Questions about ceiling height and new golf simulator?

[I'_rather_be_golfing]

I’ve been searching online. And I’ve been reading mixed results for people that have installed golf simulators with 9ft ceilings. I have a new house being built. It has 10ft upstairs and 9ft downstairs. My wife prefers it to be downstairs so it’s not wasting a room upstairs. So I’m stuck with 9ft ceilings.  I’m 5ft 9in, my driver length is 45in. I’m gonna build my own mat at about 2-3in thick. I haven’t picked out a simulator yet. I’ve called 3 companies and they said I would be totally fine with 9ft ceilings and standing 5ft 9in. Anyone have 9ft ceilings that stands around 5ft 9in and can use their driver without hitting the ceiling?

[Stuart_G]

21 minutes ago, I'_rather_be_golfing said:

I’ve been searching online. And I’ve been reading mixed results for people that have installed golf simulators with 9ft ceilings. I have a new house being built. It has 10ft upstairs and 9ft downstairs. My wife prefers it to be downstairs so it’s not wasting a room upstairs. So I’m stuck with 9ft ceilings.  I’m 5ft 9in, my driver length is 45in. I’m gonna build my own mat at about 2-3in thick. I haven’t picked out a simulator yet. I’ve called 3 companies and they said I would be totally fine with 9ft ceilings and standing 5ft 9in. Anyone have 9ft ceilings that stands around 5ft 9in and can use their driver without hitting the ceiling?

 

It's as much about about your posture and swing plane(s) as it is about your height (and don't forget arm length).    Only way to figure out if it's going to be a problem for you is to give it a try.  And that's assuming you're going to be the only one using it (no friends coming over).    e.g.  Kuchar is over 6' and I doubt he would have any problems with a 9' ceiling.

 

[mgoblue83]

You might be able to make it work with a flat swing plane but most people will not be able to swing woods with 9ft ceilings. When you invite people over to play with you I would tell them irons only to avoid holes in the ceiling and damaged clubs. That said, there is nothing wrong with using only irons and wedges in a simulator. You can play the forward tees and really dial in your distances. 

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that when you know you might hit the ceiling your mind will start to adjust your swing flatter and slower to avoid hitting it. Chances are this will create consistency issues in your swing and won't be worth it. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by mgoblue83

[bonvivantva]

23 hours ago, mgoblue83 said:

You might be able to make it work with a flat swing plane but most people will not be able to swing woods with 9ft ceilings. When you invite people over to play with you I would tell them irons only to avoid holes in the ceiling and damaged clubs. That said, there is nothing wrong with using only irons and wedges in a simulator. You can play the forward tees and really dial in your distances. 

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that when you know you might hit the ceiling your mind will start to adjust your swing flatter and slower to avoid hitting it. Chances are this will create consistency issues in your swing and won't be worth it. 

I agree.  I'm only about 5'9 and my dad who owns a skytrak is 5'10.  The longest club I can swing downstairs is a hybrid, but he can get away with a 3w.  

 

The basement ceiling in question is 9 feet, but a finished 9 feet which means a measuring tape clocks it at about 8'9 or something like that.  We made a few marks on the ceiling with our clubs initially as we were figuring things out, and as a result, I removed one recessed can light just in case.  We've been playing it for over a year now with no issues.  On occasion I'll try to shape a shot or something and scrape the ceiling some with clubs even as short as a 6i, but it's really not a big deal.  

 

I think most people that stand around 5'9 will at least scrape the ceiling with a driver in a finished 9 foot basement.  Maybe you could get away with it, but I'm skeptical.  Even if you can swing driver without damaging the ceiling or club, as mgoblue said, if you're subconsciously worried about hitting the ceiling it will affect your swing.  So if you do set this thing up in the basement, you'll likely be in the same boat as us, which means if you play courses, you'll have to play shorter tees to compensate for shorter tee shots.  You also won't be able to practice driver.

 

Personally I wouldn't let that dissuade you.  I hit my driver pretty well, so hitting my hybrid off most tees on the simulator has really helped my scoring in real life.  Having a reliable 200-220 club can really bring down your scores.  So if your goal is practice or improvement, not worrying about the driver may be ok.  If you want as realistic a simulated experience as possible, I'd set up where the ceilings are highest.  Another consideration is volume.  You can't be hitting balls in a room next to someone trying to sleep, watch tv, work, etc.  If the basement is more private, you may get more use out of it, even if you can't hit driver.  Also think about if you'll be playing alone or with friends.  If you have any friends over 6', they may have issues with long irons at 9 feet.

[Kev Quest4cat1]

ive got slightly less than 9 foot height and I can manage to swing driver full speed without issue, I do think my swings a bit flatter and probably more so now im playing so much indoors(lockdown) 

 

I hit my roof on occasion but only a Scuff and I have padding on roof so no damage was done.

[Linkkingx]

I set up a sim in my brother's basement with 9' ceilings. We are both 5'8" and can swing driver with no issues. When finishing the basement we did maximize the height though. We actually sunk the mat into the concrete floor so we didn't lose anything there and the ceiling is 1/2" plywood covered in carpet. 

[bonvivantva]

Just to clarify my earlier post:  Despite being 5'9 and having a fairly flat swing myself, I do scrape driver on a finished 9 foot ceiling, but that's in the follow through, not before.  So technically it should not affect the ball at all, except that mentally, I'm aware that I may hit the ceiling, which does seem to keep me from a full follow-through.

[Abe21599]

i think 9' ceiling will affect ur swing mentally. build a collapsible room on the first floor. 

[taskerc]

my coaching has helped flatten my swing and has saved (mostly ) my ceilings - the odd follow through gets a bit funky, but some padding, as mentioned, helps a lot

[supranak]

Good info for my build

[GullLakeMi]

If new house being built, have floor lowered.  

[phillyspecial]

I put/forced a sim into a basement with 9' ceilings of a house I did not build.  At 6'2" I could only swing up to 5 or 6i comfortably.  As I mainly used for practice sessions (vs sim), it was certainly nice to have and better than not having it.  I used it a ton and I knew the limitations going in.  

 

But I always felt extremely uncomfortable   when any friends wanted to hit some balls, and it was very lame that it could never be a real sim experience for the money I invested in the enclosure and turf footprint.  

 

Im building a new house now, and I did a basement carve out where I have 11' ceilings and a 27x24 room (rest of basement is 9', but this room is dug out).  If you're still at a point where you can make that modification, you will ultimately enjoy the sim much more both for yourself and socially.