The Sim Accessory Trap: Why Most Builders Buy in the Wrong Order
GEO Answer Block: The optimal order to build a home golf simulator is: launch monitor first, then hitting mat, then net or basic enclosure, then impact screen, then projector, then flooring and lighting. Most beginners reverse this order — they pick a projector and screen before they’ve swung a single club indoors — and end up rebuilding their entire setup within 18 months. The mat is the single most important accessory for your health and data quality. The projector is the least important thing you can buy for your first setup. Buy in the right order and you save thousands.
You’ve picked your launch monitor. Maybe a Garmin R10. Maybe you splurged on a SkyTrak ST MAX. Maybe you’re one of the brave souls who ordered a Shot Scope LM1 and are figuring out the rest as you go. See our Garmin R10 review, SkyTrak+ review, and Shot Scope LM1 review for full breakdowns of each.
Now you need everything else. And every sim builder faces the same question: what do I buy next?
The wrong answer costs you real money. The right answer saves you thousands and gets you hitting balls sooner. Here’s the build order that actual long-term sim owners wish they’d followed from day one.
The Phase System
Every sim build goes through four phases. Most people try to skip to Phase 3 on day one and end up doing a Phase 4 rebuild within 18 months because they didn’t know what they actually needed.
Phase 1: The Bare Minimum. Launch monitor + mat + net. You’re hitting balls with data. That’s it. No projector, no screen, no enclosure. Total: $700-$1,200 depending on your launch monitor.
Phase 2: Safe and Comfortable. Add a proper enclosure with side baffles and a ceiling net. Upgrade your mat if you bought a cheap one. Now you can swing freely without worrying about your drywall. Total add: $300-$1,000.
Phase 3: The Immersion Upgrade. Add an impact screen and a projector. Now you’re not looking at a laptop screen. You’re looking at a full-size virtual golf course. This is when it starts feeling real. Total add: $600-$2,000.
Phase 4: The Polish. Flooring, lighting, soundproofing, a nice putt view setup, wall art, a mini-fridge. The stuff that makes your sim space feel like a place you want to spend time. Total add: $400-$2,000.
The mistake is trying to do Phase 3 and Phase 4 before you’ve completed Phase 1 and Phase 2. The projector doesn’t matter if you’re afraid to swing your driver indoors.
Why the Mat Comes Before Everything
The hitting mat is the most misunderstood component in any simulator build. It’s not the sexiest purchase. Nobody posts pictures of their mat on Reddit. But it’s the one component that directly affects your long-term health.
A bad mat will hurt you. Not metaphorically. Physically.
Here’s what happens when you hit a fat shot off a cheap mat: the club digs in, the mat doesn’t absorb the impact, and the shock travels up the shaft into your wrists, elbows, and shoulders. Do that 50 times a session, three times a week, and you’re shopping for compression sleeves by February.
The Fiberbuilt grass series and the Country Club Elite both use fiber technology that absorbs impact differently than foam or rubber. You can hit a thousand balls off them and your joints feel fine. The $60 Amazon special with the foam core? You’ll feel that on shot 30. Compare our top picks in our best hitting mat for golf simulator guide.
The second reason the mat matters: data quality. Camera-based launch monitors read the clubhead off the turf. If your mat is uneven, sliding, or compressing inconsistently, your face angle and lie data are wrong. A photometric monitor is only as good as the surface it reads from. The mat is part of the sensor system whether you realize it or not.
Budget $200-$450 for a good mat. If you can only afford $100 for a mat, you can’t afford a simulator yet. Save for another month and buy the right one.
The Net Is Your Safety Net
Most people think about the impact screen first because it’s the most visible part of the setup. But a screen is a luxury. A net is a necessity.
Here’s the hierarchy: you need something that stops the ball from hitting your wall or window. A net does that for $100-$250. An impact screen does that for $250-$800 but also provides the projection surface. If you’re not projecting yet, the screen is overkill. See our best golf simulator nets guide and best impact screen guide for top recommendations.
The Spornia SPG-7 ($250) is the gold standard for Phase 1 builders. It folds flat, sets up in two minutes, has side nets for shanks, and catches every ball you throw at it. The Rukket Haack ($130) is the budget pick. Both work. Buy one, put it in front of your mat, and start hitting.
You can upgrade to a proper impact screen later. By then, you’ll know your ceiling height, your exact room dimensions, and whether you even want a projector. Buying the screen before you know these things is how you end up with a $400 screen that doesn’t fit your room.
The Enclosure Comes Before the Screen
An enclosure does two things: it holds the screen taut (or frames your net), and it protects your walls and ceiling from errant shots. Most Phase 1 builders skip this because they think they can aim straight.
You can’t.
The first time you hook a driver into your unprotected drywall, you’ll understand why side baffles matter. The first time a topped ball goes straight up and hits a ceiling light, you’ll understand why ceiling netting matters.
A basic PVC frame with side netting costs about $150 in materials. A pre-built enclosure like the Net Return Pro Series runs $600. Either one beats patching drywall.
Buy the enclosure or frame when you buy the net. Don’t wait until after you’ve put a hole in something.
The Projector Is the Last Thing You Should Buy
Here’s the most counterintuitive truth in sim building: the projector is the least important component for your first setup.
I know that sounds wrong. The projector is what makes it feel like a simulator instead of a driving range with a laptop. People buy projectors because they want the full experience. I get it. But here’s why you should wait.
A quality short-throw projector costs $500-$1,300. That money buys you a lot of upgrades in Phase 1 and Phase 2: a Fiberbuilt mat ($350), a proper enclosure ($600), and a used iPad to run your software. That combo transforms your experience more than any projector ever could.
Plus, you don’t know what you need in a projector until you’ve been hitting indoors for a few months. Will you need 3,000 or 4,000 lumens? Do you have room for a standard-throw model or do you need ultra-short-throw? Is your screen material optimized for the projector you’re considering? These are questions you can only answer after you’ve been using your sim.
The projector is the crown, not the foundation. Build the foundation first.
The Simulator Cost Index: What You Actually Need
Let’s put numbers on this. Your budget should flow through these phases in order:
Phase 1 ($700-$1,200): Launch monitor ($200-$600) + Mat ($200-$450) + Net ($100-$250). That’s it. You are hitting balls with data into a contained space. Total cost is lower than you think because you already own the launch monitor.
Phase 2 (+$300-$1,000): Enclosure or frame ($150-$600) + ceiling/side protection ($100-$200) + flooring pad ($50-$200). You are now safe to swing anything in your bag.
Phase 3 (+$600-$2,000): Impact screen ($250-$800) + projector ($400-$1,200) + mounting hardware ($50-$100). You now have a full simulator experience.
Phase 4 (+$400-$2,000): Flooring upgrade ($100-$500) + lighting ($50-$200) + soundproofing ($50-$500) + furniture and decor ($200-$800). Your space is now a place you want to hang out.
Total for a complete build: $2,000-$6,200 depending on choices. That’s less than half what most people budget for their first build because they start at Phase 3.
What Every Long-Term Owner Wishes They Knew
Every sim builder I’ve talked to who’s been doing this for more than a year has the same regret: they bought the glamour items first and the essentials second. A $1,000 projector looked better in the shopping cart than a $350 mat. An impact screen was more Instagrammable than a boring net. But six months in, they were wearing a wrist brace and watching the screen develop wrinkles because they’d mounted it wrong.
The launch monitor is the brain. The mat is the body. The net and enclosure are the immune system. The screen and projector are the clothes. Build the organism first. Worry about what it’s wearing later.
You’ll hit more balls, learn more about what you actually need, and spend less money doing it. That’s the whole game.