Why balls bounce back and how to cover hard surfaces

A real golf ball rebounds. Cover every hard surface near the hitting area, as your screen or enclosure maker's guide says. And never hit into a bare wall or a window.

What the screen does

An impact screen is built to soak up the hit. Elite Screens describes its high-strength warp knitted fabric as absorbing impact, reducing ball bounce back.¹ Notice the word "reducing". It doesn't say removing.

Carl's Place, a seller of screens and enclosures, says bounce back is fairly uncommon apart from wedge shots, which tend to travel up the screen.² Those shots can then head back along the ceiling of the enclosure.

Where the ball goes next

Think in stages, as the diagram shows. The screen takes the hit. The ball either drops or climbs. Then it meets something: the frame, the ceiling, the floor or a wall.

The same seller lists what it has seen go wrong when people swing indoors without protection: broken TVs, shattered ceiling fan lights and holes in the drywall.³

What to cover, and with what

Go by your maker's guide first. These are the items makers and sellers mention.

• Frame pipes. Foam inserts can help slow down errant shots that hit your enclosure frame.³
• Ceiling. Safety baffles hang down from the ceiling to help catch and knock down high-angle shots.²
• Walls. Carl's Place says acoustic tiles are thicker than carpet tiles but not as thick as foam panels, and that they aren't built to take direct hits, only to help protect against glancing blows. Its high-end option is foam-padded panels, designed to protect walls and ceiling from stray shots.³
• Floor mat. Carl's Place passes on a customer idea of using a softer mat or turf, on the theory that an inexpensive, hard mat may reject the clubhead, causing the ball to bounce back up.²
• Projector. Elite Screens says ultra-short projectors could get hit with the ball unless they have a protection cover.¹

None of this is a promise a given setup is covered enough. Your own swing, club and space decide that.

Distance from the screen

Carl's Place says standing a minimum of 10 feet away from the screen when you swing is a good start in reducing bounce back.² That's one seller's figure for its own products. Your own maker's guide has the distance that applies to your gear. Swing a real club in the room before any building starts.

Buffer space

Carl's Place says to leave buffer space both in front of and behind your screen. It says allowing the screen to touch any firm surface, such as a wall, may cause safety issues.² Its figure is to have the screen 12-16 inches in front of any surface.² Follow your own maker's figure.

Hanging things from the ceiling

Baffles, panels and projectors all need fixing to something. Follow the maker's instructions for each, and use a qualified tradesperson for anything structural. A new power point for a projector is licensed electrical work, not a weekend job.

What to watch for in a session

Rebound is something you check, not something you assume away. After a few shots, look at where each ball ends up. A ball that drops at the screen's foot is one pattern. One that rides up and comes back along the ceiling is another, and the seller above ties that to wedge shots.²

If balls keep coming back toward the mat, stop. Look at the screen's tension and the baffle position as the maker describes, and ask the maker for help. Don't solve it by hanging something new on the ceiling yourself.

Keep people clear

Keep everyone out of the hitting area while balls are in play. That includes anyone standing near the screen or the frame.

For ball condition and the screen's own wear, read the notes on screen and net wear.