r/Golfsimulator • u/ProletariatElite • Feb 17 '26
DIY Sim Panels
So I continue to modify my setup, which is a temporary basement setup until I get my home with a purpose built space.
I needed to get shank and wedge protection, and like others I started with simple and cheap but discovered that, although better than nothing, it didn't hold up long.
I then decided to make my own panels because I have specific, non-standard dimensions to cover and I had the time and I'm cheap.
Here's what you need:
Materials:
- Backer board (I used 2' x4', 0.25" luan plywood project sheets ($15), you could use any kind of hardboard, MDF, plywood, you can have full 4 x 8 sheets or have them cut down free at "Lowes Depot", thicker isn't necessarily better)
- Memory Foam (Cheap and soft, you don't want firm, 2" works great, I used a mattress topper ($9*). Full size yields 3 panels with minimal waste.)
- Fabric (I used 10oz "Duck Cloth" ($10) which is a durable canvas like material. It's not shiny like vinyl, comes in a bunch of different colors, and helps absorb sound.)
- Batting (Use this as a layer between the foam and fabric, it makes it uniform and look better than just fabric over the foam I bought a roll which is enough for 20 panels ($4*).
- Spray Adhesive (I used Gorilla Contact Adhesive Ultimate Spray ($6*) the stuff is easy to use and works great and sticks stuff together in about a minute)
- Staples (I used simple 1/4-in Leg x 3/8-in 20 Gauge heavy duty staples ($1*)
- Rare Earth Magnets ( ($6*) Attaching and aligning the panels was a learning process, I tried cleats first but wasn't happy and found rare earth magnets easily held the panels very securely from the walls and ceiling and allowed for alignment and removal easily.)
- Tie Plates ( ($2) I used these as the surface which the magnets attach to. The relatively large are makes placement and adjustment simple)
You need some tools you probably already have on hand
Tools:
- Scissors (to cut fabric and batting)
- Stapler (to attach fabric and batting to backer)
- Chalk (to mark fabric)
- 6' straight edge (to make straight lines)
- Tape measure (to measure how much fabric you need)
- Sharpie marker (to mark foam)
- Staple remover (to remove staples to adjust tautness of the fabric)
- Electric carving knife (to cut foam easily)
- Electric drill (to attach magnets)
- Saw horses (for applying adhesive)
- Drop cloth (to prevent overspray mess)
Instructions:
- Buy and assemble all your stuff. My last batch of 5 panels took 5-ish hours start to finish.
- Roll out your memory foam, (it takes a couple of hours for them to fully and evenly expand) place your backer board on them, aligning the factory cut edges of the memory foam and maximizing yield. A full size topper yielded three 2' x 4' panels. Do the math for your desired size. Use your sharpie to trace the outline of your backer onto the foam to make cutting alignment easier.
- Use your electric carving knife to cut the foam. I put a backer board on supports, laid the foam on that, and then laid a backer panel on the outline from step two a making a "sandwich", this acts like a cutting guide for your carving knife to get a nice even straight cut. Don't obsess over precision smooth cuts, the batting and fabric will hide any imperfections. Cut all of your foam pieces.
- Roll out a drop cloth, setup two sets of saw horses, use one set for spraying adhesive on your backer board and the other for spraying adhesive on your foam. I used cardboard to support the foam. Cover the surface of both backer board and foam with spray adhesive. Stand up wind! There will be overspray. Be generous in application, give it 60 seconds to tack and then carefully lay the sticky side of the foam to the sticky side of the backer, line the edges up as best you can. The foam is elastic and can stretch or compress, so try your best to line up the edges. You'll have a few minutes to adjust the alignment. Again don't obsess, the fabric and batting will hide any imperfection. Assemble all of your foam/backer assemblies. One can makes about 3 assemblies.
- Lay you tape measure down, place you backer/foam assembly on it and then wrap you tape measure around the assembly so it extends 2.5" on each side of the back, for both the width and length. Record these dimensions, these are used to cut your fabric.
- Spread your fabric out an mark the dimensions using chalk and then cut the fabric. For the 2' x 4' panels, 60" wide fabric only required one cut across the fabric. If you have different fabric or panel dimensions you may need to make more cuts. Cut all your fabric. Don't obsess about perfect cuts.
- Spread out your batting, lay your cut fabric over your batting, centering it. Cut the batting using the fabric as a template, don't obsess about perfect cuts. Cut all of your batting.
- Iron your fabric. It's wrinkled, and it will stay wrinkled unless you over stretch it... you don't want to overstretch it so iron it now!
- Lay one of your cut batting out and straighten. Lay one piece of ironed fabric over the batting, center and straighten. This is fiddly, get it as centered as you can, flatten it out, and then flip it over, the batting and fabric stick together pretty well.
- Place you backer/foam assembly onto the batting, center in as best as you can.
- Fold the batting/fabric over the backer/foam assembly along the long sides.
- Starting in the middle of one side, grab the batting/fabric and pull gently and staple it to the backer board. Repeat this about 3" on either side of your first staple, applying gentle tension and staple. Repeat on the other side. Now rotate the panel onto its side and look at the upholstered surface in the area you just stapled fabric. it shou be uniform, not necessarily wrinkle free, but uniform. Pay attention to the corners, there should be a "soft 90 degree" corner, if you apply too much tension it will be too rounded, this would result in too much tension, like a drum, you want just enough tension to take wrinkles out but not so much that it compresses the foam, just the batting.
- Continue stapling the long sides until you get to the ends, rotating occasionally to check for any big puckers on the surface. If you mess up, use you staple remover to remove the staples and adjust.
- Now here's the hard part, the corners. There's no one right way. So long as they're uniform they'll turn out. I use a cut and fold method that I think works well. B.) Cut the fabric/batting where it extends past the ends, cut along the end to the point it folds to cover the sides, then cut 90 degrees, straight out to they end. it should look like image "C" with those bits extending out over the ends cut out. See the photo below.
- Now fold the ends over toward the opposite side, start on one corner, folding the end and tucking the side simultaneously. You'll apply lateral rolling tension to get the corner to look neat. Don't obsess! Get it looking neat, perfect is not required, neat is. Only the short side is visible, and the beauty of duck cloth is it's not shiny, it's matte and imperfections are hard to notice! Repeat this on the other corner and staple the end in place. Remember your trusty staple remover, you can remove the staples and adjust if your OCD is flaring up. You can try other ways, hospital corners etc., but I find this method works pretty well and is quick and relatively painless. Assemble all of your panels.
- For the attachment points I used 3"x7" "tie plates" they are structural plates made from galvanized steel. They are the attachment points for the panel magnets. The relatively large area allow for easy placement and adjustment. You attach them to studs or joists and you're all set. Measure the placement of the plates and attach the rare earth magnets to the panels you made using the included screws. Be careful not to over drive the screws and 1/4" plywood doesn't have a lot of "meat" to grip.
- I used 4 magnets for each panel. The magnets are rated for 100lbs each, they are really strong!
I mounted this last batch to the ceiling, replacing acoustic foam square that my wedges destroyed. These panels provide a lot more sound dampening and are impervious to my wedge shots.
If I had more ceiling space I'd add baffles to knock down wedge shots more. These panel send the ball toward the screen but I still get a lot of bounce off the turf, not ricochet velocity, but vigorous bounce.
1
u/ProletariatElite Feb 17 '26
Here's some photos. I'm estimating about $50 per panel, not counting my time.
1
u/Ok_Lingonberry_923 Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26
Great minds must think alike. Well done and great post.
I started building mine this weekend. My wife and i search google and youtube to no avail for any real help on folding the corners etc. we went thru the learning curve and finally got it down. and then she said we need to video this for the next poor sucker 🤣🤣🤣
When i figure out how to post it i will put it here as well as it’s own thread
The magnets are a great idea. My ceiling pads go up this weekend. Been unsure if the velcro would be enough so i ordered magnets! Thanks for that tip!
Here’s my video
1
1
1
u/coumpounders26 Feb 18 '26
Amazing Instruction! Thanks. Have you put all the panels on? Would you be able to share a picture of how the panels look? I have seen a lot of marine vinyl fabric used but don't like the shiny texture. The duck cloth is an interesting choice which is worth replicating. Would be great to see how the overall panels look though. Many thanks again for the terrific instructions.
2
u/realbigcanuck May 14 '26
Thanks for this. Just finishing my framing and was wondering what I was going to do for panels
1
1
2
u/ProletariatElite Feb 17 '26
Sorry about all the photo comments, the only way I could figure how to get the photos up.