My "Shower Curtain" Garage Setup - Under $700 TOTAL including Launch Monitor

[RCGA]

This is a “working” garage with kid’s toys, bikes, snowblower, storage, and the occasional car. So I needed something that could be put away quickly. I also wanted to spend as little possible but get the most out of my setup.  I don’t care about simulators, projectors, mood lighting, or black out drapes. I just want to hit balls in my garage for 30min a day in the winter and shoulder seasons and get some idea of how far they’re going.

 

What I came up with is what I call a shower curtain setup. It’s a 10ft galvanized pipe attached to the ceiling rafters. An archery net then affixes to the pipe the same way a shower curtain does. I’m using zip ties at the moment as a proof-of-concept but will eventually use some 2” split rings. This way when I’m done hitting, I can move the net to one side with no effort. 

 

There’s an underpad under the artificial grass to minimize the balls bouncing when they fall from the net. The balls do bounce and roll a bit, which is slightly annoying. If anyone has a solution, let me know. I’m using bungee cords to try and mess with the tension and minimize bounce back.

The Flightdeck is about 1.5” high so I needed to build a platform to stand on. The platform is come scrap ¾” hardwood flooring, a scrap sheet of ¾” plywood and some scrap ¾” horse stall mats from a home gym build. I went ahead and put some scrap ¾” horse stall mats under the Flightdeck to minimize the impact on my body just as an added precaution. There’s a ¼” height difference between the platform and the mat, which is completely acceptable. It’s in two pieces since it’s lighter and easier to move out of the way.

 

I bought a PRGR launch monitor (2021 version, HS-130A). I’m happy to report the unit is very accurate under 200y. I considered the SC300i ($700) and the R10 ($900) but wanted to spend under $1000 for everything and didn’t have a lot of room in front or behind the ball. The PRGR works well with about 8ft from ball to the net and 4ft from ball to the unit.

 

There is some messing around with the height and distance from the ball to the unit but once you have it in the right spot, it’s nailing 9/10 shots. The only issues I’ve had is it’ll underreport distance if I hit it fat/heavy. But the biggest problem is that for woods, I’m not comfortable swinging the longer clubs inside, it just feels weird, and my swing speed is about 5-10mph slower than it would be at an outdoor range. I also only have 24” between the net and the storage rack behind it. Higher ball speeds push the net back too much (starting around 3 iron) and I risk having the ball hit the metal rack behind the net and the ball fly back at me. I hasn’t happened yet, but I’m not going to put too much energy into solving that issue it since I still don’t like hitting woods inside.

 

Item	Cost (Canadian)
Archery Net 10x10	$270
Fiberbuilt Flightdeck	$100
PRGR	$300
3/4" pipe & misc	$30
Total	$700

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by RCGA

[Jamesheeney]

I presume the hardwood flooring is to make it level with the hitting pad? How is that working?

[RCGA]

52 minutes ago, Jamesheeney said:

I presume the hardwood flooring is to make it level with the hitting pad? How is that working?

 

Yes, it serves multiple purposes. 

 

Standing on concrete is hard on the body, so the wood + rubber combo takes some stress off. It also elevates me so I'm within a 1/4" of the top of the grass. The hardwood is also grippy enough that I can wear running shoes, but also provide enough give that I'm not locked in and blow out my knee. 

[Jamesheeney]

Can i ask where you go it? Toronto here so also Canada and looking for the same

[RCGA]

2 hours ago, Jamesheeney said:

Can i ask where you go it? Toronto here so also Canada and looking for the same

 

Net and Flightdeck were both from Amazon. 

 

The net was imported from China, but via 2 day DHL shipping.

 

The pipe and accessories were from Home Depot 

[bulls9999]

Nice setup!!  Push any shots into the refrigerator yet?  🙂  

Edited September 20, 2021 by bulls9999