Your Budget Starter Build Kit
You can build this yourself. Below is every component you need, at the price its seller was charging in August 2026, with a link to check what it costs today, because these numbers move and several of them are on sale right now. The honest version: DIY is cheaper up to about $8,000, and stops being cheaper above it. The crossover is not about skill. It is about whether your room needs work. Hanging a screen and aligning a projector is a weekend. Opening a ceiling, pulling a dedicated circuit or framing a wall is a trade, and once an electrician is in your number the installed quote usually wins.
Where hiring wins: the room itself. Structural work, a dedicated circuit, a ceiling that has to come open, and the projector alignment that keeps your own shadow off the screen at address. Florida installers publish full turnkey builds from $8,500. Below that, you are mostly paying somebody to unbox what you could unbox.
Estimated total: $5,000 to $5,900 in year one · All items available online with affiliate links below.
| COMPONENT | PRODUCT | PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| Launch monitor | FlightScope Mevo+ (promotional) | $1,099 |
| Enclosure kit | Carl's Place DIY kit, Preferred screen | about $1,230 |
| Frame | Pre-cut pipe kit | $349.95 |
| Hitting mat | SIGPRO Softy 4x7 (promotional) | $849.99 |
| Projector | BenQ TH671ST | $949 |
| Mount and cable | Ceiling mount plus HDMI | about $110 |
| Software | Included with Mevo+, or GSPro | $0 to $250 |
| ESTIMATED TOTAL | $5,000 to $5,900 in year one | |
This decides your data and, through its depth requirement, whether your room works at all. Check the space figure on each one against your own tape measure before you compare prices.
Garmin Approach R10
The cheapest unit that will actually run a bay. Radar, sits behind you, and its club numbers are calculated rather than measured.
Needs 6 to 8 ft behind the tee, and the tee at least 8 ft off the net, so about 14 to 16 ft of room
Price from PlayBetter, checked August 2026
Rapsodo MLM2PRO
Ball and some club data. Budget the yearly membership as part of the purchase, because the unit is limited without it.
6.5 to 8.5 ft behind the ball plus 8 ft to the net, so 14 ft and up
Price from rapsodo.com, checked August 2026
FlightScope Mevo+
Real ball data with no mandatory subscription, and E6 Connect courses included. The catch is depth.
7 to 9 ft behind the ball and 16 ft of total room depth, which rules out a shallow garage
Price from flightscope.com, checked August 2026
SkyTrak ST MAX
Camera-based, sits beside the ball, and fits a 10 by 10 area, so it suits a room the Mevo+ cannot. One warning below.
10 by 10 ft unobstructed. SkyTrak has dropped official support for third-party software, and GSPro works only through an unsupported community connector
Price from skytrakgolf.com, checked August 2026
Uneekor EYE MINI
Camera-measured ball data. Around this price the measurement stops getting meaningfully better for a home bay.
Club data requires stickers on the clubface. 12 by 8 inch hitting zone
Price from shop.uneekor.com, checked August 2026
Bushnell Launch Pro
Ball data out of the box. Read the subscription tiers before buying, because the headline price is not the whole number.
Sits beside the ball. FSX Play Silver $199/yr, Gold $499/yr
Price from bushnellgolf.com, checked August 2026
The enclosure catches the ball and holds the screen. A DIY kit means you buy and cut the conduit yourself; an assembled frame costs about a thousand more and arrives in days rather than weeks.
Carl's Place DIY Enclosure Kit
Screen, blackout fabric, steel fittings and cut specs. You buy and cut the conduit, which is the work the price assumes you are doing.
Six sizes from 7.7x10 to 9x12. Made to order, 2 to 4 weeks
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Carl's Place pre-cut pipe kit
The conduit, cut to match your enclosure. Raw EMT from a big-box store is cheaper if you own a pipe cutter and want the afternoon.
1 inch EMT, sized to the kit you bought
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Rain or Shine SwingBay
Assembled aluminium frame with no cutting at all. Costs roughly a thousand more than the DIY kit and ships in days rather than weeks.
8x10.5 single layer $1,999 · 9x12 triple layer $3,499. Includes curtains, side netting, sandbags
Price from rainorshinegolf.com, checked August 2026
The piece DIY builders under-spend on most often, and the one they replace first. A thin pad sends shock into your wrists and elbows and will not take a real tee.
Fiberbuilt Flight Deck
A hitting pad, not a stance mat. Honest floor of the category and the piece most people replace first.
21.25 by 13.5 inch oval, 1 inch thick
Price from Shop Indoor Golf, checked August 2026
Carl's HotShot Mat System
Replaceable hitting strip, so the worn patch costs $79.95 instead of a new mat.
4x5 up to 6x10, 1.75 inch thick, divot-foam insert options
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
SIGPRO Softy 4x7
The mat people buy after the cheap one hurts their wrists. Takes a real tee.
4x7, 2.5 inch, foam and polyurethane, replaceable 28x12 strip
Price from Shop Indoor Golf, checked August 2026
Sold separately from the frame, and priced by size. The listed figures are the smallest size each seller offers, so a 9x12 bay costs materially more than the number below.
Carl's Standard impact screen
Open weave polyester, rated to 250 mph. Fine in a dark room.
Smallest size shown; the price rises with size
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Carl's Preferred impact screen
Silicone reinforced and smoother, so the projected image sits better.
250 mph rated
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Carl's Premium 3-layer screen
Quietest and least bounce-back of the white screens. This is where screen spending stops paying.
Three layers, tight knit
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
You want a short throw, which means a throw ratio between 0.4 and 1.0, so the projector sits close to the screen and above the hitting area. A standard projector behind the golfer puts your own shadow on the screen every time you address the ball. Carl's Place publishes 1,500 lumens as the dark-room minimum and 2,500 or more with any ambient light.
Optoma ZW350ST
Short throw at 0.521, bright enough for a dark room. The cheapest projector that belongs in a bay.
3,600 lumens · WXGA · throw ratio 0.521
Price from Shop Indoor Golf, checked August 2026
BenQ TH671ST
1080p at a short throw, and widely used in home bays.
3,000 lumens · 1080p · throw 0.69 to 0.83
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Optoma GT2400HDR
4,200 lumens at 0.496 throw. This is the point where more money stops showing on a woven screen.
4,200 lumens · 1080p · throw 0.496
Price from Shop Indoor Golf, checked August 2026
Universal projector ceiling mount
Do not skip the mount and rest the projector on a shelf. Alignment is what keeps your shadow off the screen.
Up to 24 inch extension, 44 lb capacity, 30 degree tilt
Price from rainorshinegolf.com, checked August 2026
Floor projector enclosure
Protects a floor-mounted projector from an indirect hit. Not needed if the projector is on the ceiling.
Aluminium sides, polycarbonate front, turf top
Price from carlofet.com, checked August 2026
Golf net (screen alternative)
If you are not projecting an image, a net and a launch monitor is a legitimate practice bay for a fraction of the money.
SIGPRO 7x8.5x9 $399.99 · Spornia SPG-8 $499.99 · 10x10x10 square $299.99
Price from Shop Indoor Golf, checked August 2026
This is the line DIY builders forget, and it renews every year for as long as you own the bay. Check which platforms your launch monitor actually supports before you buy either one.
| Platform | Annual | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GSPro | $250/yr | The enthusiast default. Check your launch monitor supports it. |
| E6 Connect Basic | $300/yr | Expanded tier $600/yr |
| Awesome Golf | $159.99/yr | $349.99 lifetime |
| SkyTrak Essential | $99.99/yr | Core $299.99 · Elite $599.99 |
| Rapsodo Premium | $199.99/yr | Required after the 45-day trial. $599.99 lifetime |
| Foresight FSX Play | $199/yr Silver | Gold $499/yr, and Gold is what unlocks club data on a Launch Pro |
Checked August 2026 against each platform's own pricing page.
Ready to upgrade to a professional build?
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