What's Included in a Mobile Golf Simulator Setup for an Event?

Most people asking about a golf simulator for an event want two answers: what turns up, and how much room it takes.

A home simulator buyer builds one room once. We build ours in convention centres, hotel ballrooms, shopping centres, showrooms and marquees, then pack it down and do it again the following week. That changes the equipment choices, the floorplan and the way the activation runs on the day.

This guide covers the whole setup: gear, space, launch monitor, software, projection, clubs, competition formats, GolfOS live event leaderboards, branding and what we need from the venue.

What arrives at the venue

The build changes with the brief, so treat this as the full kit list rather than a fixed package.

• Simulator enclosure
• Impact and projection screen
• Uneekor EYE MINI launch monitor
• Gaming PC
• Simulator software
• BenQ short-throw projector
• AV and equipment unit
• Hitting mat
• Event flooring
• Golf balls
• Right and left-handed clubs
• GolfOS registration and leaderboard where included
• Competition configuration for your format
• A Full Send operator
• Optional branding and finishing

How much space does a mobile golf simulator need?

There are three numbers, and people usually only ask about the first one.

Enclosure footprint is the bay itself.

Safe swing footprint is the clear area the player needs to swing without catching a frame, a wall or another guest.

Event footprint is everything the activation occupies: player, operator, AV unit, queue, spectators and access past the stand.

A 3m enclosure doesn't mean we draw a 3m box on the floorplan and call the job finished.

Current bay guidance

For the 3m enclosure, plan on about 3m of width for the bay, around 2.5m of enclosure height, roughly 3.5m of operating width where the floorplan allows, about 3m of ceiling clearance and about 4.5m to 5m of working depth.

For the 4m enclosure, plan on about 4m of bay width, the same 3m of ceiling clearance and the same 4.5m to 5m of working depth. The wider bay still needs swing clearance inside it.

These are planning figures for early conversations. Before setup we confirm the exact player position, handedness, swing clearance, projector position, spectator space, queue area and any venue constraint that changes the layout.

Longest drive needs more room

A driver swing is longer, faster and wider than a seven iron. Longest drive runs indoors, and we run it, but it wants more swing freedom than an iron based nearest to the pin format. On a compact exhibition stand with aisles either side, that room often isn't there, so we recommend irons instead.

Guest movement matters as much as the bay. Our guide to choosing corporate entertainment goes through how event format and guest flow shape that decision. For a local build, the details are on our Adelaide golf simulator hire page.

Why we use a camera-based launch monitor

We use the Uneekor EYE MINI. Uneekor lists it as a two-camera ground placement unit with a 12 inch by 8 inch hitting zone, club data, 19 data points, support for any golf ball and third-party software compatibility.

The reason we chose a ground-mounted photometric unit is floorplan geometry. It sits beside the hitting area, so the space behind the golfer stays free. That gives the operator and the spectators usable room, removes the need to park a unit several metres behind the player, and makes repeated setup and pack-down faster across our bay configurations.

Radar systems work indoors. TrackMan's own technical guidance recommends a room around 4.6m wide, 3.1m high and 5.5m deep, and its ceiling-mounted TrackMan iO is described as needing no minimum distance in front of or behind the ball. Different tracking designs solve indoor golf in different ways: behind the ball, overhead, or beside the ball like ours. For a mobile operator packing into a venue with a two-hour bump-in window, beside the ball gives us the balance we want.

What golf simulator software we use

GSPro runs most of our events. GSPro is built on the Unity engine with 4K graphics and its own ball physics, supports Uneekor hardware, and promotes a library of more than 2,500 community-created courses.

For events, that library matters. We can pick a par three that reads clearly on screen in a few seconds, set a pin position that rewards a good shot, and run the same hole for three days without guests losing interest. Stadium-style short holes and island green style holes get a reaction from people who watch golf, and Australian recreations land well with local crowds.

One caveat worth stating plainly: GSPro says the course simulations playable in its software are not endorsed by or affiliated with any real-world golf courses or their owners. We name the look of a hole, not a partnership.

We also use Uneekor GameDay where its presentation suits the brief.

The projector and screen

We project onto the impact screen with a BenQ TK710STi. BenQ specifies 4K UHD at 3840 by 2160, 3,200 ANSI lumens, a laser light source, a 0.69 to 0.83 throw ratio and 1.2x zoom.

The throw ratio is the part that matters at an event. Short throw lets the projector sit close to the screen, which keeps it out of the swing, reduces the shadow the player casts on their own shot, keeps the hardware inside the bay footprint and away from guest traffic, and gives us fewer cables crossing a walkway. We usually position the AV unit behind and to the side of the player, adjusted for the bay and the venue.

What clubs guests use

We bring the clubs. The mix depends on the game.

• Premium TaylorMade P790 irons
• Kirkland Signature clubs, which the golfers who spend too much time online recognise straight away
• Ping left-handed options
• Drivers when the format needs them

Nearest to the pin runs on irons. Longest drive needs drivers and the extra room described above. We confirm left and right-handed requirements during planning, because handedness changes the hitting position and the projector line.

How we choose the game format

Nearest to the pin

This is our default for exhibitions, conferences, corporate functions and brand activation work. Guests understand it without instructions, a turn takes under a minute, scoring is a single number, and the result shows on screen straight away. People watch, compare, then queue for their own attempt. It also feeds a leaderboard cleanly.

Longest drive

Simple, competitive and loud with the right crowd. It needs a driver, more swing clearance and a floorplan that gives us the room. When a client asks for it on a small stand, we say so early.

Open play and team golf

Course play, teams and drop-in rounds suit birthdays, bucks events, staff nights and relaxed functions where guests stay for hours. There's less structure, so the operator carries the pace: setting up groups, calling turns and keeping the round moving so nobody waits twenty minutes for a shot.

GolfOS: player registration and live event leaderboards

GolfOS is our own event technology layer. Instead of running the competition from a handwritten score sheet, we register players on a device, capture scores as they play and put the leaderboard on a screen that updates through the event.

Current functionality includes player registration with configurable fields, QR code or device sign-in where we set it up that way, live score capture, live leaderboard displays, branded competition presentation, an overall leaderboard, male and female category splits where a client needs them, configurable event displays, secondary leaderboard screens away from the bay, and the operator workflow that ties it together.

Why it earns its place at a live event:

• Guests can check the standings without asking anyone
• A competition stays alive across a three-day show or a four-hour function
• Sponsors and clients can carry branding into the golf event leaderboard
• Client teams capture the participation information they agreed to collect
• The operator runs registration, scoring and the display from one system

More detail sits on the GolfOS page.

What can be branded

Branding options we quote on include a header or signboard above the enclosure, bay branding and wraps, simulator screen branding, GolfOS leaderboard branding, event and competition graphics, custom golf balls, prizes, merchandise sourcing and a physical perimeter treatment around the bay.

None of that is automatically included in every package. Print, design, production and lead time change the quote, so raise branding early rather than in the week before bump-in. Most of our exhibition activations carry at least a branded header and on-screen graphics.

Flooring and physical finish

We use EVA foam event flooring or artificial turf, depending on the venue and the look. Depending on the brief we can add a perimeter or picket fence treatment, signage and other presentation around the bay.

We finish the bay so it reads as part of the event rather than temporary AV equipment. On a stand that has been designed by a builder, we match the flooring and finishing to their scheme instead of dropping a black box in the middle of it.

What the venue needs to provide

• A standard power outlet within reach of the bay
• The agreed floor space, signed off on the plan
• Ceiling clearance of about 3m
• A safe swing area, clear of guests and fixtures
• Bump-in access and a loading window
• Venue or organiser approval for the activation
• A current floorplan
• Weather protection for outdoor or marquee builds
• Connectivity requirements confirmed during planning
• Clearance for the queue and spectators

Why the operator matters

Every activation comes with a Full Send operator. That covers bump-in, simulator setup, calibration, game configuration, helping first-time players, club selection, scoring, GolfOS, the leaderboard, queue management, technical issues, pace and pack-down.

Dry hire hands the equipment to whoever is closest, and that person ends up missing their own event. At the Kincrome stand at Tools Expo, the format ran for the whole show and finished with a PA-announced playoff between the top three. That only works if someone owns the game while it's running.

How we would spec three different events

Answering the brief

Give us the venue, the floorplan, guest numbers, event type and how long you have the room. We'll tell you which bay fits and which format will get the most people playing.