DIY Garage Golf Net


Want to practice but don’t have a driving range nearby, or don’t want to pay the driving range fees for a large bucket of balls? 

You might simply want to chill at home and go play at your convenience, whatever the case, here’s what I did.

There are a couple of ways to build your DIY Garage Golf Net, one way is to attach it to the ceiling and make it so you can stow it up high. The second way is to make one that you can take out and put back every time you need it. The way I built my garage golf net was pretty simple, infact, it’s so simple and inexpensive that I feel anyone can do it if they have a few simple tools. Here’s what you need:

  1. Heavy duty net
  2. Electrical conduit pipe ½ inch thick and 10 feet long
  3. Conduit pipe strap ½ inch
  4. Screw gun and 2-1/4 inch screws and 1/16 inch drill bit.
  5. Ladder to reach the ceiling
  6. 3 or 5 gallon bucket or canvas bag

Don't Have The Tools or Supplies?

If you don’t have any of the tools, maybe you can borrow some from a friend or family member. This project is meant to be done on the cheap, so I wouldn’t recommend going out and buying all the tools for this.

You might be asking yourself, why is sand one of the items needed in order to build this net? Sand isn’t necessary but if you don’t have a conduit pipe bender, you will need the sand, I’ll get into that more later.

Before we get into the meat of the post though, it’s important that you measure your ceiling. I would recommend no less than 9 feet of ceiling height for anyone over 6 feet tall. There is some wiggle room on this so depending on what your golf swing looks like, you might be able to get away with it.

I just want to make sure you don’t take your driver out and put a hole in the ceiling in the shape of your driver head. If you have a golf swing like Bubba Watson, you might need much more ceiling height.

I would also like to start by saying thank you for giving me this opportunity to show you how I went about building a garage golf net.  I put this together in hopes that I could help out my fellow golfer that wants to learn to play the game on a budget.

Depending on how tall you are this may not work for your full golf swing, but this doesn’t mean you can’t practice.  You will just need to use it for your small chips or wings that don’t require you to take a full swing.

Why Build A Garage Golf Net?

  1. I live in the Portland Oregon metropolitan area and we get rain here nine months out of the year it seems.  Some seasons are really bad and some seasons are not so bad but still a lot of rain. But I wanted the ability to practice wherever and whenever I wanted to and not disturb my family.
  2. Warm ups – This is a pretty great way to warm up before going to the course.  You can still hit some balls at the range before you play but if you don’t want to pay for the range balls you don’t have to.
  3. Cost saving – This can be a huge saving due to the fact that a large bucket of balls cost around $11.  
  4. Video record yourself – Practicing at home makes it really easy to record your swing and not worry about bringing any extra stuff.  
  5. I don’t have to hit an entire bucket of balls, this is nice because I don’t always have time to finish a large.  When you’re at home you can take as many breaks as you would like and this is perfect if you have little ones running around.
  6. Easy to put away – The way I built my golf net makes it extremely easy to move out of the way.  This is a must for me because I don’t have time to disassemble something, I just need to move it so it’s out of sight and out of mind..
The reasons above were valid for me to explore how to build this golf net on my own and I hope they’re good reasons for you as well. I am naturally handy and have all the tools to complete this project so it was a fun time for me.

Should You Build A Garage Golf Net?

  1. Do you have the tools?
  2. Do you have the patients?
  3. Do you have the skills?

Even if you don’t have the tools, you can borrow them. Even if you don’t have the patients you can manage this project because it’s pretty simple. Even if you don’t have the skill, it’s okay because this project doesn’t take much skill.

So don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Give it a shot and if there’s something you feel you can’t do or don’t want to do then ask a friend or neighbor to help you out.

Golf Net Tools & Materials

You can spend as much as you would like to make this set up a little better but I’m going to show you how I do it on a budget.  Also, with limited tools required, but if you have a tool that will make the job easier… by all means use it! 

Here is a list of materials and tools that you will need.  Some of the items I have linked are amazon affiliate links that I specifically used.  

You don’t need to build this exactly how I built mine, if you are following my instructions and figured out a different/better way…go for it.

Some garages are set up differently than others so please keep that in mind.

I’m going to show you two different ways you can set this golf net up and you can choose which is best for your situation.

Tools You Might Need For The DIY Garage Golf Net

  1. Phillips Head Screwdriver – Or you can use a screw gun if you have it but it’s certainly not necessary.
  2. Conduit Bender or Sand – You can find these at your local hardware store or on amazon for about $35 and the sand you can buy a bag for $5 or less. Or go to your local playground (; P)
  3. Tape Measure – You probably have one of these in your tool box but if not you can find a pretty inexpensive one on amazon or at Home Depot.
  4. Hammer – You probably have one of these in your tool box but if not you can find a pretty inexpensive one on amazon or at Home Depot.
  5. Ladder – You can find this as well at your local hardware store or amazon for around $25 or you can borrow a neighbors or use a chair.

Material For The DIY Garage Golf Net

  1. Golf Net – I purchased this from amazon for $24.95 including shipping charges.  The net I’m using is a 10’ x 12’ with no added borders around the edge of the net, it’s just netting material.  I chose this golf net because it came in multiple sizes which means if you needed a different size than you could still use amazon.  Also, it’s made of nylon and is 1” from not to not.
  2. ½” x 10’ Conduit – This you can get from your local hardware store for around $3 to $4 per 10’ section.  I went to Home Depot and paid $3.52 per 10’ section which I thought was a good deal. 
  3. Conduit Strap – I purchased this from Home Depot as well for around $0.50 each
  4. #8 x 1-½” Wood Screws – You only need a 4 pack of these screws and you can find these at any hardware store for around $1.
  5. #8 Flat Washers – You only need a 4 pack of these but they only have a 12 pack and you can find these at any hardware store for $1.

Laying Out The DIY Garage Golf Net

If you want two sides on the golf net then the ceiling joist should be running perpendicular to the back side of the golf net frame.  Which means the sides of the golf net frame are running in parallel to the ceiling joist.

If you want an 8 foot wide net, the sides of your net will be 1 foot and if you want a 6 foot wide net, the sides will be 2 feet.

If you don’t want sides on the net for whatever reason than there is a much easier way.  You can install the net with the ceiling joist running either direction, if you just use one ceiling joist then this might be better, I will explain below.

Choosing a Space For The Garage Golf Net

I don’t recommend installing the golf net against the wall, you will need between three and five feet of spacing from the wall to the back of your golf net. 

This is because the net I chose is very light weight and thin and is very absorbent to the impact of AlmostGolf Balls and real golf balls.

You also want take take some slow practice swings in the area that you want to set up your mat in.

Take slow and big swings, what I meant by big swing is extend your pull back and follow through so that it almost looks like you are reaching back and reaching forward.

I do this because if I have a bad shot and the form is way off for some reason, I know I won’t hit something.

Preparing The Area For The DIY Garage Golf Net

First, you will need to get the tools and supplies that are listed above.

Second, you are going to want to have a clean work area in the garage, it doesn’t have to be perfectly clean but you should have space to work.  You will also need a clean area to hit your golf balls after you get done making the garage golf net.

Attaching The DIY Garage Golf Net To The Ceiling

Once you pick a spot and it’s nice and prepped, you will need to figure out which way the ceiling joists are laid out.  If you don’t have sheetrock on your ceiling, then this will be pretty obvious.  If you do have sheetrock, no worries, there’s a way to figure this out without expensive tools.

  1. Grab your ladder and  your hammer, go to the spot where you want the left or right side of the golf net to be. 
  2. Climb the ladder with your hammer and lightly tap on the ceiling, you will be listening for the most hollow sound you can hear.
  3. Once you find the hollow sound, move to the right or left to find the most dense sound.
  4. If you tapped on the ceiling for more than 24 inches and haven’t found the ceiling joist then the joist is probably going the other direction.
  5. So if I were to draw this tapping pattern out on a piece of paper, it would look like a plus sign + but 24 inches in both directions.
  6.   Once you have found the ceiling joist you will need to find the center of the joist.  This can be done with a small finish nail and your hammer.  Just poke a hole in the ceiling where you think the center of the joist will be (the most dense sounding spot), if you missed then move a half inch in either direction.  Eventually you will find the center and you should make a pencil mark for which hole to use or just leave the nail for now.

How Big Do You Want Your Golf Net?

Your ceiling joists are most likely 24 inches on center, your options for how wide you can have the golf net are anywhere from 4 feet to 10 feet wide.  My guess is that you would want an 8 or 10 foot net, the wider the better I would say.

I made my first golf net with 2 foot sides that curved out towards the golfer, but I really don’t think they are necessary.

How To Build A DIY Garage Golf Net

Let’s start building it with no sides, this in my opinion is the easiest way to make your golf net.  So, you have already found the center of your ceiling joist, and you already know how wide you want your golf net. 

Now all we need to do is poke more holes in the ceiling.

  1. If you are using one ceiling joist, measure off the wall to the nail that you left in the ceiling earlier to figure out how far the joist is from the wall.  
  2. Move down however many feet you want the golf net width to be.
  3. Now measurement from the wall to whatever the measurement was in step #1, this will give you your ceiling joists line.
  4. Take your tape measure and hook the end of it on the nail that’s still in your ceiling.  
  5. Measure over however many feet you would like the width of your golf net to be (keep the mark you just made in line with your tape measure so you can tell where the joist is) and make a mark in the ceiling.
  6. Now, find the center of the joist again with your nail and hammer.
  7. Grab two conduit hangers and remove the bolts that they come with and set them aside for now.
  8. Grab one wood screw and one washer and screw the conduit hanger into the ceiling wherever you made the mark.
  9. Do the same thing to the other side.
  10. Screw the bolts back into the conduit hangers but don’t over tighten them.

Now you need to prepare the golf net and make it so it will slide back and forth.  This is a little time consuming but it’s well worth it. 

You need to slide the conduit through each hole of the golf net so it looks even. You do this at the very edge of the golf net too.

Once you have the net installed on the conduit, now you can hang the conduit from the ceiling.  Place your ladder in the center of where the golf net will be. 

Pick it up and slide one side through one of the conduit hangers and then feed the other side through the other conduit hanger.  Tighten both bolts on the conduit hangers firmly so the conduit can’t slide from side to side. 

Now test the net out by sliding it from side to side and make sure it moves smooth.  Sometimes these conduits have little sharp bumps that stick up and catch on the net, you might need to file or cut the bump off if this is the case.

Now you have a fully functioning garage golf net that can be easily moved out of the way or taken down in less than 5 minutes.

Should You Still go to The Driving Range?

Yes, but you don’t need to nearly as much.  In fact, I started to realize that practicing with the net at home was becoming so much more beneficial to me over going to the range. 

I noticed whenever I went to the range I was focusing my mind on things I shouldn’t have been paying any attention to at all.

Like when you hit a bad shot and you kinda look around to see if anybody was watching… I’m sure this sounds familiar.  This took my mind off of what matters the most which was trying to get my swing to a certain proficiency.

I noticed when I would practice at home I focused entirely on my swing.  One reason for this was because I didn’t really care where the ball ended up because I was hitting into a net. 

As long as the ball went into the net of course. Another reason was that there was nobody else around me to distract me.  

I started to realize that practicing at home made it much easier to practice the fundamentals of the swing.

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