Guides · Room design and everyday use
How Do You Lay Out a Golf Simulator for Both Right- and Left-Handed Golfers?
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For right- and left-handed golfers to share a centered tee, each side needs room for a full swing. The launch monitor must either stay in one position for both players or have a second position that remains clear of both golfers.
Garmin recommends a space at least 13 ft wide for a dual-handed Approach R50 setup, against 10 ft for most users ([Garmin R50 setup tips](https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=D4mtd3At2D7pknJSKGdx68), checked November 8, 2026). That is the width of the space itself, so the enclosure frame and the monitor still come out of it, and your own widest swing still has to fit.
In a narrow room, offsetting the tee may help the main golfer but leaves less space for the other hand. Test each golfer's actual swing before deciding what can be played from that side.
The width that makes both sides work
With the tee on the centerline, the right-hander stands on one side of the ball and the left-hander on the other. Each side of the tee has to hold a whole swing, so the room needs whichever of these is larger:
- the width of the screen or enclosure you plan to install
- twice your side clearance, measured from the tee to the farthest point your body and longest club reach on the side you stand, plus the gap you want between that point and the wall or netting
The Room size calculator uses the same layout: tee on the centerline and a side clearance on each side. Enter a clearance you measured with slow swings in a space of similar height, using your longest club, rather than one borrowed from someone else's room. If more than one adult will play, measure the person with the widest swing.
Garmin's R50 tips give the only dual-handed room width for a launch monitor among these sources, and the two room examples below use it. SkyTrak gives a figure for its own enclosure instead: it calls the 12-ft Studio ideal for dual-handed play from a center-hitting position, in a room at least 13 ft wide, 16 ft deep and 9 ft high (SkyTrak plan your space, checked November 8, 2026).
| Room width | In feet | Against Garmin's 13 ft dual-handed figure | Against Garmin's 10 ft figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 168 in | 168 ÷ 12 = 14 ft | 14 − 13 = 1 ft to spare | 14 − 10 = 4 ft to spare |
| 132 in | 132 ÷ 12 = 11 ft | 13 − 11 = 2 ft short | 11 − 10 = 1 ft to spare |
The 168-inch room clears Garmin's number, though it still has to clear your own doubled side clearance. The 132-inch room is a one-handed room for the R50. Some monitors need more width than that room has even for one golfer: an earlier guide on this site read Bushnell's simulator page as putting the Launch Pro at 12 ft of width (Bushnell golf simulators). We haven't confirmed whether that figure covers a dual-handed setup, and the 132-inch room is 12 − 11 = 1 ft short of it either way.
Launch monitors that need moving, and ones that do not
A unit behind the ball sits on the target line, which is the same line for both golfers. A unit beside the ball occupies one side, and that side changes when the golfer does. Garmin, for example, puts the R50 1 to 2 ft in front of the ball with the ball between the golfer and the unit. The wider trade-offs are covered in Radar vs camera: the 6 ft that decides your launch monitor.
| Launch monitor | Where it sits | Switching between right- and left-handed players |
|---|---|---|
| Garmin Approach R10 | Behind the ball, 6 to 8 ft back (Garmin placement tips) | Same position for either hand, and no setting to change (Garmin, checked 2026-11-08) |
| Garmin Approach R50 | 1 to 2 ft in front of the ball, with the ball between the golfer and the unit (Garmin setup tips) | A left-handed golfer stands on the other side of the ball, so the unit goes to that side too. Garmin recommends a space of 13 ft or more for dual-handed setups |
| FlightScope Mevo+ | Behind the ball (FlightScope) | Ask FlightScope whether a left-handed golfer changes a setting |
| Full Swing KIT | Behind the ball (Full Swing) | Handedness is a setting (Full Swing space guide) |
| Blue Tees Rainmaker | Behind the ball (Blue Tees help) | Detected automatically; nothing to move or set (Blue Tees) |
| SkyTrak+ | Ask SkyTrak | SkyTrak calls its 12-ft Studio ideal for dual-handed play from a center-hitting position, in a room at least 13 ft wide (SkyTrak). Ask which side the unit goes for a lefty |
| Foresight GC3 | Not confirmed | Reposition for the other hand (Foresight's help article). Ask Foresight how long the move takes on the GC3 |
| Bushnell Launch Pro | Not confirmed | A Left/Right Handed toggle in the unit's Quick Settings (Bushnell, checked 2026-11-08) |
| Uneekor EYE MINI | Not confirmed | Ask Uneekor where the unit goes for a left-handed golfer |
| Square Golf Home | Beside the ball, with the ball 42 cm from the unit and 23 cm back (Square Golf help) | Set handedness in My Account and for each player in Game Mode (Square Golf help); the FAQ says the device may need repositioning |
A dash marks unconfirmed handedness instructions. "Not confirmed" in the placement column means you should ask the maker where the unit sits; placement and switching details for ceiling-mounted monitors also remain unconfirmed here.
If handedness instructions are unconfirmed, ask the maker where to place the unit for a left-handed golfer and whether to change an app setting. Don't assume one position works for both hands; confirm it with short shots from each side. A beside-the-ball unit's second position must also clear the other golfer's club and feet, taking up some of the width you measured.
Centering the enclosure and screen
Start from the room's centerline. Center the screen on it, put the tee on the same line, and center the enclosure around both. Each golfer then gets the same distance to the netting and the same view of the image. If you offset any one of the three, one hand loses room.
Choose the enclosure width alongside the room's swing clearance. Carl's Place lists its DIY enclosure kit in height × width options of 7.7×10, 7.7×13, 8×8, 8×10.5, 8.5×11.5 and 9×12 ft, plus custom sizes. Depth is set by the buyer's own pipe frame, and the pipes aren't included (Carl's Place kit). The size names are simplified, though. Carl's specification sheet gives the 7.7 × 13 an actual outer width of 163.3 in and the 9 × 12 146.3 in (Carl's Place, checked 2026-11-08). Centered in the 168-inch room above, the 7.7 × 13 leaves 168 − 163.3 = 4.7 in, about 2.35 in per side, and the 9 × 12 leaves 21.7 in, about 10.85 in per side. If you want to compare a second maker's sizes, Omaha Sports & Games lists the GolfBays SimBox Golf Simulator Enclosure in 7 sizes from $1,444.15 (October 23, 2026); ask the store for each size's frame width before you plan a centered tee.
An enclosure's frame width doesn't equal the room width a launch monitor maker has in mind. Garmin's 13-ft figure is for the space itself, so once an enclosure goes in, the open width inside the netting is smaller than that.
Mats and tee positions for two sides
With one centered tee, both golfers hit from the same spot but stand on opposite sides of it. The standing surface needs to support both golfers' stances on opposite sides of the hitting spot. You can use one wide mat, or a hitting strip in the middle with matching stance mats on either side, all at the same height so neither golfer stands lower. Mat thickness raises the golfer, so recheck the ceiling with the mats you'll actually use.
Two tees, one for each hand, can make sense when a side-mounted unit has two fixed positions. But neither ball then sits on the screen's centerline, and each tee needs its own monitor position and its own alignment. Mark every tee and monitor position on the mat or floor so a switch doesn't mean measuring again.
A layout for a narrow room
In the 132-inch room, a centered tee doesn't meet Garmin's R50 dual-handed figure, so one hand gets priority. Viewed from behind the ball looking at the screen, a right-handed golfer stands on the left of the target line. For a mostly right-handed household, slide the tee toward the right wall so the left side gets the extra room. A mostly left-handed household does the mirror image.
The other golfer is then standing on the short side. Whether that golfer hits full swings, half swings with shorter clubs, or nothing at all has to come from that golfer's own slow-swing test in the finished room.
A behind-the-ball unit that handles handedness automatically or with a setting keeps the second golfer's side free of hardware. A beside-the-ball unit needs a second position that fits on the short side, and in a narrow room that position may not exist.
So for a narrow room shared by both hands, look first at units that stay put: Blue Tees says the Rainmaker detects handedness automatically, and Full Swing makes it a setting on the KIT. If the room clears 13 ft, the Garmin Approach R50 becomes an option; Omaha Sports & Games lists the Approach R50 Premium Golf Launch Monitor and Simulator at $5,099.99 (October 23, 2026).
What to test before anything is fixed in place
Before you anchor the enclosure, cut turf or mount anything, check the layout with both hands:
- Take slow practice swings with the longest club from each side, on the actual mats, and watch the netting, walls and ceiling at the top of the backswing and the finish.
- Hit short, soft shots from each side and confirm the monitor reads them from its planned position, or from each of its positions if it moves.
- Stand where a beside-the-ball unit goes for the other hand and confirm it isn't in either golfer's path.
- Walk the route to collect balls and switch sides, and look for cables or a monitor in the way.
These checks are for planning. Passing them doesn't certify the room as safe for every swing or every player.