Where to Buy a Home Golf Simulator: Retailers Compared

Most product pages on this site link to two or more retailers — a few niche items have only one — and the price between them often varies by $100–$500. Which one to use depends less on price than on what you're buying. A launch monitor isn't a projector isn't a $40 ball tray, and the retailer that's right for one is rarely right for the other.

This guide walks through every retailer we recommend, what each is best at, and where the tradeoffs hide. We don't take payments from any manufacturer or retailer to shape these picks — what's below is the honest summary of where we'd send a friend.

The short version

Carl's Place

What they're good at: enclosures, hitting strips, ball trays, the bay itself. Carl's Place manufactures most of what they sell — DIY enclosure kits in custom sizes, the HotShot stance pad inserts, golf-room floor tiles, side netting. If your build's "bay" components (everything that isn't the launch monitor or projector) is on one invoice, it's Carl's.

Where they're not the right choice: launch monitors and projectors at MSRP. Carl's lists every major LM and projector but doesn't usually beat the specialty retailers on price. Buy the bay from Carl's, source the electronics elsewhere.

A useful detail: Carl's online store checks out on shop.carlofet.com, not carlsplace.com. The two sync inventory.

Found in builds: Garage $6K Recreational, Low-Ceiling 9.5 ft Basement, Basement $7K Cost-Effective, and most cost-effective tier builds.

PlayBetter

What they're good at: launch monitors, and the complete studio built around one. PlayBetter sells launch monitors from most major brands (Garmin, Rapsodo, SkyTrak, FlightScope, Bushnell, Square Golf, Uneekor, Foresight, Full Swing and Trackman among them), plus certified pre-owned and open-box units of several. On mainstream units such as the Garmin R50 and the SkyTrak ST MAX, its prices usually match everyone else's. Launch monitor listings offer add-ons as options: protective cases, alignment and tablet stands, and on some units a software trial or a free year of course play.

It also sells the rest of the bay, as studio packages that come with or without a launch monitor:

• PlayBetter SimStudio in three tiers. COMPLETE includes the enclosure, impact screen, a 5 × 5 ft hitting mat, putting turf, side barriers and an Optoma projector. ESSENTIALS is the enclosure, screen, hitting mat and projector. BYO starts from the enclosure, screen and frame and lets you choose the rest. All three come in four standard enclosure sizes, 8 to 13 feet wide, and PlayBetter also lists GARAGE and OVERHEAD versions.
• SportScreen Vanish retractable studios: the Vanish and Vanish LITE retractable enclosures, on their own or as complete packages with a projector, hitting mat and putting turf. A 3D builder lays one out.
• Net Return hitting-net packages: a launch monitor with a Net Return Home or Pro Series net, net only or with hitting turf. No screen or projector is included.
• Carl's Place enclosures: the DIY, Pro and Curved kits with impact screens, and Pro and Curved studio packages built around premium launch monitors such as the Foresight GCQuad and Uneekor EYE XO2. Carl's Place impact screens, HotShot mats and projector mounts are sold on their own too.

To plan a studio, PlayBetter has a Studio Customizer that starts from your room's measurements and shows the enclosures, launch monitors, screens and projectors that fit. There is also a Golf Simulator Advisor form: describe your space, goals and budget, and a staff member replies with a recommendation (PlayBetter says most replies come within 24 hours). Its YouTube channel has set-up videos of the SimStudio packages paired with many of the launch monitors above, which show what each one looks like assembled.

The SimStudio enclosures come in four standard sizes, and PlayBetter's own advice is to confirm the size of your space before ordering; our room planner is built for that check.

Found in builds: as a retailer for most builds' launch monitor, and for many of their mats, impact screens, projectors and nets.

Indoor Golf Outlet

What they're good at: whole sim packages and configurable kits. IGO carries Carl's Place enclosures, Country Club Elite and SIGPRO Softy mats, the major launch monitors, and most projectors — usually at the same prices as the specialty retailers. Their site is straightforward and the customer service is responsive.

It is also the widest catalog of any retailer we link, with a listing for nearly every enclosure, projector and hitting mat on this site and most of the launch monitors. Some of the lines below, among them Net Return, SportScreen, Carl's Place and SurfThing, are also sold at PlayBetter. IGO's range includes:

• Enclosures and screens: Impact Sports, SportScreen, SimSpace, Net Return, G-TRAK and SimBooth alongside Carl's and SIG, from the padded-pole Impact Sports Premium Deluxe Enclosure and the wall-mounted, roll-up SportScreen Vanish LITE to the rigid-panel SimBooth 1. Bare impact screens and practice nets too, if you're building your own frame.
• Projectors: short-throw and installation models from Optoma, BenQ, Epson, Panasonic and InFocus, from the 4K laser Optoma GT3900UHD up to standard-throw installation lasers such as the Panasonic PT-VMZ62 for deep rooms.
• Hitting mats: Carl's HotShot in four sizes, the SIGPRO Softy range, Big Moss, Spornia and SkyTrak's own mat; the Big Moss True Launch 4×5 is one of the cheaper full-swing mats we list.
• Launch monitors: beyond the mainstream units, the overhead NVISAGE N1 (with free course software) and GolfIn IDRA II (no course software of its own), and Red Stakes' RSG units, which run only Red Stakes' own software.
• Software and PCs: the E6 Connect Standard License (a one-time licence, for launch monitors TruGolf doesn't sell E6 Connect Home for), and SurfThing's golf-sim towers, such as the SG3-5602, which cost more than the Amazon towers we recommend in the same graphics class but arrive with your sim software installed.

The width of the catalog is a fact you can check on any of those product pages, where IGO's price sits next to the other retailers we link. Where IGO is the only one, there is nothing to compare against on our page, so check the maker's own store before you order.

Where they're not the right choice: the very low end. IGO does carry the $100–$300 accessory tier, but for small items Amazon is usually faster to ship.

Found in builds: in most builds, on enclosures, mats, projectors and launch monitors.

Shop Indoor Golf

What they're good at: SIGPRO enclosures. Shop Indoor Golf manufactures the SIGPRO commercial enclosure line — the SIG8, SIG10, SIG12, SIGPRO Commercial 9x14. These are the steel-frame, commercial-grade enclosures used in real teaching facilities. SIG is the manufacturer, so this is the source; a couple of SIGPRO SKUs also turn up at Indoor Golf Outlet.

Where they're not the right choice: most other categories. Their range outside SIGPRO overlaps Indoor Golf Outlet without clearly beating it. When you see a SIG product in our builds, this is where to buy it. Otherwise IGO is the simpler call.

Found in builds: Showroom $28K Aspirational, Family Showroom $24K, Performance Showroom $30K, and other premium builds anchored on a SIG or SIGPRO enclosure.

Rain or Shine Golf

What they're good at: Foresight and Trackman lineups. Strong stock and clear pricing on the Foresight GC3, GCQuad, Falcon, and the Trackman iO. They're the cleanest of the golf-specialty retailers to read a price from — single-bundle SKUs, no hidden upsells.

Where they're not the right choice: budget tier and accessory-heavy carts. RoS leans premium; smaller-ticket items are usually carried more cheaply elsewhere.

Found in builds: Dedicated $12.5K Performance, Performance Showroom $30K, and most Foresight-anchored mid-tier builds.

B&H Photo Video

What they're good at: projectors. BenQ TK710STi, BenQ LK936ST, BenQ AK700ST, Optoma GT2400HDR — B&H stocks the AV side of golf-simulator gear at competitive prices. Free shipping over $49, 30-day returns, real product photos rather than vendor stock. One thing to unlearn: B&H used to charge sales tax only in NY and NJ, but since the 2018 South Dakota v. Wayfair ruling they collect it in most states like everyone else. Budget accordingly.

Where they're not the right choice: golf-specific gear. B&H carries almost none of it — the Garmin R10 is the one launch monitor we link there, and they stock no enclosures or mats at all. Treat them as the projector retailer.

Found in builds: Garage $6K Recreational, Garage $4K Cost-Effective, and any build where a B&H-stocked projector is the line item.

Amazon

What they're good at: small accessories, sim PCs, fast shipping. Foam floor tiles, sim tees, ball trays, alignment sticks, protective cases — Amazon is the default for under-$200 items where Prime shipping speed matters more than saving five dollars. The computers in our builds are Amazon buys too, sold and shipped by Amazon.com: the Skytech Ryzen 7 5700 (RTX 5060) and Skytech King 95 (RTX 5070 Ti) towers, and the Mac mini M6 in our 1080p SkyTrak builds.

Where they're not the right choice: launch monitors and enclosures. Amazon's launch monitor prices are usually in line with the specialty retailers', sometimes a little lower and sometimes higher. What the specialty retailers add is fitting advice and installation help on gear that's bolted to your house, which can matter more than a small price gap. Compare both.

Found in builds: every build has at least one Amazon link — mounts, tees, cables, and in every build that needs one, the computer.

What we don't do

We don't list every retailer that sells these products. There are 30+ other golf-specialty retailers and a dozen Amazon-equivalent generalists. We list the ones with consistent stock, competitive pricing, and a return-path that doesn't require a lawyer.

We stopped showing Newegg in October 2026: its site began blocking our daily price checks, and showing a price we can't verify is worse than not showing the store. We also don't link to retailers that pivoted to bundle-only catalogs (Golf Simulators Direct dropped from our list in 2026 after they stopped carrying individual SKUs) or to manufacturers whose direct-sales domains have lapsed.

If a retailer disappears from our seed, that's why.

Returns on big items

Before ordering an enclosure, impact screen or studio package from any store, read its return policy. Large and custom-cut items often carry return shipping you pay and a restocking fee, while launch monitors usually return more easily. Measuring the room first is the cheapest way to avoid a return.

A note on prices

Prices at the Shopify and Magento golf retailers — Indoor Golf Outlet, Carl's Place, PlayBetter, Rain or Shine, Shop Indoor Golf — are probed daily off each retailer's own product data and refreshed when the automation detects drift, and Amazon prices are read daily as well, though only to keep the current price right: Amazon's rules don't allow price tracking, so Amazon is left out of our price history, deals and price alerts. B&H is not on that loop yet, so its figures are checked by hand and can lag. Either way, the number we show is the price for the specific SKU we link, not a blanket MSRP — see our disclosure page for the mechanics. Retailer prices change daily; if you see a $20 discrepancy when you click through, the retailer's site is the source of truth.

Disclosure

Northcourse earns affiliate commissions on some of these links. We disclose the model in full on the disclosure page. The short version: commissions don't shape our picks; the picks are the picks. We list multiple retailers per product so you can compare price and shipping before deciding.

If you'd rather buy without going through an affiliate link, the retailer URLs are above without any tracking — copy and paste.

See Also

• Home Golf Simulator Cost — what you actually pay at each tier
• Best Home Golf Simulator Launch Monitors (2026) — every tier, entry to premium
• Golf Simulator Room Requirements — ceiling, depth, width minimums
• Photometric vs Doppler Radar — the technology comparison
• Golf Simulator Subscription Costs — annual fees, the 5-year math

Or run the configurator — five questions, one tailored build with current retailer prices for every component.