The golf simulator vs. the parking spot: you can keep both
A garage is the obvious place for a simulator and the one room in the house that already has a job. Most garage plans end at the same sentence: "fine, but I am not parking outside." There are four real ways through it. This page lays out what each costs and what each gives up, with sources.
· written by the people building StowGolf in Tempe, Arizona
Can you have a golf simulator in the garage and still park in it?
Yes. The enclosure has to get out of the car's way when you are done, and there are four ways to make that happen: park outside, build a fold-up frame yourself, mount a retractable to the building, or use a freestanding enclosure that folds flat.
The first one is the default, and it is how most garage simulators end up as a permanent trade: the bay stays, the car leaves. The other three exist because plenty of golfers refused that trade and went looking for something better.
Why does the parking spot stop so many garage simulators?
Because a fixed enclosure takes the floor permanently, and the general guidance for a simulator room is 15 to 20 ft of depth. That is the whole parking bay.
The 15 ft minimum and the 18 to 20 ft recommendation come from Carl's Place's room guide. Put a fixed frame at one end of a garage bay and the car has nowhere to go.
Golfers have been solving this themselves for years. On Golf Simulator Forum, one owner hinged the side panels of a pipe-frame enclosure so it stows in about a 1 by 8 ft footprint, because, as he put it, his wife would not give up half of a two-car garage for a toy (thread, 2020). Another built a 12 by 9 ft frame from 1 in EMT that pivots up to the ceiling on eye lag bolts (thread, 2017). A third built a steel and wood frame that a winch raises and lowers, so the garage still works in winter (thread, 2024). The demand is real. The question is how you want to meet it.
What are the four ways to keep the car in the garage, and what does each cost?
Park outside for nothing extra, build a fold-up for the price of materials and your weekends, mount a retractable for about $2,000 to $11,000, or use a freestanding fold-flat enclosure at $2,495.
| Approach | What it costs | Drilling | Where it goes when the car comes in | What you give up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed enclosure, car parks outside | A fixed kit runs about $1,200 plus pipes for a Carl's Place DIY kit | None | Nowhere. It stays up. | The parking spot, for as long as the bay is there |
| DIY fold-up or hoisted frame | Materials plus your time. Varies with the build. | Yes. Owner builds typically anchor to the ceiling, wall, or floor. | Up to the ceiling or flat to the wall, depending on the design | Weekends, and you own every problem that shows up later |
| Mounted retractable | HomeCourse Pro screen $1,995. SportScreen Vanish from $2,999. Murphy $11,199 installed. | Yes. Wall or ceiling brackets, or a wall mount. | Rolls up to the ceiling line, or folds to 24 in off the wall (Murphy) | It stays with the house. The roll-ups ask for a room about 17 ft long. |
| Freestanding fold-flat (StowGolf) | $2,495 list, $2,295 founders price on the first 25. Not yet shipping. | None | Flat against the wall. Measured folded depth not yet published. | You fold it and stand it back up each session, and today you would be waiting for it |
None of these prices include the launch monitor, projector, or mat. Those are the same purchase whichever row you choose, and Finish your bay lays them out. The full spec comparison of the stowing enclosures is in the roundup.
How much room does the car need back?
Measure it instead of guessing: park the car where it lives, then measure from the bumper to the wall the screen would stand against. Whatever stows has to fit inside that gap, with room to walk past.
This is the number that sorts the options. If the gap is a couple of feet, a unit that protrudes 24 in will technically fit and you will brush past it every morning. A ceiling roll-up takes none of the gap, but it needs clear ceiling: check that the open garage door and its tracks do not pass through the spot where the brackets go.
For StowGolf, we say "folds flat against the wall" and stop there, because the folded depth has not been measured on a production sample. That figure goes on the spec sheet when the production sample is tested. If your gap is tight enough that an inch decides it, wait for the number before you commit to us. The photos below are the working prototype, deployed and folded, in the garage it was built in.
What does the routine actually look like?
Back the car out, stand the bay up, put the mat and launch monitor down, play. Afterward, fold it, lean the mat, and bring the car in.
Be honest with yourself about this part, because a setup you dread is a setup you stop using. With StowGolf the fold itself takes under a minute for one person with no tools, and standing it back up takes about a minute. Two crossbeams lift out and the frames nest flat against the wall. We time it on camera with real footage of the prototype.
The other pieces add a little. A hitting mat has to move or stand on edge. A portable launch monitor comes inside with you. A ceiling-mounted projector stays where it is, and because the screen stays at the wall, its aim does not change. A projector on a cart rolls away with the mat. If you play three nights a week, a ceiling mount pays for the one session of drilling.
Will a mishit hit the car?
Not if the car is out of the garage while you play, and with a stowing setup it is. The risk belongs to fixed bays that share the garage with a parked car.
One caution applies to any shallow enclosure. With a behind-the-ball radar such as the Rapsodo MLM2PRO, the maker asks for 8 ft from ball to screen. In a 5 ft deep bay, that puts the ball about 3 ft outside the side walls, where an angled mishit can miss the enclosure. Keep anything you care about out of that lane, or choose a launch monitor that sits beside the ball. The fit guide has the depth table.
Which approach should you pick?
If parking outside does not bother you, a fixed kit is the least money and the least fuss. If you own the garage and want zero floor used, a ceiling roll-up is the cleanest stow. If you will not drill or you may move, pick freestanding.
The DIY route suits a specific person: someone who enjoys the build as much as the golf. If that is you, the DIY vs kit guide is a fair look at what you are signing up for.
Short answers.
- Can you have a golf simulator in a garage and still park the car?
- Yes, if the enclosure gets out of the car's way. There are four ways to do it: park outside, build a fold-up or hoisted frame yourself, mount a retractable enclosure to the wall or ceiling, or use a freestanding enclosure that folds flat against the wall.
- How much does a retractable golf simulator enclosure cost?
- The ones we verified in October 2026 ranged from $1,995 for the HomeCourse Pro retractable screen, to $2,999 and up for the SportScreen Vanish roll-up enclosure, to $11,199 installed for the wall-mounted Murphy from Ace Indoor Golf.
- How far does a stowed golf simulator stick out from the wall?
- It depends on the product, and many do not say. The wall-mounted Murphy publishes 24 inches. Roll-up enclosures stow at the ceiling. StowGolf folds flat against the wall, and its measured folded depth will be published when the production sample is tested.
- Will a golf ball hit my car in a garage simulator?
- Not if the car is out while you play, which is the point of a setup that stows. With a fixed bay next to a parked car, a mishit can leave the enclosure. With a radar launch monitor you also hit from outside the mouth of the bay, so keep the lane beside you clear.
- How long does it take to fold a golf simulator away?
- The Murphy lists less than a minute, and the HomeCourse screen lists under 30 seconds to deploy. StowGolf folds in under a minute for one person with no tools, timed on camera. Allow extra time for the mat and the launch monitor with any of them.