How do you plan a golf simulator man cave?

A man cave is a simulator room with company

A golf simulator man cave, or den, is really two spaces sharing one room: a hitting bay where one person swings a club at full speed, and a social area where everyone else sits, watches, keeps score and waits their turn. Getting the two to live together safely is most of the planning.

Everything below works just as well for a family games room or a den for whoever plays.

Step one: the bay

The bay sets the minimum size of the room. GolfBays gives 2.8 m high (ideally 3 m), 3 m wide, and 4.5 m deep for camera launch monitors or 5 m for radar units behind the golfer. Trackman describes 3.0 m high, 4.6 m wide and 5.5 m deep as comfortable for most golfers.

Ceiling height is the usual deal-breaker, and it applies to the bay only. The seating area can be lower. Our golf simulator size guide explains how to measure.

Step two: the social space

Seating behind, never beside

Put seating behind the golfer, well clear of the backswing and follow-through. Nobody should sit to the side of the mat, where a mishit or a slipped club can go. Allow at least a metre or more of extra depth behind the bay for a sofa or a row of chairs, more for a bar.

Tekden recommends a cabin of 5 by 4 m or larger if you want seating, against a 4.3 by 3.2 m minimum footprint for the simulator alone. That is a useful rule of thumb indoors too.

A raised platform

A low platform for seating behind the bay helps everyone see the screen over the golfer. Keep it well away from the swing and remember it reduces head height for anyone standing on it.

Scores and screens

A second screen or TV on a side wall can show scores, stats or another sport between rounds. Mount it outside the hitting zone.

Lighting

Trackman recommends dimmable lights with a bright spot over the hitting area: the impact screen looks best in a dark room, while camera launch monitors need light on the ball. In a den that means two lighting zones:

• The bay: a focused light on the ball and dark around the screen.
• The seating area: low, dimmable lighting that does not wash out the picture.

Strip lights under a bar or along the floor give enough light to move around without spoiling the screen.

Sound

A simulator is noisy: the strike, the ball hitting the screen, and people. A foam backing behind the screen, acoustic panels on the walls and insulation all help. If the den adjoins a bedroom or a neighbour, plan this before the walls are finished. A garden building takes the noise out of the house altogether.

Heating, cooling and air

People, a PC and a projector all add heat. A small room can get warm quickly in summer and cold in winter. Green Retreats, a garden room builder, offers air conditioning as an upgrade on its golf room, and Summerhouse24 points out that insulation matters for year-round use. In a garage or garden room, also think about damp: electronics do not like it.

Flooring and finishes

• A good hitting mat, ideally set into turf so the edge does not catch your feet.
• Hard-wearing flooring in the seating area: carpet tiles, vinyl or rubber.
• Storage for clubs, balls and gloves out of the hitting zone.
• Padded side walls or netting where wide shots land.

Where to put it

A spare room, basement or loft

Cheapest if the ceiling is high enough. Many lofts are too low under the roof slope. See our page on golf simulator rooms.

The garage

A level floor, few windows and no bedrooms next door. Watch the ceiling and the open door. See garage golf simulators.

A garden room or cabin

Room for the bay and the social space without giving up part of the house. See golf simulator garden rooms and golf simulator cabins.

What a golf simulator man cave costs

Published UK figures, read 26 October 2026 (a guide, not a quote; most sources do not say whether VAT is included):

Bars, sofas, extra screens and sound work come on top. The cost calculator gives a range for the bay and the space.

Plan it as one job

The cheapest time to get a den right is before anything is built: ceiling height, power sockets, lighting circuits and sound insulation are hard to change later. An installer who designs the bay and the room together can draw the layout with the seating, screen and projector in the right places. Tell us about your space and we will find one who covers your area.