Launch Monitor Space Requirements for a Retractable Golf Simulator
In most rooms it is the launch monitor, not the screen, that decides whether a golf simulator will fit. Screens are flat and predictable. Launch monitors are not, because there are three completely different ways they see the ball: overhead on the ceiling, on the floor beside the ball, or on the floor several feet behind the golfer. An overhead unit can cost you ceiling height you do not have, and a behind the golfer unit can add eight or ten feet of room depth that a beside the ball unit never asks for.
Every figure below comes from the manufacturer: an installation manual, a support article, or their own space planning page. Where a manufacturer does not publish a number, the cell says to confirm with them. We would rather leave a cell open than send you into a wall.
The three placement types and what each does to your room
Overhead ceiling mount. Uneekor EYE XO and Trackman iO both bolt to the ceiling, looking down and forward at the ball. They are the most efficient units in floor area, because nothing sits behind you and nothing sits beside the mat. The trade is that they set a hard floor on ceiling height and claim a specific piece of ceiling. Uneekor asks 9 to 10 feet for the EYE XO. Trackman lists 9 ft 4 in minimum room height for the iO, with an ideal mount at 9 ft 8 in above the hitting surface. If your ceiling is 8 ft, these are out.
Beside the ball. SkyTrak, SkyTrak+, Foresight GCQuad, Foresight GC3, Bushnell Launch Pro and Uneekor EYE MINI all sit on the floor, level with the hitting surface, off to one side of the ball. They are friendliest to a short room. SkyTrak makes the point on its own planning page: the unit sits next to the ball rather than requiring up to 8 ft behind the hitting area. What they want is lateral room, both for the unit and to walk around it, and left handed and right handed players usually move it.
Behind the golfer. FlightScope Mevo+, Garmin Approach R10 and the Full Swing KIT are radar units that sit on the floor behind the tee and read the ball going away from them. Cheapest to buy, most expensive in room depth. FlightScope puts the Mevo+ 7 to 9 feet behind the tee and wants 8 feet of ball flight in front. Garmin puts the R10 6 to 8 feet behind the tee and asks that the tee be at least 8 feet from the net. Full Swing asks 8 to 10 feet behind the ball indoors plus 8 to 10 feet of ball flight. A radar setup can want 16 to 20 feet of depth before you have anywhere to stand.
Launch monitor space requirements
| Device | Placement type | Ball to device distance | Ceiling height needed | Side clearance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyTrak | Beside the ball | Confirm with manufacturer. | 8 ft minimum in the smallest studio, 9 to 10 ft ideal | At least 1 ft each side of the enclosure | SkyTrak states the unit sits next to the ball, not behind the hitting area. Smallest studio depth minimum 15 ft. |
| SkyTrak+ | Beside the ball | Confirm with manufacturer. Ball sits within 2 to 3 in of the projected dot. | 8 ft minimum in the smallest studio, 9 to 10 ft ideal | At least 1 ft each side of the enclosure | Set parallel to the target line, level with the hitting surface. |
| Uneekor EYE XO | Overhead ceiling mount | 3 ft 6 in from the sensor front center to the tee position | 9 to 10 ft | Confirm with manufacturer. | Uneekor states that missing the mounting position causes accuracy issues. Most likely unit to argue with a retractable housing. |
| Uneekor EYE MINI | Beside the ball | Confirm with manufacturer. | 10 ft in Uneekor's recommended space | Recommended space is 13 ft wide | Uneekor lists a recommended space 10 ft deep by 13 ft wide by 10 ft high. Sits level with the hitting surface. |
| Foresight GCQuad | Beside the ball | About 22 in from the front of the device to the hitting zone center | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Hitting zone about 14 by 14 in with club tracking on, 18 by 14 in with it off. Raise the unit to mat level. |
| Foresight GC3 | Beside the ball | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | We could not verify a Foresight room specification for the GC3. Ask Foresight before committing to a tight room. |
| Bushnell Launch Pro | Beside the ball | About 2 ft from the hitting area | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Set upright, raised to the level of the hitting surface. Alignment adjusts up to 10 degrees. |
| FlightScope Mevo+ | Behind the golfer | 7 to 9 ft behind the tee, 8 ft nominal. 5 ft putting. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | FlightScope also asks a minimum of 8 ft of ball flight in front of the tee. |
| Garmin Approach R10 | Behind the golfer | 6 to 8 ft behind the tee location | No figure given, only to ensure adequate height. Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Garmin requires the tee at least 8 ft from the net indoors, and reads a 2 by 2 ft hitting area 6 ft from the unit. |
| Full Swing KIT | Behind the golfer | 8 to 10 ft behind the ball indoors, 10 ft outdoors | Confirm with manufacturer. | Confirm with manufacturer. | Full Swing also asks 8 to 10 ft of ball flight to the screen, so plan roughly 16 to 20 ft of depth. |
| Trackman iO | Overhead ceiling mount | Mount height published, horizontal offset not. Confirm with manufacturer. | 9 ft 4 in minimum room height, 9 ft 8 in ideal mount above the hitting surface | Hitting surface at least 6 ft deep by 5 ft wide. Trackman suggests 15 ft or more of width. | Tee to screen minimum 8 ft 2 in, 10 ft recommended. Calibration heights run 8 ft 10 in to 10 ft 6 in. |
For Trackman 4 instead, Trackman lists roughly 10 ft of ceiling, 15 ft of width and 18 ft or more from screen to unit, since the 4 sits behind the golfer.
The question only retractable buyers have to ask
Most sizing pages are written by people selling fixed enclosures, so they never cover this. With a fixed enclosure the ceiling above your hitting area is empty and an overhead monitor goes wherever the manufacturer says.
A retractable screen changes that. The screen has to live somewhere when it is up, and that somewhere is a housing near the ceiling. Our main housing is 7 in by 7 in, each of the two motorized side screen housings is 4 in by 4 in, and the brackets are 3 in by 5 in. So a strip of ceiling or upper wall about 7 in deep is spoken for across the opening, plus a 4 in run for each side screen. On a Fairway 12 the main assembly is 148 1/16 in outside bracket to outside bracket and the side screens run 100 1/2 in from the wall. Screens run to 11 ft high by default.
An overhead monitor also wants a specific piece of ceiling. The EYE XO mounts 3 ft 6 in in front of the tee, which in most rooms puts it between the golfer and the screen. The iO wants about 9 ft 8 in above the hitting surface. Neither is negotiable, and neither is our housing position, because the housing sits where the screen has to drop.
Checking for a conflict is not complicated. Draw your room in plan and in section, and mark the wall the screen drops from. Measure out 7 in from that wall for the main housing, and note the side screen runs, 100 1/2 in from the wall on a Fairway 12, each a 4 in wide strip. Now mark your tee position and measure forward to where your overhead monitor mounts. If that mount point falls inside the housing footprint, one of the two has to move, and it will not be the housing. Usually the fix is shifting the tee back a few inches. You want to know that before the brackets go in.
The second check is vertical. The housing hangs below the finished ceiling, so if your ceiling is 9 ft 6 in and the housing takes 7 in, the clear height under it is not 9 ft 6 in. An overhead monitor mounted flush to the ceiling behind that housing still has to see the ball, and the housing is now a soffit in its line of sight. Plan the housing position and the monitor position together, on paper, before ordering either one.
Beside the ball and behind the golfer units do not have this problem. With a SkyTrak+, GCQuad, Launch Pro, Mevo+ or R10, the housing and the monitor never compete, and you are only checking whether the room is deep enough.
How to measure for your specific monitor
- Find your monitor's placement type above. That tells you which measurement binds.
- Measure floor to finished ceiling at the hitting position, not at the wall. Joists, ductwork, lights and garage door tracks count against you.
- Measure from the screen wall back to your intended tee position. Compare it to the tee to screen minimum for your monitor.
- If your monitor sits behind the golfer, add its behind the tee distance, then add at least 3 ft so you are not against a wall.
- If your monitor mounts overhead, mark its exact mount point on the ceiling with tape first.
- Measure the opening width the screen must cover. A Fairway 12 needs 148 1/16 in outside bracket to outside bracket.
- Confirm the brackets can hit studs or joists where you need them. Brackets must land on framing or rated heavy duty toggles, never drywall alone, and are not included.
- Confirm you have a 110V outlet within reach of the housing.
- Anything you could not verify from a manufacturer document, call and ask. Then write the number down.
Questions we get
Can I run an overhead launch monitor with a retractable screen?
Yes, and plenty of people do. You just have to plan the two together. Our main housing is 7 in by 7 in and the side housings are 4 in by 4 in, so a defined strip of ceiling near the screen wall is occupied. Mark your monitor's mount point and the housing footprint on the same drawing. If they overlap, shift the tee, because the housing cannot move.
Which launch monitors need the least room?
Overhead units use the least floor area but demand ceiling height. Uneekor asks 9 to 10 ft for the EYE XO and Trackman lists 9 ft 4 in minimum for the iO. Beside the ball units like SkyTrak and the Foresight cameras are the best compromise for a short room with a low ceiling. Radar units behind the golfer need the most depth.
Why do some cells in your table say confirm with manufacturer?
Because the manufacturer does not publish that figure, or we could not verify it in a manufacturer document. We are not going to guess at a clearance number. A made up ceiling figure is how someone puts a driver through a light fixture. Call the manufacturer, get the number from them, and plan around what they tell you.
Do I need more ceiling height for a retractable screen than a fixed one?
Not for the screen itself. Our screens run to 11 ft high by default and the housing is 7 in. What changes is that the housing occupies ceiling space a fixed frame would not, and that matters only if you are also mounting a monitor up there. With a beside the ball or behind the golfer monitor, your ceiling requirement is set by your swing, not by us.
Do you sell launch monitors, or install them?
No to both. We make motorized retractable golf simulator screens and that is all we do. We do not sell launch monitors, projectors, mats or turf, and we do not install. We will tell you honestly whether our housing conflicts with the monitor you already own or are about to buy, and we will tell you if we think the answer is no.
What is actually included with a Home Fairway system?
A motorized rear 3 ply impact screen, two motorized 8 ft side screens, and an RF remote. Fairway 8 is $2,399, 10 is $2,649, 12 is $2,899 and 14 is $3,149. Brackets are not included. Freight is free to the lower 48 only. The Fairway 12 ships in 5 to 10 business days. The 8, 10, 14 and Impact Padding are made to order at 8 to 10 weeks and final sale. Screens carry a 2 year limited warranty, not transferable.
If you are not sure
Send us your room dimensions and the launch monitor you plan to use and we will tell you whether it works. If it does not, we will say so. Call 817-458-8556 or email admin@summitvantagellc.com.
Related: sizing guide, golf simulator ceiling height, retractable golf simulator screens.