What to bring to your first simulator hour, and what the venue supplies

The list for a first hour in a golf simulator is the shortest in the sport: trainers with a clean sole and comfortable clothes. Everything else the venue supplies or you do not need. Even so, five minutes of preparation pay off, because two or three questions on the phone make the evening better.

What you need and what you do not

Item	Needed	Note
Trainers with a clean sole	yes	golf shoes are not allowed on many mats
Comfortable clothes	yes	no dress code as on a course
Something to drink	yes	an hour of hitting is more work than you think
Your own clubs	no	but necessary as soon as you measure distances
Your own balls	no	some venues insist on theirs
A glove	no	welcome from the third hour on
Course permit or licence	no	no venue in the directory asks for either

The shoes

The one point where venues are strict. Spikes have no business on a hitting mat, and neither does street dirt. Trainers with a clean, flat sole are right everywhere, and anyone bringing golf shoes takes models without metal spikes and puts them on at the venue.

Some venues put a box by the entrance and ask you to leave your street shoes there. That is not ceremony but protecting the kit: a mat costs several hundred francs, and grit from a tread wears it down.

Your own clubs or a rental set

For a first hour the rental set is fine, and almost every venue has one. For the second the question already differs: a rental set has other shafts, other lofts and another length, and every number you measure with it belongs to it and not to you.

So anyone who starts writing a distance table after a few weeks brings their own clubs. How that table comes about is in Club distances. And if you have none yet: six clubs are enough, and the list is in The beginner's set.

The balls

Here venues differ, and it is worth asking beforehand. Some insist on their own balls, because the measuring system is set up for them or because the screen only lasts that way. Others leave it open, and then your own ball is the better choice.

The difference is not trivial: a hard practice ball spins less and flies shorter than a premium ball. For an evening with four people that does not matter; for a distance table it does.

Glove, tee and the small things

A glove goes on the lead hand, so the left one for right-handers, and it is not compulsory the first time. It becomes useful from about the third hour, when the skin between thumb and forefinger starts to complain.

Tees come from the venue, usually rubber ones set into the mat. You do not need wooden tees of your own and on many mats you could not use them anyway. What is worth bringing: a small towel for the grip, because sweat is the most common reason for a slipped shot, and a phone for notes, in case the venue offers no printout to take away.

What packing lists include and you do not need

A rangefinder, rain gear, a change of shoes for the course, a scorecard, a pencil, a pitch fork and a ball marker. All of that belongs on a golf course and in no bay. The same goes for the full set of fourteen: two clubs are enough for a first hour, and more just gets carried through the room.

Nor do you need prior knowledge. Nobody is testing anything, nobody is watching except the people you brought yourself, and the software expects no input beyond your name.

Taking children to a bay

For children a bay is the easiest start there is: no long journey, no weather, no waiting on a tee. You need to bring nothing but trainers; the venue supplies the clubs, and many have shortened junior sets.

Two things differ from adults. First attention: forty minutes is a full hour for a child, so plan short blocks with games rather than an hour of hitting. Second the weight of the club, which decides the technique; more on that in Golf for children in Switzerland.

If you are left-handed

Ask explicitly for a left-handed set when you book, because not every venue keeps one for hire. On the technology it depends on the design: a radar behind the ball does not care which side you stand, a camera system beside the ball has to be moved, and ceiling units see both sides without any rearranging.

Most venues manage it in two minutes, but they have to know. A phone call beforehand saves you an hour with the wrong set.

The four questions before a first visit

• Which shoes are allowed?
• Do I play my own balls or yours?
• Are there rental clubs, including left-handed ones, and what do they cost?
• How many people may share a bay, and is the price per bay?

Four questions, one phone call, and you will not be standing in front of a mat in the wrong shoes. The numbers are on every venue page; which venues are near you is on the map.

Alone, as two or as four

The price belongs to the bay, not the person: a median CHF 50 an hour. What changes is the number of shots each. Alone you hit sixty to eighty balls in an hour, as a four about twenty.

How many	Per person	Balls each	Suits
alone	CHF 50	60 to 80	practice with one subject
two	CHF 25	30 to 40	learning and watching
four	CHF 12.50	around 20	an evening, a round

From which follows a simple rule: if you want to practise, go alone or as two. If you want an evening, go as four and play a round on the screen rather than series into a range.

How to book the hour

Most venues take bookings online, some only by phone, and a few work with an access code around the clock. What you book is the bay for an hour, less often for ninety minutes; the hour starts and ends on time, because the next people are coming.

Two things are worth doing when booking: ask about the cancellation window, and say it is your first time. Many venues will then add an introduction, or at least show you how the software starts. Which venue is open when is on its venue page and under Open now.

What happens in the first hour

Ten minutes of easy swings with a short iron, without looking at numbers. Then somebody shows you the grip and the stance, or you pick it up from the screen. Then you hit, and after every ball the carry, the direction and the ball speed are there.

Two clubs are enough for a first evening: a 7-iron and, if it is fun, the driver for the last ten balls. Start with all fourteen and you learn nothing about any of them.

More on this: Golf glove: which hand, which size and Golf tips for beginners, What do you need to play golf?, Indoor golf parking and getting there by car or public transport, Indoor golf trial hour and taster hour.

After the hour

Write down three numbers before you leave: the middle carry with the 7-iron, the spread left and right, and how often you struck it cleanly. That is your baseline, and next time you will see whether anything has moved.

If you enjoyed it, the next step is a lesson rather than two hours on your own. 95 of the 126 venues in the directory offer coaching; which ones are near you is on the training page. And what an hour costs where is on the price overview.

Frequently asked questions

What do I have to bring to a first simulator hour?

Trainers with a clean sole, comfortable clothes and something to drink. Almost every venue supplies clubs and balls, and none asks for a course permit or a licence. Your own clubs only matter once you start measuring distances.

May I wear golf shoes in a simulator?

Usually only without metal spikes, and some venues do not allow golf shoes at all. Trainers with a clean, flat sole are right everywhere. The reason is the mat, which grit and treads wear down.

Should I bring my own balls?

Ask first. Some venues insist on their own balls because the measuring system is set up for them. Where you may choose, take your own: a hard practice ball spins less and flies shorter, which distorts any distance table.

How many balls do you hit in an hour?

Sixty to eighty alone, thirty to forty each as two, about twenty each as four. The price does not change, because it belongs to the bay: a median CHF 50 an hour.

Do I need a course permit for a simulator?

No. None of the 110 indoor venues in the directory asks for a course permit, a licence or a membership. You book a bay and play; that is why a first hour of golf is easier to organise indoors than on a course.

Sources

• golfsimulators.ch: alle Standorte (Leihschläger, Coaching und Abschlagplätze pro Anlage)
• golfsimulators.ch: Preise der Indoor-Anlagen