Will You Actually Use a Home Golf Simulator
You will probably use your home golf simulator less than you think. The question that actually matters is whether “less than you think” still makes it worth the money.
Golf simulators cost real money. The cheapest usable setup runs about $500 (Garmin R10, a net, a mat, and your iPad). A garage build with a projector and an enclosure starts around $3,000. A dedicated room build can hit $15,000 before you’ve bought a single software title. That’s a lot of money to spend on something that might end up as an expensive storage rack.
I’ve talked to dozens of sim owners. Some use their setups three times a week, four years running. Some stopped using them after six months. The difference comes down to what they wanted the sim for in the first place — not which brand they bought or how much they spent.
The honeymoon is real
Every sim owner goes through the same arc. First week: you’re hitting balls every night. You’re trying every course in GSPro. You’re inviting friends over. You’re texting photos of your swing data to your golf group chat. The sim is the most exciting thing in your house.
Month two: you’re still using it regularly, but the compulsion is gone. You skip a night. Then two. Then you realize it’s been a week since you turned it on.
Month six: you either have a relationship with your sim or you don’t. There’s no middle ground.
This happens with every launch monitor and every software package. It’s how humans work with anything new that requires effort. The guy who buys a Peloton and uses it daily is the same guy who buys a home gym and never steps foot in it — the difference is in his head, not in his equipment.
The three types of sim owners
After talking to enough people, I’ve noticed three patterns.
The Range Rat. This person goes to the driving range once a week or more. They love hitting balls. They like the feel of a well-struck iron. A simulator is perfect for them because it replaces the range with something closer to home. They don’t need gamification or structured practice. They just want to hit balls, look at the data, and get better. Range Rats almost always stick with their sim. For them, the sim is a convenience upgrade on something they already do.
The Gamifier. This person loves the software side. They want to play Pebble Beach from their garage. They want to see their handicap drop. They want to compete with friends online. Gamifiers have a 50/50 survival rate. The ones who find a regular playing group (discord leagues, weekly tournaments with friends) stick with it. The ones who play solo lose interest when the novelty of course exploration wears off.
The Dreamer. Every surface looks perfect. They imagine themselves hitting balls at midnight in sweatpants. They believe a simulator will make them a 5 handicap. Dreamers buy sims, use them hard for a month, then reality sets in: practice is still practice. You still have to do the work. The sim just shows you how bad your slice is. Dreamers are the ones selling their sim on Facebook Marketplace nine months later.
There’s a pattern here. Every type that sticks has a pre-existing relationship with practice. The Range Rat already practices. The Gamifier already competes. The Dreamer has a fantasy, not a hook.
What the data says
No formal study tracks home simulator abandonment rates (who would fund that?). But the secondhand market tells the story. Scrolling through Facebook Marketplace, GolfWRX classifieds, and r/golfsimulator, you’ll find a steady trickle of “barely used” full setups at 40-60% of retail. The owners always say the same thing: “Moved. Didn’t have time. Kids got busy.”
The sims that don’t hit the secondhand market are owned by people who had a clear use case before they bought. The specific use case varies — some people just want to hit balls after work, some want to play with their buddies on GSPro, some use it for kid practice — but the common thread is specificity. They knew exactly what they were going to do with their sim before they ever typed in a credit card number.
The most common pattern among long-term owners: they use their sim as a driving range replacement, not a course replacement. The owners who treat it like a practice tool use it consistently. The owners who treat it like a video game console fade.
The lifestyle fit test
Before you buy a simulator, ask yourself three questions.
Do you already practice golf at least once a week in some form? If yes, you’ll use the sim as a different venue for something you already do. If no, you’re asking the sim to create a new habit from scratch. That’s harder. Not impossible — plenty of people started going to the gym at 40 and stuck with it. But be honest about whether you’re the type of person who builds new habits or the type who buys the gear for the version of yourself you want to be.
Do you have a clear answer when someone asks you why you want a sim? “To get better” is not a clear answer. “Because it would be cool” is not a clear answer. “To replace the range in winter so I don’t lose my swing” is a clear answer. “To play online matches with my brother in another state twice a week” is a clear answer. “To get my kid’s swing on camera so their coach can review it” is a clear answer. If you can’t articulate the specific purpose, you don’t have a specific purpose.
Are you willing to accept that most of your sim time will be alone? Sims are social in theory and solitary in practice. Your friends will come over once or twice. You’ll host a few sim parties. But 80% of your usage will be you, alone, in a room, hitting balls into a screen. If that sounds depressing, you’ll stop doing it. If that sounds like a great way to decompress after work, you won’t.
The cheapest sim is still expensive if you don’t use it
Do the math. Let’s say you spend $2,000 on a complete budget setup. A $2,000 sim you use 100 times over two years costs $20 per session. A $2,000 sim you use 10 times costs $200 per session.
You know what a $200 driving range session looks like? Empty. Nobody pays that. So if you’re on the fence, don’t ask “can I afford this.” Ask “will I actually use this.” A sim you use is worth every penny. A sim you don’t is worth nothing, no matter how good the launch monitor is.
The people who should buy a sim
You should buy a simulator if you already practice golf regularly and want to do it more conveniently. Full stop. That’s the only guaranteed success profile.
Also good candidates:
- Parents who want their kids to have easy access to practice
- People in cold climates who lose 4-6 months of golf season
- Anyone with a dedicated social golf group that will commit to weekly sim play
- Retirees who have time and want something to do
The people who should wait
Wait on buying a simulator if you’ve never practiced golf consistently in your life and think having a sim will magically change that habit. It won’t.
Also wait if:
- You’re planning a garage build but don’t use your garage for anything else right now either
- You’re hoping the sim will make you fall in love with golf again
- You’re buying it primarily because your friends are buying them
- You have small kids and no childcare arrangement and think you’ll find time anyway
One weird truth
The people who use their sims the most aren’t the ones who spent the most money. The most active owners I’ve met have the cheapest setups. The guy with the R10 in the corner of his unfinished basement hits balls every night. The guy with the $30,000 custom room with HVAC and a putting green uses it twice a month.
The expensive room becomes a showpiece. The cheap setup is a tool. There’s something about having too nice of a setup that makes people feel like they need a “proper session” to justify using it. A $500 net in the driveway gets used because you can go hit 20 balls in 10 minutes. A $15,000 room needs an hour of prep, an hour of play, and 20 minutes of cleanup. That friction kills usage.
The honest recommendation
Buy the cheapest setup that won’t frustrate you. Use it for three months. If you’re hitting balls at least twice a week by month three, upgrade. If you’re not, sell the cheap stuff and take the small loss.
Sim companies want you to buy the full buildout because it’s more profitable. I want you to buy the thing you’ll actually use because that’s the only way this works.
A golf simulator is one of the best purchases a golfer can make if they use it. It’s one of the worst purchases a golfer can make if they don’t. The difference between those two outcomes is entirely in your head, not in your bank account.
So. Do you actually have the habit, or do you just want the gear? Answer that honestly, and you already know whether to buy.