Guides · Enclosures, mats and hitting surfaces
Which Golf Net and Mat Combo Fits Your Space and Budget?
Published
Fit the net to the room before choosing the mat. Net height is not swing clearance: beams, door tracks, the finished mat height and the golfer's longest club all matter. The GoSports Elite 7×7 stands 7.5 ft tall once assembled. Spornia lists the SPG-8 at 8 ft high, with a roof attachment that adds another foot (checked November 8, 2026).
Using the SPG-8's $499.99 list price, the examples total $749.98 with a SIGPRO Softy strip, $999.94 with a 4×5 ft Carl's HotShot or $1,998.99 with the Fiberbuilt studio mat, before tax and shipping. The strip total still lacks a stance surface. The GoSports Elite costs the same $499.99 in its 7×7 size, so it swaps in at the same totals.
If projection is part of the plan, choose an impact screen rather than expecting a practice net to display the image.
The two numbers that decide it: ceiling and depth
Measure the ceiling at its lowest point over the hitting area. That might be a beam, a duct, a garage-door track or a light fixture rather than the drywall. The club passes overhead at the top of the backswing and again in the follow-through, so the obstruction closest to that arc is the one that counts.
The two nets differ most in depth. Spornia's spec sheet gives the SPG-8 as 8 ft wide, 8 ft high and 8 ft deep, and it asks for at least 10 ft of hitting-space depth (Spornia, checked November 8, 2026). Lowe's gives the assembled GoSports Elite 7×7 as 3.5 ft deep (Lowe's). The SPG-8 therefore takes 4.5 ft more floor before you place a mat or stand at the ball, which is a lot in a one-car bay or a basement room with a furnace at one end.
In floor area, the SPG-8 covers 8 × 8 = 64 sq ft, the GoSports 7×7 7.5 × 3.5 = 26.25 sq ft, and the 10×7 GoSports 10 × 3.5 = 35 sq ft, using the assembled size GoSports gives in its FAQ (GoSports).
Net depth is only part of the room's length. You also need the mat, the distance from the ball to the net, and space behind you. The Room size calculator's net-only case adds those up. The swing-clearance guide in Read next covers overhead space.
Net dimensions and swing clearance
| Net | Width | Depth | Height | Figure from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GoSports Elite 7×7 | 7.5 ft | 3.5 ft | 7.5 ft | Lowe's, assembled, checked 2026-10-22 |
| GoSports Elite 10×7 | 10 ft | 3.5 ft | 7.5 ft | GoSports FAQ, assembled size |
| Spornia SPG-8 | 8 ft | 8 ft | 8 ft, plus a 1 ft roof | Spornia product specs, checked 2026-11-08 |
The "ceiling you need" must clear the net and allow a swing margin that depends on your height, clubs and swing.
Spornia lists the SPG-8 body at 8 ft high, and the roof attachment adds 1 ft (product page checked November 8, 2026). Allow for that roof as well as the swing; for the GoSports models, start with the 7.5-foot assembled height. Above that, check with slow practice swings while standing on the mat you will actually use. A thicker mat lifts you closer to the ceiling.
Lowe's lists the GoSports "7×7" at 7.5 ft wide and 7.5 ft tall once assembled (Lowe's). That half foot matters in a tight basement. GoSports also lists an 8×8 size (GoSports), but we don't have an assembled depth for it, so it is left out of the table.
GoSports prices the Elite by size: $499.99 for the 7×7, $549.99 for the 8×8 and $599.99 for the 10×7 (GoSports, checked November 8, 2026). Lowe's lists ball return for the 7×7 model (checked October 22, 2026; Lowe's).
Spornia's page lists the SPG-8 with ball return and as foldable (checked October 22, 2026; Spornia). The box includes a carry bag, a target sheet, a chipping basket, and support poles with ground stakes (Spornia). Spornia's page also says you can hit real balls into it with wedges, irons and driver (checked October 21, 2026; Spornia).
Mats that pair with each net
A hitting strip needs a stance surface around it; a full mat includes both.
The SIGPRO Softy is a hitting strip, not a full mat. It measures 28 × 12 in (SIGPRO support), is 2.5 in thick (Shop Indoor Golf) and lists at $249.99 (Shop Indoor Golf). You still need something to stand on around it. We have no verified price for that surround, so any total that uses the Softy is incomplete.
Carl's HotShot system comes in 4×5, 5×8, 4×9 and 6×10 ft sizes and is 1¾ in thick (Carl's). Its $499.95 list price is for the 4×5 ft size with the standard three-tee strip, and the larger sizes cost more (Carl's, checked November 8, 2026). If you would rather have a full mat whose price is tied to one size, Omaha Sports & Games lists the TopGreens USA Standard Tee Range Mat 4.6 x 5.1 ft at $1,399 (October 23, 2026); with the SPG-8, that comes to $1,898.99.
Fiberbuilt's Grass Series 9′ × 4′ center-hitting studio mat lists at $1,499 (Fiberbuilt). It finishes at 109 in wide by 49 in deep and is 2 in thick (Fiberbuilt). The kit includes a 1 × 4 ft hitting panel, two 4 × 4 ft stance mats, a 2.625 in rubber tee, a holder for real tees and a tool-free modular rubber foundation (Fiberbuilt). If you want the stance mats priced on their own, ask Fiberbuilt; we have not confirmed a standalone price.
The Fiberbuilt mat is wider than the SPG-8's listed width: the net is 8 × 12 = 96 in wide and the mat 109 in, a difference of 13 in. Your room has to be at least as wide as the mat. The 10×7 GoSports is 10 × 12 = 120 in wide, so it is wider than this mat.
The Softy is 2.5 in thick, the Fiberbuilt mat 2 in and the HotShot 1¾ in, and each inch of mat raises your feet and the arc of your club by an inch, which comes straight off your ceiling clearance.
Three combos by budget
These totals use the SPG-8 and list prices only. They exclude tax, shipping and anything not named. Tax and shipping are unknown here, not zero. Prices were checked October 21, 2026.
SPG-8 plus a hitting strip: $749.98, partial
The SPG-8 ($499.99) plus the SIGPRO Softy ($249.99) totals $749.98 (Spornia, Shop Indoor Golf). The stance surface the strip sits in is missing, so this is not a finished setup. In a room short on depth, the GoSports 7×7 at the same $499.99 gives the same $749.98 total with 4.5 ft less net depth.
SPG-8 plus a single mat: $999.94
The SPG-8 ($499.99) plus a 4×5 ft Carl's HotShot ($499.95) totals $999.94 (Carl's). The net alone takes 8 ft of the room's length before the mat goes down.
SPG-8 plus a full studio mat: $1,998.99
The SPG-8 ($499.99) plus the Fiberbuilt 9′ × 4′ studio mat ($1,499) totals $1,998.99. Along the room's length, the net and mat alone take 96 in + 49 in = 145 in, about 12 ft 1 in. That is before the gap between the mat and the net and the space you need behind you. Across the room you need at least 109 in for the mat.
When a net beats an impact screen
If you don't plan to project an image, a net is the simpler choice. A net catches the ball, and a launch monitor's app on a phone or tablet shows the numbers. You don't need a projector mount, a dark room or throw-distance planning.
A net also suits a garage that has to hold a car again on Sunday, provided the net folds away. Spornia's page lists the SPG-8 as foldable, but we have no folded size for it, so ask Spornia how small it packs down before you count on that. GoSports says the Elite sets up and breaks down in under five minutes and folds into its included carrying case (GoSports, checked 2026-11-08). If you want a retractable net made for a 16-foot garage door, Omaha Sports & Games lists the G-TRAK Retractable Hitting Net - 16' Garage Door x 10' Net at $1,849.99 (October 12, 2026), well above the SPG-8's $499.99.
A practice net is built to stop balls, not to display a picture. If a projector is likely within a year or two, read the impact-screen guide in Read next before you buy, so you don't pay for a net you will replace.
Upgrading later without replacing the mat
If the mat will move with you into a bigger setup, size it for the room you expect to end up with. Fiberbuilt's studio mat sits on a modular foundation (Fiberbuilt). A Softy strip can move into a larger stance surface later. The HotShot's largest listed size is 6×10 ft (Carl's), so if you think you will go wider later, compare sizes now rather than after the net is up.