
• Width: 8 feet. This is just for a single person golfing with an off-center hitting position. If you’d like a central hitting position where lefties and righties can play from, we’d suggest giving you and your golfer friends 14 feet.
• Depth: 18 feet. More is better. We recommend 1 foot behind the screen to the wall, plus 10 feet between screen and hitting area, and then 7 feet for a comfortable backswing. Many golfers could get away with 5 feet for a backswing, but take a few swings in the space you intend for your golf simulator. You don't want to continuously be nervous that your swing will hit something behind you. And if you want any space for people to join you in there, we’d suggest several more feet for a seating area.

Also, when thinking about most sheds, the roof/ceiling tends to start lower on the sides and peak in the middle. Be sure to take into account the lower ceiling height on the sides as it might affect your swing. The wider the shed, the less incline the ceiling might have and lesser impact it would have on your swing.

Overall, the larger the area, the easier it will be to swing in. If you’re close to hitting your wall or ceiling when you swing, you might subconsciously change your swing to fit your room, which could hurt your game. Think about when you’re on the course and have a tree branch in your backswing and how much that messes with your ability to hit a good shot.

Want to see if you can fit a golf simulator in your space? Try out our build your golf simulator tool to size a golf simulator to your exact specifications.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR A GOLF SIMULATOR SHED

After turning your shed into a golf simulator, you’ll look back on the project and think, “Yeah, that was easier than I thought it would be.” However, before starting the project, let's make sure you’re considering all aspects of what the project might take. 

ORDINANCES

An often overlooked aspect is your municipality’s ordinances. Some people think you can just build whatever you want on your property; after all, it is your property. 

But, in most areas, that’s just not the case. According to ordinances in our home city of Milton, Wis., you need a permit to build a shed on your property. In Janesville, a larger city just 10 minutes away from Milton, you do not need a permit to build a shed that is 80 square feet or less, but zoning setbacks still apply.

All this being said, ordinances and permits vary from city to city, state to state. We suggest searching for your municipality’s ordinances online, or just contact your local government to make sure you continue to be a great, law-abiding citizen. 

POWER AND INTERNET

If there is one thing a golf simulator setup involves a lot of, it’s power. From the lighting and the projector, to the computer and the heater, many different aspects might need power. And most sheds likely don’t come with power ready to use.

If you have a shed that already has power, lucky you. Just know that a golf simulator setup will use a lot of sockets, and we would recommend not daisychaining powerstrips as that might turn your golf simulator shed into a bonfire. 

Just some pieces of your golf simulator setup that might need power include:

• Lighting

• Projector

• Launch Monitor (whether it’s constantly plugged in like overhead launch monitors or the Uneekor EYE MINI Lite, or needing a charge like Foresight GC3 or GCQuad, Uneekor EYE MINI, Mevo+, SkyTrak+, Rapsodo MLM2PRO or Garmin R10)

• Computer

• Monitor/TV

• Heater

Electricity is nothing to mess around with, though. If you do not currently have power in your shed, or are in the process of adding a shed that will need power, we suggest you talk to an expert electrician to help. You will want to make sure all electrical cables are run properly to avoid any unfortunate circumstances in the future.

While we’re on the topic of cabling, it would likely be a great idea to have a hard-wired internet option in your shed. WiFi typically isn’t strong enough to reach a backyard location unless you have a booster, but a hardwire connection is still the most reliable. 

HEATING

Just like improper electrical installation can be dangerous, so can heating your storage shed in the winter. 

We’ve spoken with a few experts on how to safely heat a garage. The same ideas should apply to a shed.

Keep in mind that if you already have a shed, or plan to build one, insulation in the walls and ceiling can decrease the overall internal dimensions of the shed, depending on where the insulation is placed.

LAUNCH MONITORS FOR GOLF SIMULATOR SHED

Typically, sheds will be tighter on space, which makes the SkyTrak+, Uneekor EYE MINI or Foresight Sports GC3 a great option as it sits just about a foot away from where you will be hitting the ball from. However, if you plan to have righties and lefties play in your golf simulator shed, you will have to move these back and forth to accommodate both hands. 

That leads us to our other floor-mounted launch monitor options: FlightScope Mevo+, Rapsodo MLM2PRO and Garmin Approach R10.

All of these sit between 6-8 feet behind the hitting area, which might stretch your ideal depth from 18 feet to around 20 feet. Because these sit centered behind the hitting area, they work well to accommodate both lefties and righties.

The biggest reason for the increase in depth is because of the FlightScope Mevo+ Launch Monitor, which should be placed about 8 feet behind the hitting area, which will cause you to need a longer shed (more like 19-20 feet ideally). Despite the extra room needed, they work well with hosting both righties and lefties because of their central position behind the hitting area.

Sheds with peaking ceilings make it difficult to mount any electronics, such as a projector or a launch monitor. However, if you have a large enough shed, you could mount an overhead launch monitor to a Carl’s Place Pro Enclosure.  

Why is that, you ask? Well, you can safely mount electronics to the 2-inch EMT frame. 

GOLF SIMULATOR SHED COSTS

We might be experts in the golf simulator world, but not as much in the backyard shed universe. However, we did some research and noticed many big box stores have 12-by-20 foot sheds available. While these would not be great for hosting opposite-handed people, they can certainly work well for a smaller golf simulator setup.

Otherwise, you might have to look into constructing your own shed, or adding on to the small one you currently have on your property.  

From our friends at Home Depot - "Most homeowners spend about $4,500 on average when installing a shed on their property. This figure includes materials, labor and full installation costs." See their shed pricing tool. 

Let's talk golf simulator costs. Building a top-notch golf simulator in your shed involves various factors like technology, screen quality, and accessories. Costs for a golf simulator setup can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands. For an in-depth look at these expenses, check out our detailed article on golf simulator costs. It offers insights into what to expect when creating your indoor golf paradise.

HOW TO GET STARTED BUILDING A GOLF SIMULATOR SHED

We've got some popular golf simulator packages that might help inspire your golf simulator shed. Or build your own golf simulator package by custom-sizing your enclosure and screen and choosing all the components you need. Our Build Your Own Golf Simulator tool makes it easy to customize a golf simulator for your backyard shed. 

If you’re still considering where to put your golf simulator, check out our reads on putting a golf simulator in your garage, or in a shipping container. Wherever you decide to put a golf simulator, we can customize your build down to the inch.