A guide to the how to match your projector with your impact screen enclosure for problem free installation.

If you’ve settled on the type of launch monitor and software for your golf simulator, the next step is for you to select the best impact screen and enclosure for your setup.  Matching the right impact screen, enclosure, and projector correctly can create an amazing immersive setup for your room or facility. In this article, we’ll help you find the best golf simulator projector options for the popular models of Carl’s Place C-Series enclosers and screens.

A golf simulator enclosure is the frame of fabric walls that keep mishit golf balls from going through your walls, while keeping ambient light off the screen. These are typically bought at the same time as the impact screen and can have different length walls and ceilings depending on how much protection you feel is needed – and your budget. There are three main terms of measurements when evaluating impact screens and enclosures:

• Viewable Screen: the area of the screen that can be filled with a projected image. 
• Total Screen Size: the viewable screen plus the finished edges and trim. 
• Enclosure Size: the width of the frame that holds your golf screen. The new Carl's Place C-Series golf simulator enclosure kits is an upgrade to their original enclosure. It is redesigned with an impact screen where the screen goes all the way to the floor, allowing golfers to play golf in floor-to-ceiling borderless visuals.

When planning your setup, you want to make sure you have enough height – and enough width to fit everything into a room.  One easy tool to use is the BenQ 3D Golf Simulator Planner that enables you to input the measurements in your room – and ensure everything fits properly.

About simulator height, give yourself around 6-7 inches of buffer space from the height and subtract 4-6 inches from the width you have available (2-3 inches per side).

So what projectors work best for different Carl’s Place C-Series enclosures?  Here are some options you may want to look at based on the most popular models.

The shortest enclosure of Carl's Place C-Series is 7.7' tall, which fits an 8' ceiling height and is a ideal for a smaller room. The BenQ AH30ST LED 1080p short throw is an ideal match. Its short throw lens enables the unit to be mounted between 9 and 11 feet away, and the advanced 4LED light engine delivers far greater color realism than older lamp projectors on this size screen. It also is easy to change from its native 1080p resolution to 4:3 mode with a tap on the button – and it doesn’t lose any pixel density needed to see the details.

More a room with higher ceilings, you may want to consider an enclosure between 8ft or 8.5ft tall. There are a number of options here, including a 1:1 aspect ratio that enables you to use a taller spaces like a garage with more room to swing, without needing a wider room.

While the BenQ AH30ST can work well in this enclosure, the laser powered AH500ST ultra-short throw projector delivers 4000 Rec.709 color accurate lumens that will fill up these larger impact screens. Both AH30ST and AH500ST feature the Screen Fill function, which allows the projector to easily switch directly to a 1:1 / 4:3 or 16/10 format to match your impact screen width without any distortion. The special golf mode delivers incredible realism when marquee courses like Pebble Beach and Bethpage Black – so you can play like you’re there.

Widescreen enclosures are ideal for dual purpose simulators where you may want to use your space for watching golf or movies in addition to practicing and playing.  For the best widescreen experience, the BenQ LK936ST is a purpose built 4K UHD golf simulation projector that delivers 8.3 million pixels, providing crisply-defined details for the next generation simulator platforms such as GSPro, E6 CONNECT, and TGC 2019 that support for 4K output.

The LK936ST 4K laser projector has lots of installation features like lens shift and zoom that makes setup easy and can adapt to different aspect ratios such as 16:10 with a simple tap on the remote. The projector also doubles as a stunning home theater projector, according to ProjectorReviews.com “making it an obvious choice for home entertainment and golf simulator environments” if you are thinking of watching the Masters in 4K or streaming movies with your family.

On the other hand, the 4:3 ratio is taller and more square-shaped than 16:9 widescreen.  You can also setup a LK936ST to display in a 4:3 mode to get the highest resolution of 2880x2160.

If you are looking for a purpose-built golf simulation projector that will be a perfect match for your Carl’s Place enclosure, consider these models for maximum realism – with minimal installation.

BenQ has trained staff to help you find the perfect golf simulator projector – within your room size and budget. To help you make the best decision, you can reach out to one of our experts to set up anything from a chat to a complete online demo, to help you find the right projector for your needs.