Setting Up Your Own At Home Driving Range

The first thing you will need for your setup is a golf net. The best golf net for your setup will depend on your budget, whether your setup will be indoors or outdoors, as well as the space you have available.

If you're buying a net, continue reading for our recommendations.

If you're a handy person and like do-it-yourself type projects, then building your own net is possible for your home driving range. There are a variety of ways you can build your own net, but here is our recommended path:

Building a PVC Net

PVC pipes are an easy, affordable, and sturdy material for a golf net frame. 1 1/2" PVC Pipes can be found at any big box hardware store for a reasonable price. You'll simply cut 10' PVC pipes to your desired height and width for your frame. Connect them together using PVC elbows. Then you'll build the net support in a similar fashion. Once the framing is built, you will need to drill holes on the inside of your framing so that you can screw in your screw hooks. You want the net to have a little give so that it doesn't act like a trampoline and shoot the balls back at you. Typically spacing the hooks every 8-12" works out well. Lastly, you will want to find some netting. Ideally you can find some netting that perfectly matches the size of your frame. If not, you can cut your net to size using something as simple as a box cutter. Attach you net to the screws on the inside of your frame and you're done!

The next thing you will need for your setup is a golf mat. This choice mostly comes down to how much you are willing to spend for quality. Quality mats will last a lot longer, provide a much more realistic strike through the turf, and be easier on your joints. With mats, there aren't many brand names so you pretty much get what you pay for.

Continue reading for our recommendations. You can even build your own DIY Golf Mat to save some $$$.

One of the best things you can do to make your driving range at home feel more like an actual driving range is to add-on a launch monitor to your setup. The biggest downside to hitting into a net is that you must rely on "feel" to determine how good you are swinging. This is why you can practice at home and think you're swinging great, only to get out on the course and find yourself hitting 30 yard push slices all day long.

Launch monitors will give you the correct feedback you need to assess how you're hitting and make adjustments. The best launch monitors will even show your actual ball flight just like you would see out on the real driving range.

Launch monitors can range quite a bit in price. On the low end you'll find units between $300-$600. These systems will typically tell you how far you're hitting it, your ball and swing speed, and a few other shot metrics. Units $2,000 and up will give you more data as well as typically provide your actual ball flight.

A good way to go about setting up your own home driving range is to purchase a kit, or package, that includes everything for the setup. One for a low-cost basic setup, and the other for a premium setup with golf simulation:

For a simple setup that includes everything you need for an at home driving range, you can find a good sized net and a hitting pad for relatively cheap out the door prices. The only downside to this kit is that the hitting mat is a pad only, and not a stance mat. So your feet will be slightly lower than the hitting pad unless you use something to put under your feet.

For the home driving range of all home driving ranges, this is the way to go. It comes with the best net on the market, the SwingTurf Golf mat, the Mevo+ launch monitor and golf simulator, and even the E6 Connect golf simulation software.

With this kit, you get a high-quality launch monitor and the ability to play 18 holes virtually at home.