How do you stop putts from rolling under a hanging golf simulator screen?

Fill the gap with foam gutter guard or a rolled carpet bolster. Gutter foam (the kind used for roof gutters) wedges into gaps under a hanging screen and has been reported to work well after a couple weeks of use. Alternatively, roll up scrap carpet or an old rug, tie or tape it, and lay it behind the screen at the base to block the gap. Either option is cheap and simple compared to custom-built transitions.

How do I stop golf balls from bouncing back under a simulator screen gap?

Use a foam ramp wedge sized to your gap, such as gutter guard foam triangles placed with the short side up to control height, for example a 6 inch gap needs the triangle standing on its 3.5 inch side to fit under the screen. Alternatively, roll sandbags into a blanket to form a dense bolster that deadens low shots with almost no bounce back, though it takes two people to build and move.

Which impact screen is quieter for a garage sim room under a bedroom?

The Indoor Golf Shop premium screen and enclosure has been reported as relatively quiet and durable even with a bedroom directly above the garage bay. Ball impact noise on that screen was noticeably quieter than driver swing noise through the floor, so screen choice alone will not fully solve noise if impact and swing sound both carry upward; soundproofing the ceiling or adding foam paneling helps address the rest.

How far back should you hit from the screen in a golf simulator enclosure?

About 9 to 11 feet back works well, roughly the length of a standard hitting strip. This gives plenty of clearance even when the impact screen frame or mounting supports sit a few feet in front of the hitting area, as with a Protee launch monitor mounted 3 feet ahead of the tee. Enclosure depth and hitting mat length are the main limiting factors.

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Buying guide · 7 min read

Best Impact Screen for Golf Simulators (2026)

An impact screen has two jobs: absorb thousands of full speed strikes without fraying, and look like a projection screen while it does it. The market is really three construction tiers sold under a lot of names, and the honest headline is that the gap between those tiers is smaller than the gap between a good hang and a bad one.

My Sim SetupUpdated Nov 3, 20263 products compared

Our pick for most home bays7.7x7.7 Foot Premium Impact Screen Finished With Black Vinyl Edges and Grommets$440 at Carl's PlaceBuy at Carl's Place

New to the hobby? The free DIY course explains every term in plain English and shows what each budget really buys.

Ranked on merit from named evidence: MyGolfSpy head to head testing, a published 400,000 shot durability test, documented owner reports at known ball speeds, and the screens members actually run in published builds here. No placement is paid, picks with no affiliate path still rank, and remnant or clearance stock never takes a ranked slot.

How this guide is ranked, honestly. Independent test data first, because there is very little of it in this category and the little that exists is decisive. Then documented owner longevity reports at known ball speeds. Then what members actually run in published builds on this site. Then construction class and sizing from retailer and manufacturer specs. We have not lab tested screens ourselves and we say so plainly. Affiliate economics never move a rank: the Amazon tier ranks with no affiliate path at all, and remnant stock is quarantined in the Deal watch box so clearance can never buy its way into a ranked slot. Nothing here carries a subscription, so our house tie breaker becomes total cost of ownership: the screen you hang once and keep for years beats the cheaper one you rebuy.

Plan the screen, the standoff and the tee distance in the 3D builder

The thing most guides miss

Installation beats material tier

This is the finding that should change what you buy. A properly hung mid tier screen outperforms an over tensioned premium one on both of the things that actually matter, safety and image life. Properly hung means about a 12 inch standoff from the wall behind it, bungee tension with several inches of give at every attachment point, a tee position 10 to 12 feet back from the screen, and clean balls, because range grit acts like sandpaper at ball speed. Over tensioning is the number one cause of dangerous bounce back: a drum tight screen has nowhere to put the energy, so it hands it back to the hitter, and it wears out early at the contact zone as a bonus. Leave the give in the bungees even though the screen looks better tight. The second point follows the same logic: in any garage or room with ambient light, going gray does more for perceived contrast than going up a tier, and on Carl's screens gray costs about $10 to $15. Spend on gray before you spend on tier.

The top: a genuine tie

A deliberate tie, not a numbering slip.

This is a real tie, and we want to be explicit about that rather than hedge. Both screens sit in the same construction class, a three layer poly spacer build, so neither one out builds the other in any way an owner can feel through the club. They win on different evidence: the SIGPRO is the only screen in the category with major independent test data behind it, and the Carl's is the only one you can order in nearly any size, including true custom, with gray for pocket change. Neither advantage beats the other in general. Which one wins depends entirely on your wall and your lighting, so we rank them 1a and 1b and hand you the two questions instead of faking a winner.

#1aThe tested one

SIGPRO Premium Impact Screen

about $700 for the 9 x 12; the gray version adds about $310

No catalog entry yet (sold by Shop Indoor Golf). It is ranked on evidence, not on whether we can sell it; this pick links up when the listing lands.

The only impact screen in this category with major independent test data behind it, and the data is not close: it won MyGolfSpy's head to head against the field and passed a published 400,000 shot durability test. Everything else in this guide, our own picks included, rests on owner reports and construction specs. If you want the screen a lab has already argued about, this is the one.

What backs it

MyGolfSpy head to head test win
published 400,000 shot durability test
manufacturer construction spec

The caveat

Gray costs about $310 more, which is most of the argument for the 1b in a lit room.
Sizes come off a fixed menu, so an odd wall stays your problem to solve.

#1bThe one that fits your wall

Carl's Place Premium Impact Screen

Carl's Place

$440at Carl's Place

The same three layer poly spacer construction class as the 1a, with the widest sizing in the business including true custom cuts, and gray for about $10 to $15 instead of about $310. On longevity we have an owner example rather than a lab: a documented Carl's Premium still in service past 5 years at 150 to 165 mph driver ball speeds, which is harder use than most bays will ever hand a screen.

What backs it

documented owner report (5 plus years at 150 to 165 mph driver ball speed)
retailer size and material specs

The caveat

No third party lab data of its own.
The longevity case here rests on owner reports, and we would rather say that plainly than dress it up as testing.

Where to buy

Carl's PlaceLowest price$440

Full details and every retailer

Then, in order

#2Best for a moderate use home bay

Carl's Place Preferred Impact Screen

about $399 for the 8 x 10.5

No catalog entry yet; it needs one before this guide publishes with it ranked.

The right answer for most home bays, and we mean that literally. If you and a friend play a few nights a week, the Preferred holds up for about 2 to 3 years and you will never miss the premium tier. Expect less than that if the bay sees daily driver sessions, which is exactly the use case where the tie at the top earns its money.

What backs it

owner reports
manufacturer tier guidance

The caveat

Daily high volume hitters should stretch to the 1a or 1b rather than rebuy this sooner.

#3Net first players and first screens

Carl's Place Standard Impact Screen

about $180

Fresh cut Standard has no catalog entry. The two Standard listings we do carry are remnants, and remnants live in Deal watch, never in a ranked slot.

The honest budget tier, and the right buy for a net first player who wants a picture without rebuilding the bay: about $180, an image that is genuinely grainy and that we are not going to pretend otherwise about, and roughly 3 to 6 months of life under heavy use. As a first screen while you work out what you actually want, it is a reasonable purchase.

What backs it

owner reports
manufacturer tier guidance

The caveat

Plan for replacement rather than repair, and expect visible grain at short throw distances.

The Amazon three layer screens, ranked on merit

The three layer import screens on Amazon are the true budget floor of this category, about $100 to $200, and they belong in this guide even though we have no affiliate path to any of them and earn exactly nothing when you buy one. Coala Hola is the one we actually see, and it appears in published member builds on this site. The real pattern is buying one to get a bay live, hitting it for a season, then upgrading the screen without touching the rest of the enclosure. Expect visible grain or seams, a louder hit, and a shorter life than Carl's Standard. If the alternative is projecting at drywall or waiting another season, buy one without guilt, and hang it properly, because the install advice above matters more here than anywhere else in the guide.

Deal watch (rotating)

Remnant and clearance listings only, clearly labeled and never ranked. Remnants are offcuts, so the sizes are odd on purpose and cosmetic flaws are part of the bargain.

We carry finished remnant screens from time to time at real item level markdowns, and what is in stock changes, so we point you at the live listings instead of printing a size and a price that will be wrong next week. For a first screen in a new bay, a remnant is often the cheapest legitimate way in.

Live impact screen listings

All live deals on the Gear and Deals hub

What our members run

Coala Hola, an Amazon three layer screen we earn nothing from, appears in 2 published builds on this site
Source: published community builds
One documented owner report has a Carl's Premium past 5 years of service at 150 to 165 mph driver ball speeds
Source: owner report in the community

Community counts read 2026-07-31. They move as members publish builds.

Live prices right now

Impact Screen questions, community answers

What the MySimSetup community actually asks about impact screen, summarized from member answers in our Discord.

How do you stop putts from rolling under a hanging golf simulator screen?
Fill the gap with foam gutter guard or a rolled carpet bolster. Gutter foam (the kind used for roof gutters) wedges into gaps under a hanging screen and has been reported to work well after a couple weeks of use. Alternatively, roll up scrap carpet or an old rug, tie or tape it, and lay it behind the screen at the base to block the gap. Either option is cheap and simple compared to custom-built transitions.
Answered by 5 owners in the MySimSetup community, 2025
How do I stop golf balls from bouncing back under a simulator screen gap?
Use a foam ramp wedge sized to your gap, such as gutter guard foam triangles placed with the short side up to control height, for example a 6 inch gap needs the triangle standing on its 3.5 inch side to fit under the screen. Alternatively, roll sandbags into a blanket to form a dense bolster that deadens low shots with almost no bounce back, though it takes two people to build and move.
Answered by 4 owners in the MySimSetup community, 2025
Which impact screen is quieter for a garage sim room under a bedroom?
The Indoor Golf Shop premium screen and enclosure has been reported as relatively quiet and durable even with a bedroom directly above the garage bay. Ball impact noise on that screen was noticeably quieter than driver swing noise through the floor, so screen choice alone will not fully solve noise if impact and swing sound both carry upward; soundproofing the ceiling or adding foam paneling helps address the rest.
Answered by 4 owners in the MySimSetup community, 2025
How far back should you hit from the screen in a golf simulator enclosure?
About 9 to 11 feet back works well, roughly the length of a standard hitting strip. This gives plenty of clearance even when the impact screen frame or mounting supports sit a few feet in front of the hitting area, as with a Protee launch monitor mounted 3 feet ahead of the tee. Enclosure depth and hitting mat length are the main limiting factors.
Answered by 3 owners in the MySimSetup community, 2026

All 6 impact screen questions on the owner FAQ

See the full impact screen comparison

Plan it into your 3D build

Full impact screen comparison

3 of 3

Product	Price	Physical	Docs	Buy
Product	Price	Dimensions (W×H×D in)	Docs	Retailers
Carl's Place 10x12 Foot Standard Impact Screen Finished With Black Vinyl Edges and Grommets (Remnant/Clearance) Carl's Place	$279.95 $195.95 Save $84	144×120×0.5	-	Carl's Place
Carl's Place 10x13 Foot Standard Impact Screen Finished With Black Vinyl Edges and Grommets (Remnant/Clearance) Carl's Place	$298.95 $209.95 Save $89	156×120×3	-	Carl's Place
Carl's Place 7.7x7.7 Foot Premium Impact Screen Finished With Black Vinyl Edges and Grommets Carl's Place	$439.95	84×84×3	-	Carl's Place

Click any column header to sort · drag the table to scroll · Columns reveals every spec we track. Prices are the lowest live across all retailers.