Every folding golf simulator enclosure, compared honestly
"Folds away" means four different things in this category, and the difference decides whether you drill into your house, how much room you need, and what you pay. This page lays out the options we could verify on the makers' and retailers' own pages, including ours, and says plainly who each one is right for.
· written by the people building StowGolf in Tempe, Arizona
What does “folds away” actually mean for a golf simulator enclosure?
It means one of four things: a wall-mounted unit that folds out like a Murphy bed, an enclosure or screen that rolls up to brackets on the wall or ceiling, a home-built fold-away wall, or a freestanding enclosure that folds flat on its own frame.
The first two are usually sold as retractable enclosures. They get the floor back, but the hardware is fastened to the building and stays where you installed it. The third is a weekend (or several) of your own work. The fourth is the newest: nothing is mounted, so it can move rooms or move houses.
A fifth option belongs in the comparison even though it does not fold at all: the fixed pipe-frame kit. If you have a room you can give to golf permanently, it is the simplest and often the least expensive answer, and we say so below.
How do the folding and retractable enclosures compare on price, mounting, and space?
The verified range in October 2026 runs from $1,995 for a roll-up screen to $11,199 for an installed wall-mounted fold-out. Every retractable we checked is mounted to the wall or ceiling and asks for a room about 17 feet long.
| Product | Type | Price | How it mounts | When stowed | Room it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy 10 (Ace Indoor Golf) | Wall-mounted fold-out with a hitting deck | $11,199 on sale (regular $13,499). Price includes the $2,200 installation. | Mounts on your wall. Professional installation, scheduled one to two months out. | Protrudes 24 in from the wall. Folds up in less than a minute. | 15 ft wide, 10 ft high, 17 ft deep |
| SportScreen Vanish 9 | Roll-up enclosure: screen, sides, and ceiling panel | From $2,999 with a hand crank. A remote motor adds $1,000 at PlayBetter. | Wall or ceiling brackets, included | Rolls up to the brackets. No stowed depth published that we could find. | 105 to 117 in wide, 108 to 126 in high, 204 in long |
| HomeCourse Pro retractable screen | Roll-up impact screen, battery motor and remote. Top and side nets are add-ons. | $1,995 | Ceiling mount kit included. Wall mount and a freestanding rack are sold separately. | Retracts into its housing. Deploys in under 30 seconds. | Ideal room 11 ft wide, 8 ft 6 in high, 8 ft deep, with 10 to 12 ft suggested front to back for play |
| Carl's Place DIY enclosure kit | Fixed pipe-frame enclosure. Does not fold. | About $1,200 at PlayBetter. Pipes are sold separately. | Stands on its own 1 in EMT frame | It does not stow. It stays up. | Carl's general minimum: 10 ft wide, 15 ft deep, 8 to 9 ft high (their room guide) |
| DIY fold-away wall | Home build, usually an EMT, steel, or lumber frame on hinges or a hoist | Varies with the build | Typically lag bolts or anchors into the ceiling, wall, or floor | Depends on the build | Depends on the build |
| StowGolf | Freestanding fold-flat enclosure with impact screen | $2,495 list, $2,295 founders price on the first 25. Not yet shipping. | Freestanding. No drilling. | Folds flat against the wall in under a minute. Measured folded depth not yet published. | Plays at about 10 ft wide, 5 ft deep, 7 ft 6 in tall |
Two notes on reading the table. First, the "room it asks for" column is each maker's own figure and they are not measured the same way: some include the space you swing in, and ours is the footprint of the bay itself. For how much total depth you need to play, see the garage fit guide. Second, none of these prices include a launch monitor or projector. That part is covered in Finish your bay.
Which folding or retractable enclosure costs the least?
The HomeCourse Pro retractable screen, at $1,995, was the lowest verified price among the options that get the floor back. If you do not need the floor back, a fixed kit costs less.
The HomeCourse is a screen first. Its listing describes a retractable impact screen with a ceiling mount, and the top net and side arms that turn it into a bay are separate pieces. For a golfer with a ceiling they are allowed to drill and a tight number to hit, that is a sensible way in.
The SportScreen Vanish starts about $1,000 higher and gives you a complete roll-up enclosure with sides and a ceiling panel. The Murphy costs several times more because it is a different thing: a built-in with a hitting deck, and installation is part of the price.
Which ones have to be drilled into the house?
All three retractables we verified. The Murphy mounts on the wall, the Vanish hangs from wall or ceiling brackets, and the HomeCourse ships with a ceiling mount. The fixed pipe-frame kit and StowGolf stand on the floor.
Mounting is not a flaw. A ceiling-mounted roll-up takes no floor space when it is stowed, and that is hard to beat. It does mean three things: you need framing where the brackets go, you need to keep the garage door and its tracks clear of the hardware, and the enclosure stays with the house unless you take it down and patch the holes.
If you rent, or you expect to move, that last point is the whole decision. The renter guide goes through it.
Which enclosure is right for which golfer?
Pick by your room and your walls, not by the feature list. Here is the plain version.
- You have a room that can stay a golf room. Buy a fixed kit such as the Carl's Place enclosure. Nothing folding will be simpler, and you keep the money.
- Price comes first and you own the ceiling. The HomeCourse Pro is the lowest verified number here and it clears the floor completely.
- You want a complete roll-up enclosure and have a 9 ft ceiling or better. The SportScreen Vanish is built for exactly that room.
- You want it built in, with a deck, installed for you. The Murphy is that product, at that price.
- You like building things and own the walls. A DIY fold-away can work well. Read DIY vs kit first.
- You cannot or will not drill, you need the car back in, or you may move. That is who we are building StowGolf for. It is not shipping yet, so if you need a bay this month, choose from the rows above.
What specs should a folding enclosure publish?
Four numbers: how far it sticks out when stowed, how long it takes to fold, how it attaches to your house, and the room it needs. If a listing skips one, ask before you order.
The Murphy page does this well: 24 inches off the wall, less than a minute to fold, wall mounted, 15 by 10 by 17 feet. Roll-up products tend to publish the room and skip the stowed size.
Here is ours, including the gap. StowGolf folds in under a minute, one person, no tools, and we time it on camera. It is freestanding. It plays at about 10 ft wide, 5 ft deep, and 7 ft 6 in tall. The folded depth is the number we have not published, because it has not been measured on a production sample. It folds flat against the wall, and the measured figure goes on the spec sheet when the production sample is tested. We would rather leave a blank than print a guess.
What about the folding kits sold on marketplaces?
Folding enclosure kits are listed on large marketplaces, but we could not confirm their prices, dimensions, or folded depth from the sellers' own pages when we checked, so they are not in the table.
That is a statement about what we could verify, not about the products. If you are considering one, ask the seller for the same four numbers: stowed depth, fold time, mounting, and room size. We will add any kit to this table when its published specs can be linked.
Short answers.
- What is the difference between a retractable and a folding golf simulator enclosure?
- A retractable enclosure rolls or folds up into hardware that is fastened to your wall or ceiling. A folding enclosure collapses on its own frame. The practical difference is drilling: most retractables are mounted to the building, and a freestanding folding enclosure is not.
- What is the least expensive retractable golf simulator screen?
- Of the products we could verify in October 2026, the HomeCourse Pro retractable screen was the lowest at $1,995. It is a roll-up screen with optional top and side nets, not a full enclosure, and its included mount goes into the ceiling.
- Do retractable golf simulator enclosures need to be drilled into the wall or ceiling?
- The ones we checked do. The Murphy mounts on your wall with professional installation, the SportScreen Vanish hangs from wall or ceiling brackets, and the HomeCourse Pro ships with a ceiling mount kit. HomeCourse also sells a freestanding rack separately.
- How much room does a retractable golf simulator enclosure need?
- More than most people expect. The SportScreen Vanish 9 asks for a room 105 to 117 inches wide, 108 to 126 inches high (9 feet to 10 feet 6 inches), and 204 inches (17 feet) long. The Murphy 10 asks for 15 feet wide, 10 feet high, and 17 feet deep.
- Is StowGolf available to buy now?
- No. StowGolf is not yet shipping. Founding units are in production planning, the list price is $2,495 with a $2,295 founders price on the first 25 builds, and the waitlist is free. If you need an enclosure this month, one of the shipping products on this page is the right call.