Welcome back to my DIY garage simulator build!

In Part 1, I measured my space and laid out the master plan, dealing with my 10-foot width constraint. In Part 2, I agonized over the “brains” of the operation and landed on the Square Golf launch monitor as the perfect blend of performance and value.

Now, it’s time to build the “home” for it all: the enclosure. This post will cover everything from the frame and screen to the safety padding and floor.

Choosing the impact screen

Before I could build the frame, I had to know exactly what I was stretching inside it. The screen’s dimensions and mounting system dictate the entire frame build.

After a lot of research, I landed on the Poly Spacer Impact Screen. I ordered the (8.5’ x 8.5’) model.

This screen hit all my key requirements. The “Poly Spacer” material is a premium, 2-layer screen with an internal nylon cushion. Everything I read said this material is a perfect trifecta of:

  1. Durability: It’s designed to take thousands of real ball impacts.
  2. Low Noise: This was a huge one for a garage build. The cushioned layers make the impact a dull, satisfying “thud” instead of a loud “CRACK.”
  3. Low Bounce-Back: The material is made to absorb energy, so the ball just drops to the floor instead of firing back at me.

The biggest selling point for this DIY build, though, was the finish. It comes with a heavy-duty 3-inch black vinyl border with metal grommets already installed every 12 inches. This meant I wouldn’t have to do any sewing or complex finishing. It was built to be hung on a frame.

Building the frame

Just like with the launch monitor, my goals for the enclosure were:

  1. Cost-effective: No way was I spending thousands on a pre-built frame.
  2. Sturdy: It has to withstand thousands of ball impacts.
  3. DIY-friendly: I needed to be able to build it myself with basic tools.

I settled on the most popular and proven method: building the frame from 1” metal conduit (EMT). It’s cheap, rigid, and available at any big-box hardware store.

Materials

  • 1” EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing) Conduit: 9 10-foot lengths.
  • Metal Fittings: This is the secret sauce that makes the project so easy. Instead of trying to weld or bend pipe, I bought 6 3-way fittings and 2 2-way fittings. These are heavy-duty, galvanized steel, and have welded connections. The conduit just slides in and is secured with included eyebolts.
  • Spray Paint: For a clean, professional finish i picked the Krylon paint and primer even though nothing would really be visible from the pipe.

Pipes

Dimensions

The most important step was getting the dimensions right. The rule of thumb for a grommet screen is to add about 3 inches on each side for tensioning. I also settled on 5’ depth. The duct canvas (more on it later) that I was going to use for the sides comes in 5’ width so I could just cut the 10’ EMT pipes in half - it was a no brainer.

  • My Screen Size: 102” x 102”
  • My Frame Size: (102” + 3”) x (102” + 3”) = 105” x 105” x 60”

Assembly and finishing

  1. Paint It Black: Before final assembly, I gave all the cut conduit and fittings a good couple of coats of the black spray paint. This is purely aesthetic, and it really doesn’t make any difference since the pipe would be covered.
  2. Lay It Out: Once dry, I laid all my painted pipes and corner fittings on the garage floor in their final shape.
  3. Assemble: I slotted the conduit pipes into the 3-way and 2-way corner fittings one by one and tightened the eyebolts.
  4. Stand It Up: I stood the frame up in its final position. The result was a solid, professional-looking black frame, built for a fraction of the cost of a pre-made kit.

Pipes painted

Corner

Enclosure

Hanging the screen

This is where the planning paid off. That gap on all four sides was the perfect amount of space needed for tensioning.

The installation was incredibly simple:

  1. Get Bungees: I bought a box of these cheap bungee balls from Amazon.
  2. Start at the Corners: I attached the four corners of the screen to the four corners of the frame first. This got the screen hanging in place.
  3. Work Your Way Around: I then worked my way from the corners to the middle, one bungee at a time. I looped a bungee through every single grommet and wrapped it around the 1” conduit pipe.

The goal is to create even tension all the way around, just like a small trampoline. You want it tight enough to get a flat, wrinkle-free surface for the projector, but with just enough “give” to absorb the ball’s impact safely.

bungees

screen

The foundation (a stroke of luck)

The enclosure was now framed but it was still standing on a cold, hard, concrete garage floor. I was budgeting for some kind of flooring, whether it was foam tiles or a large piece of turf, and it wasn’t going to be cheap but a friend of mine had a giant roll of high-quality artificial turf left over from a landscaping project. He mentioned it was just sitting around, and the best part? It was already cut to a size that was a perfect fit for my simulator bay.

The installation was, without a doubt, the easiest part of the entire build.

I just… put it down.

I unrolled it, flattened it out, and that was it. Instantly, the space was transformed. The turf deadens the sound of dropped balls, looks incredibly professional, and just feels right under your feet.

(To be clear, this isn’t my hitting mat—you’d destroy your wrists hitting off a thin piece of turf on concrete. This is the stance/flooring turf that covers the whole area. The actual hitting mat will sit on top of this.)

The result

Stepping back and seeing the screen up for the first time was a huge “wow” moment. It transformed from a pile of black pipes into an actual simulator. Hitting a few gentle test shots confirmed my choice—the sound was a dull, solid ‘thwack,’ and the ball just dropped straight down.

Enclosure

What’s Next?

In Part 4, I’ll walk you through some serious challenges in getting the protection layer right on all the sides.