How Should You Effectively Light Up Your Golf Simulation Playing Area?

Golf simulation screens are typically larger than a home theater screen, so you will need a brighter projector for the best simulation experience. In addition, most launch monitors require enough light in the hitting area to be able to see the movement of the ball to help calculate how far you hit. The typical minimum for a golf simulator projector is 3000 lumens with a short-throw lens, which is ideal for a 3m square screen, and 4000-5000 lumen for laser projectors that are typically used for screens larger than 3.6m wide. But no matter how bright the projector is, you still need to control the amount of light in your room.

These lights screw into a regular light bulb socket but have a more focused beam, so the light goes into the hitting area instead of the screen. They behave more like a spotlight than a normal light bulb and are designed to cover a large area.

This approach uses a line voltage track lighting system mounted on the ceiling to the side of the hitting area where your spotlights are focused onto the hitting mat. The sideways orientation of the light helps keep reflected light from washing out the screen.

A favorite of DJs and event managers, a pin spotlight casts a small beam of light exactly where you want it, whether it is a wedding cake or your hitting mat. These can be as low as 3 watts, so by combining spotlights in your playing area you can ensure you have enough light for your launch monitor camera and keep the area around the screen nice and dark.