There's no doubt that doppler radar based Golf Launch monitors such as the Garmin R10 or the Mevo+ units have been gaining exponential popularity in golfers' home set ups.
However, in an indoor/net type of set up, these units would typically need a minimum of 8 feet or 2.4m of ball flight to sufficiently measure and calculate ball flight data. Of course, the longer the ball flight the better. In another words, you need to be standing at least 8 feet away from the hitting net/impact screen.
With most of golf hitting nets on the market being around 2m / 7 feet tall (including our Large Portable Net), hitting lofted wedges from about 8 feet away can become risky business.
So just how high do you need your net/impact screen to be for you to hit full lob and sand wedges confidently and safely?
You can work this out pretty quickly using Trigonometry, especially the Tan function. Who still remembers their high school Trigonometry?!
I certainly didn't, but with a bit of Googling, memories started rushing back...
Without getting into too much high school textbooks, the formula is -
Height of impact with net = Tan(Launch Angle) x Distance to Net
Let's use an example, if you launch your lob wedge at 45 degrees, which is considered pretty high, Tan(45) gives you 1. In another words, if you are hitting from 8 feet away, the ball will also hit 8 feet up the net. See diagram below.
Therefore, to be safe, if you launch your lob wedge at 45 degrees, then you should consider getting a net that is 9 feet (3m) high.
Similarly for professionals who typically launch their wedges at around 30 degrees, from 8 feet away, the ball will hit the net/screen at just under 5 feet with Tan(30) being ~0.58. 8 feet x 0.58 = 4.64 feet.
To confirm this in my own set up, I hit a few shots with the lob wedge from 8 feet away with a measured launch angle of around 35 degrees. Using the formula, it would give me a height of around 1.7m and I was definitely seeing the ball impacting with the screen at around head height......tick.
Hopefully this calculation makes sense.
So, if you have a doppler radar based launch monitor and hitting high lofted wedges is a must for you, unless you can keep your launch angle pretty low, a 2m high net may not be the right solution for you. You will be better off with a 3m net or a cage/enclosure set up.
At Kaizen Golf, we also have our flagship Full Swing Golf Net which is 9 feet tall, as well as a number of 3m heigh Impact Screens if you are looking to build a cage or an enclosure.
Check out our full Golf Net and Impact Screen range here.
What if I already have a 2m net or don't have enough ceiling height in my indoor space?
- Consider a photo-based launch monitor - these launch monitors (e.g. GC2/3/quad or Skytrak) would only require a couple of feet of ball flight so you can be hitting much closer to the net. Given the minimum space/distance requirements, these units are ideal if you don't have tons of space and would produce much more accurate results indoors.
- Hanging something on top of your net - hanging some netting or even a old bedsheet on top of your net can be an effective option to catch balls which overshoot your net.
- Stick to lower lofted clubs - you can still get a lot of practice done and even play simulated golf without using your sand and lob wedges.
If you are looking to purchase a radar based launch monitor, a key consideration is how high your net/impact screen will need to be. I hope this short post - through using some simple trigonometry - will help you in planning out the specifications of your net/impact screen.
If you are looking for further advice on how big of a golf net you need including considerations on width as we as some practical tips on what you can do if are 'space challenged', then go ahead and check out our other post here -
How Big Should A Golf Net Be? What's the Right Size Golf Net for Your Needs
If you have any questions regarding this article as well as any of our products, please don't hesitate to contact us, we'd love to hear from you!