Will a golf simulator fit in your room?
Most guides give you one number and call it a day. Whether a room actually works depends on how tall you are — a 9′ ceiling is fine for one golfer and a problem for another. Enter your room and your height for a real answer.
How this is calculated
A driver's swing apex sits roughly 3′3″ above the golfer's height at the top of a normal backswing. We add a 9-inch safety buffer on top of that, which is the figure the major simulator retailers converge on.
So for a 6′0″ golfer the apex lands near 9.3′, and the comfortable ceiling is about 10′. That is why a 9′ basement — which sounds generous — is genuinely marginal for a taller player, and why a single recommended number can't be right for everybody.
Measure your lowest point, not the average. Beams, ductwork, light fixtures and garage door tracks all count. A room listed as 9′ often has an 8′ obstruction somewhere in the swing path.