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If you’ve been searching the market for a golf launch monitor, you may have heard about the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor (MLM). Released in 2019, it was the first launch monitor that utilized the technology of iPads and iPhones to provide launch data, video playback, and a shot tracer.
In 2020, it was named the best personal launch monitor for golf, and it was the official launch monitor of Golf Digest.
Rapsodo is a manufacturer of data-collection products for several sports including golf. Their previous (now discontinued) golf product, the R-Motion simulator, was a great success.
In this Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor review, I’ll take an in-depth look at the launch monitor. I’ll look not only at how well it measures ball and swing data, but also at its usability and shot visualization features.
How does the Rapsodo MLM perform? How does it compare to other launch monitors that are on the market today? Is it worth getting if you’re looking for a quality golf launch monitor?
Here’s what I’m going to be covering in the review:
- What is the Rapsodo MLM?
- Setting Up & Using The Rapsodo MLM
- Parameters & Accuracy
- Features
- App Overview
- Pricing
- Where To Buy The Rapsodo MLM Online
- Conclusion
Ready to try the Rapsodo MLM right now? Click the button below or scroll down to the bottom of my review to see my final verdict!
Note: In the majority of cases, launch monitors tested on Golfstead are acquired temporarily and are not purchased. The review that follows is based on personal experience and research. Although the author makes every effort to ensure proper setup of the device and do direct comparisons with other launch monitors when possible, there are many variables that can affect data readings and performance. Therefore, exact results with a particular launch monitor may differ from person to person.
What is the Rapsodo MLM?
You may be surprised to learn that Rapsodo was actually the creator of the SkyTrak, one of the most successful launch monitors ever created.
In the wake of that success, however, Rapsodo wanted to come out with their own branded launch monitor solution. This is what led to the development of the MLM.
The Rapsodo MLM describes itself as “the only launch monitor that uses the power of your iPhone or iPad to provide immediate feedback on launch data, instant video replay and active shot trace“.
It uses the same machine learning technology that helps baseball and softball players understand and analyze their pitching performance.
Together with the camera of your Apple device and the MLM’s own Doppler radar, the MLM can accurately measure six essential data parameters including ball speed and launch angle. Your mobile device’s GPS also allows for shot mapping.
The MLM can be used out on the range, where the ball can take its full flight, as well as hitting into a net indoors or outdoors.
Rapsodo has also come out with various updates and improvements to the MLM since launch, one of the major ones being the addition of Insights and Combines which are powerful performance analysis features.
Setting Up & Using The Rapsodo MLM
Note: The MLM uses a lithium-ion battery that should last around eight hours from a full charge. It should be charged for at least six hours prior to using it for the first time.
Setup is fairly simple and requires these steps:
1. Pair the device.
Make sure that the MLM unit is turned on and the Bluetooth feature on your mobile device is enabled.
Install the Rapsodo MLM app on the App Store. With the LED on the MLM unit flashing red, launch the app and wait for it to connect to the unit. The LED light on the unit will turn green.
2. Position the device.
- On the range: position the MLM unit approximately 8 feet from the golf ball, directly behind you on the target line.
- Into a net: position the unit about 6 feet from the ball behind you, and allow a minimum of 8 feet of space between the ball and the net.
The unit should be level with the hitting surface.
Select a mode depending on whether you’re hitting into a net or not. Once you hit your shot, the LED light will blink green and display your shot data. Once the light turns to a solid green, you can hit your next shot.
Here are some other tips to keep in mind:
- select the correct club in the app before hitting your shot.
- for best results, ensure that your hitting environment is well-lit.
- the MLM device is not water-resistant; avoid using it in rainy or wet conditions.
- to calibrate the MLM unit, hold it roughly four inches above your mobile device.
Net Hitting Area
If you plan to use a net with the Rapsodo MLM, I strongly recommend hitting real golf balls instead of foam or plastic balls. This is because foam and plastic balls behave differently off the club face which will skew the ball data.
For net sessions, you’ll need a solid hitting mat and net.
Whether you plan on hitting indoors or outdoors, take out your longest club (driver) and ensure that you have enough clearance to make a full swing.
Parameters & Accuracy
The Rapsodo MLM measures up to six total data parameters. They are:
- Club head speed: the speed of the club head at impact.
- Ball speed: the speed of the ball immediately after impact.
- Launch angle: of the ball relative to the ground.
- Smash factor: ball speed divided by club head speed.
- Launch direction: the distance from your landing zone to the intended target line.
- Spin (Titleist RCT balls & Premium Membership required): the speed at which the ball spins on its axis in flight.
The MLM can also estimate total distance and display carry distance, apex, side carry, and shot type.
But of course, everyone wants to know about accuracy. If a launch monitor’s measurements are way off, it doesn’t do you any good.
How accurate is the MLM? After extensive testing, I can definitively say that the accuracy is excellent, on par with the FlightScope Mevo.
Many launch monitors tend to measure some metrics well and others not as well. In the case of the MLM, I didn’t notice any particular weak spot in the data.
Rapsodo itself says that the MLM’s distance accuracy is within 2% of TrackMan. With that said, it’s important that the MLM is set up correctly and has sufficient ambient lighting to work with; otherwise, you may have issues.
The performance speaks for itself: the MLM has been endorsed by the likes of Golf Digest, Mygolfspy, and the PGA of America’s National Teacher of the Year Mark Blackburn.
Features
We’ve gotten some of the essentials out of the way. Now, let’s dive into all the features that the Rapsodo MLM has to offer.
As you probably know, the MLM does more than just record shot data; it also gives you a very informative visual of each shot with video playback, an active tracer, and shot mapping.
Video Playback
You can view video playback of your every shot. The video is taken with your mobile device’s camera, from the ground and behind the ball on the target line.
Many would consider this angle less than ideal, but you have to keep in mind the price and the fact that this perspective is needed to display the shot tracer.
Along the same lines, you can compare the playback of several shots — for example, your best shots with your worst shots. This will make it easy for you to spot differences in your swing that could explain poor results.
Shot Tracer
Attached to the video playback is an active tracer that follows your ball from launch to landing. This tracer is similar to what you see on professional PGA Tour broadcasts.
What happens is that the video stops immediately after your follow-through, but the ball tracer keeps moving on the app screen.
In addition to viewing your swing, it’s really important to be able to see your ball flight. The MLM’s ball tracer fills in this missing piece of the puzzle so you’re even better equipped to analyze and improve your game.
There’s no tracer when in net mode, for obvious reasons.
GPS Mapping
Using the GPS technology on your mobile device, the MLM can give you an overhead view of where your shots land on the driving range for different clubs in the bag.
This useful feature will allow you to understand your club gapping and dispersions. You’ll then be much more prepared to choose the right club on the golf course for your next shot and avoid penalizing hazards.
Smart Club Recognition
This feature is designed to automatically detect which club you’re using. It’s best suited for irons.
What you do is wave your club in front of your mobile device, and with the MLM, it will detect that club and select it in the settings.
I feel I should say that I had a hard time getting this feature to work properly during my tests. It just wasn’t picking up the irons that I put it front of it.
Other people have had some difficulty with this feature as well. If you’re having trouble with it, just select your clubs manually. You might even be better off setting your clubs manually every time to ensure that the correct club is selected.
I do feel this is one of the more gimmicky features of the MLM, but it can be convenient in some situations.
Along with this, you can build your own golf bag in the app to mirror your actual bag.
Shot Library
One of the more nifty features of the MLM, you can store your swing video clips in the R-Cloud library and review them at your leisure.
This library will normally hold up to 100 shots, but with a premium purchase, you can store up to 10,000.
You can also easily post these clips to social media.
Insights
Rapsodo rolled out the Insights feature for Premium users of the MLM in late 2021.
Once you have hit at least six shots per club in a session, you can access Insights, which provides personalized charts and graphs that help you identify trends, visualize your performance, and target weaknesses in your game.
Insights are divided into three sections:
- Accuracy: view dispersion patterns and landing area tendencies for each club. You can compare your accuracy to similar players and to Tour pros, which will help you identify areas of improvement.
- Distance: get information on your average distance, ball speed, club head speed, and smash factor along with your club gapping details. You can view how changes in launch angle and smash factor can influence your distance.
- Consistency: analyze the consistency and repeatability of your metrics like club head speed, launch angle and ball striking. You can view your shot shape trends and get key takeaways so that you can set goals for your next session.
You can view a general overview of your performance for all the clubs in your bag or drill down into the data for individual clubs.
With comprehensive performance overviews, actionable visuals, and key takeaways, golfers will be able to much more easily understand where and how improvements need to be made in their game.
Combines
Released in August 2022, Combines is a standardized performance-based test you can take that allows you to gain advanced insight into your game, understand what your strengths are, and identify weaknesses that need to be improved.
The Combines test takes approximately 15-20 minutes to complete and requires the use of the MLM’s outdoor range mode. Here’s the essence of how it works:
- Choose a distance mode (Suggested or Custom).
- Do an optional six-shot warmup.
- Hit a series of 24 shots — 8 to the closest target, 8 to the next target, and 8 to a driving target.
- Get immediate feedback on each shot.
Combines uses the shots you hit to assemble a dataset, generate a final performance score, and provide you with the following:
- a handicap index
- the average proximity from the target for each shot type
- lateral and distance dispersion circles of the shots hit
- average driving distance and distance away from center line
Combines is a highly visual experience. It can test your entire bag from putter to driver, and it’s designed to mimic the pressure you would feel on an actual golf course.
A Premium Subscription is required to access Combines, but there are no limits on how many times you can take the test, making it an excellent way to keep track of your progress over time.
The one thing I will say is that because the MLM already offers so many performance analysis features such as dispersions and average club distances, some of the information provided by Combines can feel a bit redundant.
Titleist RCT Compatibility
The MLM is compatible with Titleist Pro V1 and V1x RCT (radar capture technology) golf balls.
These balls provide all the same benefits as the world-renowned Pro V1 and V1x balls, but are specially manufactured by Titleist with an internal reflective marker. This embedded marker is designed so that radar-based launch monitors can provide the most accurate indoor spin readings possible.
In the case of the MLM, Titleist RCT balls enable the system to provide direct spin rate measurements with a Premium Membership.
These balls are pricey at around $70/dozen but you can find great deals for them on eBay.
R-Cloud & R-Speed
An MLM Premium Membership is required to access these features.
R-Cloud is a web platform that can be accessed on PCs and tablets, where you can view session data, view all your video clips, view highlights, compare data between two clubs, and more.
R-Speed is a swing speed platform and is a non-impact feature, meaning no ball impacts are necessary. It allows you to train your swing speed via your own clubs or existing speed trainers like TheStack, RypStick, or SuperSpeed in conjunction with the MLM.
There are other things you can do with the Rapsodo MLM, like:
- view trends and shot averages by club
- get a side view of shot distances for multiple clubs (bag mapping)
- view statistics
Get a feel for how the MLM works in this video:
App Overview
Note: The UI of the MLM app may change over time, and what you see below may not be exactly what you see on your own device.
Let’s briefly walk through the Rapsodo MLM app so you get an idea of how things work. Rapsodo has worked to keep the app compatible with the latest iOS devices including the iPhone 16.
The first screen you’ll be taken to when you fire up the app is the Home screen.
Here, you’ll be able to view information about every saved hitting session you’ve gone through. From the Home screen, you can see:
- the number of shots taken
- date, time and location of the session
- distance averages for each club hit
- a gapping diagram
You can select a session to view the stats and data for each individual shot taken. You can also view the GPS satellite view of the shots in the session or swipe left to view the associated video clips.
To start a new play session, tap the Play tab, tap Practice, and select Net or Outdoor mode. In the Play section, you can also play closest-to-the-pin and long drive games either by yourself or with friends.
Other things you can do in the app are:
- view detailed stats in the Home section
- access Insights and Combines (premium subscription required)
- view other people’s shots and react to them in the Explore section
- calibrate, connect, view account info, or change settings in the Profile section
The Rapsodo MLM is one of the most well-made golf apps available, and believe me, there’s a lot of junk out there in the mobile space.
Pricing
The Rapsodo MLM has a simple one-time pricing of $299. Rapsodo permanently dropped the retail price of the MLM by $200 after the launch of the MLM2PRO.
The purchase includes the MLM unit, a USB charging cable, and a protective case. It does not include a mobile device for the app.
Also available is an optional Premium Subscription. This costs $99.99/year and includes:
- R-Speed
- R-Cloud
- Rapsodo Insights
- Rapsodo Combines
- measured spin with Titleist RCT balls
- cloud storage capacity for up to 10,000 video clips
- shot apex and slow motion swing replays
The Premium Subscription comes with a 7-day free trial, but you need to set up a free MLM account before enabling it.
Where To Buy The Rapsodo MLM Online
There are many places where you can buy the Rapsodo MLM. If you’re looking online, the place I would recommend is The Indoor Golf Shop.
This reputable MLM dealer offers free shipping. Their excellent support team will help you with any questions or concerns that you may have.
If you’re looking for a discount on a used MLM, you may be able to find a good deal on eBay.
Another thing that’s worth considering is a good net setup. The seller I referenced above, The Indoor Golf Shop, offers many choices of hitting net and hitting mat for golf simulators.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for a super affordable launch monitor at $300 or less, the Rapsodo Mobile Launch Monitor (MLM) should be near the top of your consideration list.
If rivals the FlightScope Mevo in terms of data accuracy and convenience, and now, by using Titleist RCT balls and with a Premium Membership, you can get direct spin measurements too.
In terms of negatives, unlike the Mevo, the MLM is not supported on Android devices. This is a huge chunk of the mobile market! You also cannot get any golf simulation out of it.
However, the fact that the Rapsodo MLM was created by the same company that created the highly successful SkyTrak Launch Monitor should reassure you of its merit.
Another unique feature that no other launch monitor in this price range has is an active ball trace. The MLM has it, and it really makes you feel like you’re getting a high-end experience in a compact, portable package.
One of the biggest strengths of the MLM is Rapsodo’s dedication to it. Even now, so many years after its initial launch, they continue to roll out improvements and updates.
If you own an iOS device or are planning to get one, you should seriously consider picking up the Rapsodo MLM. It’ll go a long way towards improving your game. If you have a higher budget of $700 or more, we recommend looking at the MLM2PRO.
Thanks for reading my Rapsodo MLM review. Are you interested in the MLM? Have you tried it already? What’s your experience? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Do we need to manually calibrate or is the phone already auto-calibrate when we open the MLM app?
“to calibrate the MLM unit, hold it roughly four inches above your mobile device.”
No, I believe there is auto-calibration within the app. If you think the calibration is off, you can do a manual calibration, but it’s not a very intuitive process.
The new ones come pre-calibrated
Will it still give you yardage distance if you are hitting into a net?
Yes, you can view the same parameters in Net Mode.
Will it show distance offline or shot shape in Net Mode?
It shows the same data in Net Mode as it does in Range Mode, but last I checked, there’s no shot tracer in Net Mode. This may be added in a future update, although it wouldn’t make much sense to show a tracer if there’s a wall or something behind the net.
Can the gps function be used to simulate a round in any course when using a net?
No, the GPS function isn’t available in Net mode. But you can view shot dispersions.
Can the lateral direction view be used for shots while “in session” for net mode? I would like to screen mirror to an Apple TV and want to see the lateral direction of the shot more so than the swing video.
I believe you can only view the video playback while in session. If you want to view maps or charts of your shots, you’ll need to end the session and go to the “Home” tab. There is also a satellite view option. I hope this helps.
Any word on the android release date yet?
No. They have said it’s being discussed and they want the performance to meet their standards as they are on iOS devices. It is definitely disappointing that it’s taking this long.
Does it show club path and club head at impact?
No. The closest launch monitor in terms of price that measures parameters like that is the Garmin Approach R10 which I review here.
How do you measure Total Distance?
The MLM estimates total distance based on the initial launch conditions that are measured. It assumes a level surface.
Hello,
Unfortunately, your evaluation of the Rapsodo MLM didn’t go far enough. I bought one from Amazon in July and had a problem with the device capturing all of my driving range shots. I contacted customer support to report the problem at least 3 times and was given everything as the reason for the malfunction from user error, sunlight, device to far away and even, I may have to use white balls only. I satisfied all of their concerns except the white ball issue, my local driving ranges use yellow balls. On 5 occasions I selected 9 clubs and hit 10 balls with each but the device only captured, at best, 30 shots and on 1 occasion it only captured 3 shots. I would’ve loved to have kept the device especially for the ball trace feature. I believe I may have simply received a defective unit but Rapsodo wouldn’t hear of it. Instead of getting a replacement through Amazon and possibly going through the same thing again, I simply returned. I’m curious if anyone else experienced the same problem..
Thanks
Sorry to hear about your problems. I don’t believe using balls of a non-white colour such as yellow should be an issue with the MLM. I would try another unit and see if you have the same problem; if you do, it’s possible that something may be wrong with your smartphone’s camera. Otherwise, it would probably be a good idea just to try a white ball or try the MLM’s indoor mode with a net if possible. This might help you narrow down the issue.
Some driving ranges use “restricted flight balls” which are usually yellow.