Design a golf sim den — the bay, the bench, the fridge
A golf sim den is one big decision and two small ones. The big one: the compact simulator's bay is 9×12 feet by itself — screen, mat, and enclosure — and it stands 102 inches tall, so the ceiling has to clear 8.5 feet. The small ones: a bench for whoever's waiting, and a fridge within reach of the tee. Plan the bay on the floor plan first, check the ceiling in 3D, and only then commit the room.
A golf simulator isn't furniture you arrange — it's a bay you fit. The compact unit is nine feet wide and twelve feet deep on the floor, and 102 inches tall: the screen, the hitting mat, and the enclosure come as one footprint, and the ceiling has to clear 8.5 feet or the driver doesn't come out of the bag. The real planning problem is not where the sim looks good; it's whether the room can hold it at all.
That's exactly what a floor plan is for. Search the exact names in the Furnish panel, drop the bay into your candidate room, and let the plan tell you — before any equipment does — whether the sim, a bench, and a fridge coexist with a path to the door.
What you'll need
- •Golf Simulator (Compact) (108″ × 144″, 102″ tall) — the whole bay: screen, mat, enclosure
- •Flat Bench (48″ long) — seating for the waiting foursome
- •Mini Fridge (24″ × 24″) — at the tee side
- •A 12.5 × 15.5 ft room — basement, garage bay, or a den you're willing to give over
- •A ceiling of 8.5 feet or more — this is the constraint that disqualifies rooms
Step by step
- 1
Place the bay first — everything else is negotiable
Search Golf Simulator (Compact) and place it against one end of the room, screen end to the wall. The bay is 108″ × 144″ — in a 12.5×15.5 room that's most of the floor, leaving a strip about 3.5 feet wide down one side. Keep 24 inches clear at the tee end so the golfer can step in and out of the bay.
The den on the plan — the 9×12 bay claims its floor, the bench and fridge take the strip beside it. - 2
Check the ceiling before you fall in love
The sim stands 102 inches tall — 8.5 feet. Set your room's ceiling height in plan settings and confirm the clearance; a standard 8-foot basement ceiling fails by six inches, and that's before the swing. If your room clears it with headroom to spare, the full-size Golf Simulator or the Golf Simulator (Pro) are the same layout with a bigger bay — upgrade the item on the plan and see whether the room still swallows it.
- 3
A bench for the waiting foursome
Search Flat Bench and run it along the side wall, in the strip beside the bay — long side parallel to the wall, about a foot clear of the enclosure. Four feet of bench seats the players who are up next, facing the screen, out of the swing.
- 4
The fridge at the tee side
Search Mini Fridge and tuck it into the corner at the tee end, past the bench — beside the hitting area, never behind the swing. Two feet square is all it needs, and it's the difference between a sim and a den.
- 5
Prove it in 3D
Switch to 3D and orbit the room. This is where the 102-inch height stops being a number: check the enclosure against the ceiling, stand at the tee, and confirm the bench sits outside the swing line with a clear path from the door to the fridge to the seat. If anything's tight on the plan, it's tighter with a club in your hand.
The den in 3D — the bay under the ceiling, the bench and fridge in the side strip.
Tips
The ceiling is the first question, not the last
Measure your real ceiling before planning anything else — 8.5 feet is the floor for the compact unit, and ducts, joists, and light fixtures all count. In the plan, set the true ceiling height so the 3D check tells you the truth.
Side strip, not back strip
Put the leftover floor beside the bay, not behind the tee. Beside the bay it holds a Flat Bench and a Mini Fridge safely out of the swing; behind the tee it's a place people wander into mid-downswing.
This den shares DNA with a game room
The pattern — one big fixed piece, seating for the spectators, drinks in reach — is the same one a game room corner uses around a pool table. If the sim room has spare floor, the additions follow the same logic.
Common mistakes
Trusting the footprint and forgetting the height
Plenty of rooms hold 9×12 of floor; far fewer hold 102 inches of enclosure under a finished ceiling. It's the vertical number that kills golf sim plans — check it in 3D before anything is purchased or moved.
Seating inside the swing line
A bench that overlaps the bay's side edge puts a spectator's knees where the clubhead travels. Keep the bench fully in the side strip, a clear foot off the enclosure, and never seat anyone behind the golfer.
Blocking the tee-end clearance
The 24 inches at the open end of the bay is how the golfer gets in and out — and how everyone else gets past. Park the fridge in the corner beside it, not in it.
Frequently asked questions
How much space does a golf simulator need?
The Golf Simulator (Compact) needs a 9 × 12 ft floor bay plus an 8.5 ft (102″) ceiling, with 24 inches clear at the tee end — a 12.5 × 15.5 room like this one holds it with a side strip to spare. Bigger units want more of everything, so always place the exact item on your plan and let the room answer.
What furniture makes up a golf sim den?
Three pieces: the Golf Simulator (Compact) bay, a Flat Bench along the wall for the players waiting their turn, and a Mini Fridge at the tee side. Search each name in the Furnish panel.
Can I put a golf simulator in a garage or basement?
Those are the two most common homes for one — the floor space is usually there. The deciding factor is overhead: an unfinished basement with exposed joists or a garage with a door track can quietly lose the inches the 102″ enclosure needs. Model the real ceiling height in the plan and check the bay against it in 3D before committing.
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