👀 The Three-Putt: 3 Golf Picks You Can't Miss

📰 Must-Read: Winners and losers from the 2025 Players Championship—Golf.com breaks it all down. But it got us thinking… should The Players become men’s golf’s 5th major? Drop your take in the comments.

⛳ Must-Try: Thinking about building a sim shed? Carl’s Place just dropped golf simulator shed floor plans designed to fit their enclosures. Time to upgrade your setup. Check it out. 

👀 Must-See: Mark your calendars—Happy Gilmore 2 is out July 25. Check out the trailer.

🔥 Want to Win a SwingNet Pro?

Rain or Shine is turning up the heat this March! 🔥 Submit your March Madness bracket before 12 PM ET TODAY, and if your picks go the distance, you could win a SwingNet Pro hitting net!

⛳ Hey, Google, it’s golf time: Breaking Down an Epic Garage Sim Setup

When Matt set out to build his golf simulator, he wasn’t just looking for a place to practice—he wanted a fully integrated, space-saving, and smart home-compatible setup that worked seamlessly in his garage. With a mix of ingenuity, home automation, and DIY problem-solving, he pulled off a build that’s both functional and high-tech.

We sat down with Matt to get the full breakdown—from budget spreadsheets to projection calculators and floor plan tools. This interview is packed with insights and resources, so buckle up!

What inspired you to install a golf simulator, and why did you choose your specific location (garage, basement, spare room, etc.)?

My town doesn’t have any golf courses—both of the ones nearby closed during COVID. I wanted to play more often, but traveling to either of the two remaining courses—one with only a driving range and no putting green, and the other with a putting green but no driving range—wasn’t ideal.

When I heard about the Square launch monitor and its capabilities for the price, I was compelled to try it out. I chose my garage because it was the only space that could fit a golf simulator. We don’t have a spare room in our house, and the Square LM is an indoor-only launch monitor, so the garage was my only option.

Walk us through your decision-making process—what factors influenced your choices for the enclosure, launch monitor, software, and other components?

The build had several moving parts—each decision impacted the others. Since I use my garage for projects, hobbies, and parking, I knew I needed a retractable setup. After testing different layouts, I settled on a back-right placement with the golfer positioned under the garage door motor. To visualize my setup, I used virtual-graph-paper.com (found on r/golfsimulator) to map everything to scale before finalizing placements.

Screen & Enclosure: I combined a hockey screen roller from The SportScreen with a premium impact screen from Spectrum Golf—a DIY solution that saved money while integrating with smart home assistants.

Projector Placement: With 9’2” ceilings and The SportScreen mounted 8” below, I had 8’6” of vertical space. Using ProjectorCentral’s calculator, I determined the projector needed to be 15–18 feet away. Since the garage door blocked a centered mount, I tested placement with a king-sized bedsheet (approved by my wife, of course) and ultimately mounted the projector as close to the back wall and garage tracks as possible.

Retractable Side Enclosures: Traditional roller screens were too pricey, so I repurposed a bendable curtain I-rail from a previous home office setup. It tucks away when not in use.

Ceiling Protection: My garage has fire-code sprinkler heads, meaning I couldn't use thick padding or nets. My fix? Thin OSB + sound-deadening carpet padding (¾” thick) with a sprinkler cage.

Launch Monitor & Software: The Square LM was a no-brainer—feature-packed and budget-friendly. I run GSPro and Awesome Golf, which complement each other and offer different strengths.

What was the most difficult part of setting up your sim, and how did you solve it?

Definitely figuring out how to stream my gaming PC (located in my office) to the garage setup.

A long HDMI cable and USB hub could have worked, but I wanted a more elegant solution. As a software engineer and tinkerer, I had a Raspberry Pi 3B+ lying around and thought, why not use it to handle the streaming?

I used Sunshine (a free streaming host) and Moonlight (a streaming client) to make it happen. However, since my Raspberry Pi was outdated, I had to do a ton of troubleshooting to get it running smoothly. If I were to do it again, I’d just buy a Raspberry Pi 4 or a small desktop PC to save myself hours of frustration.

I also automated the entire startup process using smart plugs, Google Assistant, and a few scripts. Now, when I say “Hey Google, it’s golf time”, everything powers on automatically.

Where did you spend the most money in your setup, and was it worth it?

My launch monitor was the most expensive item, followed closely by the roller bar + impact screen. But the Square LM was absolutely worth it—it’s affordable, highly accurate, and handles chipping and putting better than much pricier options.

I tracked every penny of my build. Here’s my full cost breakdown spreadsheet, including links to the products I used.

For those on a budget, where should you invest the most?

Your hitting surface. Too many people use cheap $50 Amazon mats or thin fake grass carpet, but you can build a great hitting surface for $200.

My DIY hitting mat setup:

• $55 for a 95lb vulcanized rubber 4x6ft mat

• Some caulk + scrap putting turf

• A replaceable hitting strip from Gungho or similar

This approach saves money long-term since you only replace the hitting strip instead of an entire $700+ mat

If money was no object, what’s the first thing you’d upgrade?

I’d upgrade my Raspberry Pi setup to a real gaming PC and get a 4K projector.

What’s your favorite part of your setup?

The automation, hands down. Being able to say “Hey Google, it’s golf time” and watch everything power up, roll down, and sync automatically is just so satisfying. It also maximizes my practice time, making it easy to hop in for quick sessions.

Thank you, Matt for giving us an inside look at your sim setup! You can learn more about Matt’s setup on r/golfsimulator! 

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27% Off Golf Net with Practice Mat (was $88.99, now $64.99)

20% Off Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor (was $299.99, now $239.00)

🏌️TGL Recap 

It’s been a playoffs full of upsets, and now it all comes down to this: New York Golf Club vs. Atlanta Drive GC for the first-ever SoFi Cup. Next week, they’ll battle in a best-of-three series to crown the inaugural TGL champ.

It’s like a sim March Madness, and the road to the finals has been nothing short of electric. Let’s break it down:

New York vs. LA (6-4)

New York just pulled off their biggest win of the season at the perfect time, knocking off top-seeded Los Angeles 6-4. After starting the season 0-2, NYGC caught fire, going 3-0-1 in their last four matches. The win was sealed when Tommy Fleetwood’s birdie putt lipped out on No. 14, sending LAGC home in heartbreaking fashion.

Best Shot: Rickie Fowler’s 16-foot eagle putt on No. 9 gave NYGC the edge they needed. Watch it here.

Best Hot Mic Moment: Xander Schauffele: “I’m better at simulator golf.” Same, Xander. Same.

Most Devastating Moment: Fleetwood’s lip-out on 14. Tough scene.

Atlanta vs. The Bay (9-3)

Atlanta dominated The Bay, 9-3, to punch their ticket to the Final Series. Patrick Cantlay sealed the deal with a clutch birdie putt on No. 12, right after The Bay threw the Hammer. Now, Atlanta faces a surging New York squad for TGL’s first-ever championship.

Best Shot: Cantlay’s approach on No. 12 was 🔥, and then he drained the putt to clinch the match. Hats off. Watch here. 

Best Hot Mic Moment: Justin Thomas heckling the opposing team after barely keeping his ball in play: “Good things happen to good people, Shane.” (0:37)

Most Devastating Moment: Min Woo had a rough night on the greens—missed a short putt on 2, lipped out on 3. Brutal.

This is how powerful I think my sim shots are…

carlsplacediygolf

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