Golf Simulator Bar Area Design: Build the 19th Hole
Build the 19th Hole
Sim bar = 19th hole. Behind hitting area (12+ ft from screen). Mini-fridge, counter, stools. Mistakes: blocking swing, cheap seating, no fridge.
The Short Answer
Sim bar = 19th hole. Behind hitting area (12+ ft from screen). Mini-fridge, counter, stools. Mistakes: blocking swing, cheap seating, no fridge.
Where Does the Bar Go?
Three options. Only one is right for most rooms.
Option A: Side Wall (Winner)
The bar runs along the wall perpendicular to the screen. This is the winner.
SCREEN
+--------------------+
| |
| |
| HITTING ZONE |
| |
| |
+--------------------+
| BAR | DOOR |
+--------------------+Why this wins: You’re standing in the hitting zone, facing the screen. The bar is to your left or right. You step two feet sideways, grab a drink, and step back. No walking around. No leaving the room. The bar is part of the experience, not a separate trip.
Distance from the hitting zone: 4-6 feet. Close enough that you can reach it mid-round. Far enough that nobody clubs themselves on the counter during a swing.
The side-wall bar also works with any room width over 12 feet. If your room is 20 feet wide (two-car garage), you have 5+ feet of side-wall space on each side of the hitting zone. One side gets the bar. The other side gets a couch or a putting mat.
Option B: Behind the Hitter (Works if Room is Deep Enough)
The bar runs along the wall behind the hitting mat. This is the bar at Topgolf.
SCREEN
+--------------------+
| |
| |
| HITTING ZONE |
| |
| |
+--------------------+
| BAR |
| STOOLS |
+--------------------+Minimum room depth: 20 feet. You need at least 10 feet from mat to screen, 5 feet for the mat, and 5 feet behind the mat for the bar and stools. 20 feet total is the absolute floor. 24 feet is comfortable.
The problem with this layout: when someone is hitting, everyone at the bar watches their backswing up close. It’s not dangerous — nobody’s going to get hit — but it makes the hitter feel watched. Some people like that. Some don’t.
When this works best: Large rooms where the bar can be 6-8 feet behind the hitting zone, not 3 feet. At 8 feet of separation, the bar stools don’t crowd the hitter and the feeling changes from “watched” to “at a club.”
Option C: Corner Bar (The Space Saver)
The bar wedges into a corner, wrapping both walls.
SCREEN
+--------------------+
| |
| |
| HITTING ZONE |
| |
| [BAR] |
+--------------------+This works in small rooms where you can’t spare a full wall. A 4x4 corner cabinet with a butcher-block top, a mini-fridge underneath, and two stools. It draws the eye and uses space that would otherwise be dead.
Best for: Basements and sheds where width is tight. Corner bars use vertical space efficiently — liquor shelves go up the wall, above the counter height.
Bar Styles: From Simple to Full Commit
Level 1: The Shelf Bar ($100-300)
A floating shelf on the side wall. A small table under it. Mini-fridge if you want.
That’s it. Put a drink on the shelf. Stand while you drink it. Hit another ball.
Who this is for: The guy with a 10x14 room who needs every inch. Or the guy who’s not sure he’ll use the sim enough to justify building furniture around it.
What I’d buy: A 48-inch butcher-block floating shelf from Ikea or Amazon. Mount it at 42 inches high (standard bar height). Put a 1.7-cu ft mini-fridge under it. Total cost: $150.
The limitation: No seating. You’re standing. That’s fine for a quick drink but it’s not a hang.
Level 2: The Bar Cart ($200-500)
Rolling bar cart on the side wall. Three shelves. Top for bottles, middle for glasses, bottom for a cooler bin.
Who this is for: The guy who wants the bar experience without committing to a permanent fixture. Roll it in for sim night. Roll it out when the room needs to be an office or a guest room.
What I’d buy: A metal or wood bar cart on locking casters. Locking casters are mandatory — standard casters will roll when you lean on them. Add an ice bucket, a set of rocks glasses, and a bottle opener mounted to the cart. Done.
The upgrade: If your cart has a bottom shelf, use a 6-can cooler bag instead of a mini-fridge. Colder drinks, no plug needed, and you can swap it out from the kitchen fridge.
Level 3: The Side-Wall Bar with Kegerator ($800-2,000) — My Favorite
A permanent counter along the side wall. Cabinets below. Kegerator under the counter. Two to four bar stools.
Who this is for: The guy who has a permanent sim room and wants the actual experience. This is the one I’d build. Here’s exactly what you need:
- Countertop: 6-8 feet long. Butcher block or quartz. Standard height (42 inches) or bar height (36 inches). I’d go 42 inches — it doubles as a place to set your phone, wallet, keys, and scorecard.
- Kegerator: A 4.4-cu ft kegerator that fits under the counter. Holds a half-keg or two quarter-kegs. EdgeStar or Kegco. Around $500. You’ll save that in beer money in two years if you host sim nights.
- Stools: Two to four. Swivel stools with a back rest. You’ll be sitting for 10-15 minutes between rounds of a sim match. A back rest is not optional.
- Mini-fridge backup: Throw a 24-can mini-fridge next to the kegerator for canned drinks. Wine. Seltzers. Non-beer drinkers exist.
Why this style wins: It’s the best cost-to-experience ratio. A full wet bar with plumbing is $3-5K. This is $1,200. It serves the same function — you walk two steps, pour a beer, sit down, watch your friend hit — and it costs half as much. The kegerator is the touch that makes people say “this rules” instead of “this is cool.”
Level 4: The Full Wet Bar ($3,000-8,000)
Sink. Running water. Counter space. Wine fridge. Ice maker. You’re basically building an actual bar in your house.
Who this is for: The guy who’s building a $15K+ sim room and wants the full experience. The guy who hosts sim nights for 8+ people. The guy who will actually use a sink and ice maker (most of us won’t, be honest).
What you need: A rough-in for plumbing. A drain line. A faucet with a gooseneck (so you can fill a growler). Under-counter wine fridge. Undermount sink. Quartz or granite countertop. Glass shelving above for display.
The honest take: Most guys don’t need a wet bar. The sink sounds great until you realize you’re filling it with dirty glasses after every sim night. A kegerator and a box of disposable cups is more realistic. I’ve built three sim rooms for myself and friends. Only one has a wet bar. We use it maybe 20% of the time. We use the kegerator 100% of the time.
Level 5: The Kegerator Plus TV ($1,500-3,000)
Same as Level 3, but you add a TV mounted on the wall behind or beside the bar.
What changes: A 43-55 inch TV mounted at eye level from the bar stool. Connected to the same HDMI switch as the simulator projector, or on its own input. You watch the game on the TV while someone plays Pebble Beach on the main screen.
The setup: Your bar stools face the TV, with the sim screen in your peripheral vision. When your friend hits, you glance over. When there’s a football game on, you watch the TV. This is the dual-screen life and it is glorious.
Sound: Make sure the TV audio and the sim audio don’t fight each other. Use a wireless headset for the sim player or a soundbar with multiple inputs that you can switch. I use a Sonos Beam on the TV and Bluetooth earbuds for the sim. Clean separation.
Seating: The Thing Everyone Gets Wrong
You need two types of seating:
1. Bar stools (at the bar). These are for between-shots drinking and conversation. Two stools minimum. Four stools ideal. If your bar counter is 6 feet long, you can fit three stools comfortably.
2. Lounge seating (behind the hitting zone). A couch or two armchairs. This is for the non-golfers. The guy who’s waiting. The designated driver. The wife who’s here under protest. Give them a comfortable place to sit that faces both the screen and the bar area.
The mistake everyone makes: They buy tall bar stools without back support. Then nobody wants to sit on them for more than 5 minutes. Your bar stools need backrests and footrests. Otherwise they’re just uncomfortable perches.
My recommendation: The Christopher Knight Home 30-inch bar stool ($120 each on Amazon). Backrest, footrest, solid wood, looks expensive. Buy three.
Lighting: Set the Mood
You need two lighting modes in a sim room.
Mode 1: Golf lighting (bright and even). For camera-based launch monitors that need to see the ball. LED shop lights or can lights at 5000K color temperature. No shadows on the hitting area.
Mode 2: Bar lighting (dim and warm). For after the round. For the hang. Dimmable pendant lights over the bar counter. LED strip lights behind the bar. Warm color (2700-3000K). It changes the room completely.
The trick: Run both lighting circuits on separate switches from the same breaker. One switch turns on the golf lights. One switch turns on the bar lights. You can even wire a smart switch that dims both, but a separate switch is simpler and more reliable.
If you only have budget for one lighting scheme, go with dimmable LEDs on a smart switch. Set them to 100% for golf and 30% for bar. One fixture, two moods.
The Mini-Fridge Placement
The mini-fridge question comes up every time. Here’s the answer:
- Side wall bar: Fridge under the counter, to the right of the kegerator (assuming you’re right-handed — you reach with your dominant hand).
- Behind the hitter: Fridge under the bar, center. People can reach from either side.
- Corner bar: Fridge in the corner cabinet. Get an 18-inch wide model. It fits standard lower cabinets.
Size recommendation: 4.4 cubic feet minimum. That holds 60 cans. Enough for a sim night with 4 guys. Go bigger if you host more.
The Thing Nobody Tells You About Sim Bars
The bar area has one job that matters more than all of this:
It keeps people out of the hitting zone.
Without a designated bar area, people stand in the hitting zone. They stand on the mat. They stand where the club swings. I’ve seen two near-misses and one actual hit in sim rooms without a defined social area. The bar creates a natural boundary.
When your buddy is in the hitting zone and your other buddy is at the bar, nobody gets hit. The bar physically separates the players from the spectators. It’s safety furniture.
That alone is worth the $300 for a shelf bar.
The Bar I’d Build Tomorrow
If I were building a sim room right now, here’s exactly what I’d do:
- Side-wall bar, 6 feet of butcher block at 42 inches high. $250 in materials.
- Kegerator under the counter. EdgeStar 4.4 cu ft. $500.
- Three bar stools with backrests. $360 total.
- 43-inch TV mounted above the bar. $250.
- Dimmable pendant light over the bar. $60.
- LED strip under the bar front. $20.
Total: ~$1,440.
That gets you a bar that does everything: serves drinks, keeps people safe, shows the game, looks good, and costs less than a driver. If that’s your budget, stop second-guessing.
If your budget is $100, get the shelf. If it’s $5K, add the sink. But start somewhere. A sim room without a bar is just a room with a screen. A sim room with a bar is the 19th hole.
Now go build it. And invite me over when you’re done.
Looking for more? Check out man cave ideas for the full room buildout, the game room guide for multi-use layouts, the hosting guide for running your first sim night, and the DIY build guide for step-by-step construction.