I picked up a barely used net return cage and 6x6 hitting mat at a garage sale for $100 (yep, one hundred dollars!) over the weekend and am now wanting to build a small outside hitting space. The side of my house is untouched currently and the original plan was to set it up for the 3 year old to have his own play area, but the 3 year old is getting more and more into golf so this works out perfectly in my favor.

Currently the side of the house is roughly level-ish and just dirt / bark right now. I’d have to do a little bit of manicuring to make it level enough to drop the mat right down and be done with it.

Or

Do I need to / should I build a small base / frame out of outdoor treated wood with a gravel as the base for drainage, AND THEN put the mat on top of that?

I’m in a rental currently so I don’t want to do anything that’s permanent / pain in the ass to remove, but also don’t want to ruin the mat and/or have a janky hitting setup.

Thanks for the tips!