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Final Reviews: Rapsodo MLM Launch Monitor

Ratings Distribution

25%
75%
0%
0%
0%
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Detailed Ratings

Accuracy
Looks & Feel
Miscellaneous
On the Course
Play it Or Trade it
Setup
Testers
Equipment Type: Launch Monitor
Vendor: Rapsodo

TESTERS WANTED!
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The great testing opportunities keep coming! Here we are looking for 4 testers for the Rapsodo MLM Launch Monitor, but wait there is more. With this testing not only do you get to test and keep the launch monitor, but you will also receive access to the Coach Connect where you will be paired with an instructor and receive comprehensive swing evaluation through Rapsodo's Coach Connect platform as part of the testing experience.

Rapsodo has had a great product so for winning 2019 and 2020 Mygolfspy Most Wanted awards... how will if fare for you?

This test is open to all entries left or right handed, international and US, but only users of IOS devices. This can be iphone or ipad, however android at this time is not supported. 

Thank you all for applying and we look forward to seeing selected testers put it through its paces and share the experience with Rapsodo!

Please congratulate our testers for the Rapsodo MLM
@GolfSpy_APH
@B.Boston
@GregB135
@IDontGiveAchuck

Looks & Feel
Setup
Accuracy
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Play it Or Trade it
  1. Hello everyone and welcome to my Rapsodo MLM Launch Monitor review!

Thank you MGS of course for the testing opportunity and Rapsodo for providing a incredible product for myself and our other 3 lucky testers to put through its paces.

Introduction: August 2, 2021

To start off we will of course begin with a introduction. For those new the the site I am lucky enough to be the newest of the Mods on a fantastic team here at MGS. Before I managed to get my @golfspy tag I went by Apolloshowl and before that Danbrook . In previous reviews I would leave a link to a past one to give you an idea of me and my game, however that seems like a lifetime ago and with our new system it means time for a brand new introduction.

My name is Jamie, I am 33 and I live in a little town about a half hour from Zurich, Switzerland. August 1st not only represents the Swiss national holiday, but also our 1 year here in Switzerland... oh I should probably elaborate on the plural. When I made the decision to move here for work, my then girlfriend now wife (Allyssa) joined me on this great adventure. We were of course joined by our 3 dogs. Apollo, Fender and Oliver (or Ollie or Smalls or Smalliver). We absolutely love it here and are excited to welcome a new member to our family in the new year and are very fortunate to call Switzerland home. 
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As for the work that brought me here, well it is unique. I work as a Ice Technician for curling clubs and events. For me this normally means travelling a few months a year to different parts of the world making ice and maintaining my home club where we have ice 11 months a year and host many Olympic teams and training. It's work that has constant surprises and is always changing. I truly love what I do and can't imagine doing any other work... of course my work here as a mod not included. 
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That sums up life/work in a short way, which means we are now onto the fun part. Golf and MGS!
Before I get into my game here is a link (I'm doing it again) to what sums up my MGS career a little bit: 

Now with that out of the way my golf game. I play to a 11, although sadly I really haven't got a chance to play nearly as much as I would like to this season with work, incoming baby and covid it has meant a lot less golf. However when I have played I still have a good feel for everything and have put up respectable scores. My biggest strength is my putting. That is also what I practice a fair bit at home so it is simply a comfort for me. My weakness is chipping and tee shots. My driver is less then consistent and after SuperSpeed testing last year it didn't hurt, but also didn't help. With a increase of speed and not as much practice it has meant some more big misses with the driver. My irons I love and am just really comfortable with, although arccos would tell me to club up on approach shots as I will very often come up short vs miss left or right. 

If you want to check out a WITB for me it will be linked in the post about my MGS history above. 

Finally now we get to the goods and the product in question for testing. 
For starters I'll be using my ipad on it, as I have an Android phone (old iphone if I have to). Most of testing will be here at home (be ready for the unboxing post of all unboxing posts!) at the range and some on course use where possible (golfing in Switzerland is a little different and very go go go so less time to videoing and so on). I do promise to try and get some good backdrops where I can!

Why am I excited for Rapsodo and what this test means to me?
As eluded to above I don't get out to play nearly as much as I would like and Rapsodo will give me a great tool to practice and work on my game here at home both indoors and out. The coach feature is likely what I'm looking forward to most in I have not had a lesson in years and think this will be very beneficial as I can take the time to work on what is given to me before taking it to the course and get lots of reps in. It will also be great to get numbers and have a better idea of how far I am hitting all of my clubs since Superspeed training. 

What will be tested and examined?
For this test I will again test it both indoors and outside. I will also be going to our local shop and see how some of the numbers compare against GC Quad for those curious in that. 
Last the coach feature. I truthfully am not exactly sure what to expect with this. I will be going in with a open mind and willing to try anything the coach recommends or suggests. I think I forgot to mention this, but I am also a lefty... so outside of suggesting I play right handed I'll be all ears! 
There are lots of good solid reviews out there on the Rapsodo MLM so I will try and bring something fresh and new to the table with that, but I will also put a large focus on the Coach Feature and how it could benefit all of you. 


Unboxing: September 23, 2021
Time for a photo dump. As I said in the post the Rapsodo comes with everything you want and need and nothing that you do not. This to me is great. Less waste and I don't need a bunch of things to open or fiddle around with. A power button, simple setup guide and instructions, usb C cord and thats about it. 
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That being said my ipad case does not work with it so that had to be taken off which is fine, but not a easy case to take off.

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It is pretty small and compact which is also fantastic!

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It also feels sturdy as a device, which I won't say is surprising but i feel the durability will be great for the long term with this device as well. 

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Then we have the home setup which is a big reason why I wanted to get in on this. With life changes and being in a new country I haven't got a chance to play nearly as much as I would have liked and with baby on the way this is going to get a lot of use and the Rapsodo will help me dial in numbers over the course the review a future.

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First impressions are great so far and very happy with the quick setup and install and looking forward to the Coaching Feature and how I can improve my swing. 

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For now I am going to wrap this up and for future updates, unboxing, photos and reviews check back both on this post and the comments! 

Final Review: November 25th, 2021

Looks & Feel (8 out of 10 points) 
Describe the following for the device:
This is a big bonus for the Rapsodo device. It is small, compact and really simple. I’ve touched base on this throughout parts of the review process, but with how simple it is I really think this is a key feature to it being a good product in any golfers bag. The added carrying case, USB C charger are great to have with one protecting the device and the other being a basic standard for most chargers now aday (funnily enough not apple which is what you need to use to use for this… just now noticing the irony in that)

I used mind with a ipad in a net almost exclusively and although I didn’t get around to doing head to head with gc quard or trackman I was able to do some with the PRGR which if we are being more realistic is a more comparable device for those who may be looking at getting the Rapsodo MLM. 

In comparison the Rapsodo is a slightly larger, but add in the ipad and it feels like a much more professional unit and one much more suited to someone looking to dive into the data. 

As for the score of 8, it is a good unit and sleek there is no doubt about that, but there is also nothing really makes it stand out and say WOW so a score of 8 I think is justified. 

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Setup (10 out of 15 points)
Set up is stupid simple. Make sure its charged up, turn the power on. Have the app downloaded and account created within the Apple device and simply select pair. The app walks you through step by step and within a matter of minutes you are ready to hit golf balls. The app really does a stellar job and making sure you are given the proper knowledge going into it. 

The battery on the device for me lasted several sessions and I never ran it down to dead, it was quick and easy enough to bring in and throw on charge for a couple hours and put it back on the bag. 

Although I did not have any reason to contact customer care, I was happy to see that after one session that seemed to have missed more then a fair share of shots I got a email notification asking about the session and saying here are some tips and tricks if I was having trouble and gave the information for customer service. I did have another bad session where the ipad kept shutting down, I reset it and recharged it to full and didn’t have the issue again. HOWEVER I did make sure the ipad always had 80% or better charge from there on out. I don’t recommend using it with a lower charge as it may use too much and shut down. Also worthy to note that the ipad would not simply turn back on, but had to be plugged in to reboot. 

Scoring reasoning of 10 I think is covered above, but even though initial setup and integration and app itself are really good. The bugs with the devices and needing to have a near full powered device is a downfall for me. Side note a feature which I would love to see, not sure if it was there or not but a power indicator on the unit itself would be great!

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Accuracy (12 out of 15 points)
The accuracy of this device is exactly what you should expect for its price point. Some shots are missed, some are spot on and there is a variance in between. That being said if you are trying to dial in distances as a whole I think this is a great unit. I like how it displayed and showed the data on the ipad and really liked how you can go back and look at shots. I believe it accurately detected thin shots, fat shots and of course the odd perfect one that I hit. Distances were consistent with what I would expect on the course and there were very few that I looked at and said well thats a obvious misread. If anyting those misreads were simply just missed entirely. This happened for me I would say 5-7% of the time. Again this could be more because I was using a net almost exclusively and maybe the flight wasn’t far enough. 

This brings me to the second point in this where distance is one thing, direction is another. I again believe in the distances it showed. The direction I’m not so sure of. I mean I would love my dispersion to be as tight as it was, but know that I’m not that accurate so I think into a net with a limited ball flight the direction has a bit of room for improvement, but is more then adequate. I didn’t shank any, but did hit some high toe shots that I could see go into the top left of the net and it would read them as being more straight. 

Comparing to PRGR I was quite happy, swing speed seemed to be close to on point which is what PRGR is known for and ball speed I would say is pretty darn close to. Now with that information is that showing better things for Rapsodo or PRGR? I’ll let you know and determine that for yourself.

Scoring reason- lets be honest for the price this is at and the features it provides its great. A 12 given some of its grey areas are truly awesome. 
Are the yardages accurate? (compare to another method if possible)

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On-Course (20 out of 30 points)
I did get out for a round with it, as well as a few range sessions, but again I want to focus this more on net compatibility as we head into the off season and colder weather could this be something that is used a lot indoors for training and improvement?

Again setup is simple, the app is great and I think this could work really well for someone who wants to use this at home not as a simulator, but as a training device and to keep their swing in shape in the winter months and dial in some numbers as well as distances. 

Obviously the ball flight features and such are great for on course and range, but something you do not get at home. Maybe one day there can be a simulated flight, but for these purposes it's not really needed. 

The biggest draw back I found was outside of a 7 iron I could barely see my swing, almost my whole body was out of the video which I’m sure I could move the device further and further back, but driver I would need to have it so far back it would be way out of the parameters of working so I do think that is a area for improvement. 

I feel like I am being a little harsh on Rapsodo with my gradings, but I think it is important to understand what you are getting and what you are wanting to achieve with this device. Outside of testing I’ll be honest I don’t think I’ll be bringing this onto the course with me again. Not that it was difficult, but I’m not sure I see the benefit for on course use. That being said range/net use I think is great as a base device to get you numbers, data sets and general swing thoughts for your golf game. Which I do believe is important, especially in todays number centric golfing world. It gives you a lot more then PRGR, but that also comes with a cost of $350 or more… which is about what I would expect. 

I will also say that I used multiple sets of clubs to see if there were different launch angles and such and it did seem to pick those up. My Cobra Fly Z Pro set was shorter as expected then the i210s. Sadly driver was a tough one. I believe it was good and generally accurate, but I was using my old old driver as my Epic decided to crack on the crown so I can’t really accurately say driver numbers were spot on. I feel they were, but my 3 wood was about as far according to the numbers Rapsodo showed. This I also don’t doubt. 

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Miscellaneous (10 out of 10 points)
Okay there isn’t too much to put in here. However this is where I think Rapsodo does score perfect. It is clear they believe in their product. They have come out with several updates for the App along with new features. They have also expanded the use of the Rapsodo MLM to include a coaching feature which unfortunately we weren’t able to gain access to, however they did give us full access to the premium subscription which allows you to store more shots, see more videos and get some additional data sets. This is FREE for any Rapsodo user for the first month which is fantastic! A great trial before you decide to take the plunge, which I do believe is worth while. 
It is great to see they are enhancing features around the same unit to give it more uses as well as data to use. This is great to see and Rapsodo themselves were very good to deal with when I had to email them about some of the features of us doing this review. 

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Play it or Trade it? (15 out of 20 points)
This will be more brief for me. I will play it and use it. With life changing and family growing my golf game will be more out of home focused which means this will get used more and be part of my more normal golf routine as well as help me keep my game in check and swing smooth. However if I was to be out on the course a lot more and able to play more I honestly am not sure how much I would use it? So in short yes and I am very happy with the unit itself along with its features for my golf game and where golf fits into my life now.

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Conclusion
TLDR- The Rapsodo device is a great small, simple and compact device that gives you solid data points across the board and in terms of my testing was nice to see net compatibility function well. Rapsodo continues to work and improve not only the app, but features and uses of the MLM which only adds to its overall value

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Final Score: 75/100

 

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⛳🛄 as of Nov 6, 2023 (Past WITB
Driver:  :callaway-small: Paradym TD w/ GD ADDI 6X Driver Shootout! 

Wood:    :cobra-small: F7 3 wood 14.5* w/ Motore F1 Shaft

Irons:   :titleist-small: T Series - T200 5 Iron
                                          T150 6-9 Iron
                                          T100 PW/GW

Wedge:  Toura Golf - A Spec 53,37,61 degree 

Putter:  Screenshot 2023-06-02 13.10.30.png Mezz Max!

Balls:     Vice Pro Plus Drip (Blue/Orange)

 

Link to review
Looks & Feel
Setup
Accuracy
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Play it Or Trade it

Rhapsodo MLM Review: Introduction

Hello again fellow Golf Spies! 

I'm excited to get started on another product review with MyGolfSpy, it is always an honor to be selected. 

My name is Greg, and I live in Tampa Florida, and play the majority of my golf in and around the central Florida region. I first started playing golf in high school after a friend invited me to go play. We borrowed his dad's clubs and off we went. I shot about 120 that day, but on the 17th tee I hit a soaring long draw with the driver and I was hooked, I mean destined, to be a golfer for life. I played as often as I could through the rest of high school and college with a 'set' of clubs I was able to piece together one or two clubs at a time off the sale rack at Sports Authority on a minimum wage pay check.

After completing the four year ROTC program at UCF (Go Knights) I spent just over 20 years flying KC-135 air  refueling tankers in the Air Force.

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During my first year in the AF, I bought my first real set of clubs and began playing golf in earnest. I was mostly self taught and relied on whatever natural athleticism would manage and could usually make it around the course scoring in the low 90's. In my late 30's I finally decided to seek out a coach and take lessons, but the military lifestyle and transient nature of golf instructors made it difficult to stay with any particular coach for very long, but I managed to work my handicap down to about 10 for a while and played pretty consistently in the low 80's.

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After retiring from the Air Force I got to move back home to Tampa where I now work teaching current KC-135 pilots in the flight simulator. I'm able to play or practice golf 2-3 times per week. My current handicap index is around 13, and I'm about to finish my fourth season playing in a local competitive league. See the League Play From the Middle of the Pack 2021 Season thread for my story there.

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I've done several other tests for MyGolfSpy, including Odyssey EXO putter, Ping G410 irons, and Sqairz golf shoes. This is going to be my first 'soft goods' test though so it will be interesting to interact with you all as we put the Rapsodo MLM through it's paces.

How am I going to approach this testing process?

 Like the other testers, I'm most curious about the Remote Coaching option they have generously added into the test process for us. I have been working with my current coach for about 6 months now, and I feel like my swing is in a pretty good place. I've played pretty consistently the last couple of months. It will be an interesting comparison to see what the remote coach can see and recommend versus the in-person coaching. 

One cool aspect for this test is my current coach uses an indoor studio with a ForeSight system for full swing lessons. I think I can convince him pretty easily to let me set up the Rhapsodo during a session and get some direct comparison data. 

I also purchased the ShotScope V3 GPS watch (thanks in large part to the MGS review) for shot and performance tracking. I've also been using the 18 Birdies app for scoring history and track handicap trends along with MyScorecard through the league managing my USGA official handicap. Especially Shot Scope will give me a way to do some side-by-side data comparisons with what the Rapsodo says on the range and the on-course performance data I've gathered through Shot Scope.

As always, the fun part of these reviews is the interaction with the other testers and all of the readers as we put the product through its paces. Thanks again to MyGolfSpy for this newest opportunity. Really looking forward to getting started, and as always, feel free to ask whatever questions you like along the way, and I will give the best answers that I can.

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Final Review: 28 November 2021

Thanks again MGS for another great test/review opportunity. Many of my review centric thoughts were included in the discussion thread, so if you've followed along or scrolled through those comments some of this final review might sound repetitive. Anyway, here goes, and happy holidays!

First Impressions:  Packaging for the device was simple, compact, and more than enough for protecting the device in transit. One big plus is the compact size. The carry case and device are small enough to carry in or attach to your golf bag for transit to the range. Keeping the charging cord in the carry case made keeping track of that easy, especially in my house where chargers and cords tend to be everywhere. Getting started was easy and intuitive as well. A quick search in the app store, and a couple of clicks in the app itself, some charging time, and I was off and running (well in the car at least) to the range for session number one!

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Looks and Feel: 8 out of 10 points:  As more of a soft goods product, there really isn't much to looks and feel with regard to the device itself. It's small size makes it easy to use. The device is simple, and I suppose for looks you'd have to say simple is better. I didn't have to spend a bunch of time on the range with it answering 'Hey, what's that?' type of questions, which meant I got to enjoy my range sessions with the device. The interface within the app is simple and intuitive as well, so I didn't have to spend hours figuring out how to access my data or swing videos after a session.

Setup: 9 out of 15 points:  One of the aspects of the Rapsodo MLM is it's versatility and being able to use it both indoors or outdoors. The less you need to change the ball placement spot, the easier setup winds up being. That makes indoor setup a breeze, since hitting off an indoor mat means you don't need to reposition the ball after several swings or potentially change your target line. Outdoor setup is a little more cumbersome. The app tracks your device's gps postion, so it can recognize you are on the property of 'Golf Club X'. It takes a minute to properly position and orient the device to your spot on the range. Once you've done that, the instructions are pretty spot on with where and how to position the device. A challenge to battle is changing your position relative to the device. If you have to move forward or back a few inches/feet for turf you have to make sure you are in line with the device.

The MLM itself seems to charge  pretty quickly. Even after sitting unused for several days, it lasted at least through a range session with as little as 15 minutes of charging time. If it has a battery level indicator anywhere other than the LED on the front of the device changing color, then it was somewhere I didn't notice it.

One thing of note here was needing to give the device a little shade to operate in. Several of my sessions here in Florida were in full sun and warm temperatures. On days like that, the device tended to overheat pretty quickly, whether it was my phone or the device itself, left exposed 20-25 minutes was about all the session time I could get out of it before needing to let it cool down a bit and start a new session. Giving it some shade by using the umbrella on my push cart usually got me to 45-60 minutes before the device would drop offline.

Accuracy 13 out of 15 points:  Considering the size of the device, and the fact it is using radar to capture two different, simultaneous data points (club speed, ball speed) the Rapsodo MLM was pretty accurate. For outdoor sessions I made sure to laser capture the target posts on the range to give me a gauge for estimating shot distance to compare. Indoors, I had the opportunity to use it side-by-side with my coach's Trackman system and the distance numbers were pretty close to the same.

Indoors has some limitations on the output though. It seemed like the more of the ball flight the camera was able to capture, the better the 'Shot Type' description turned out. Hitting indoors or into a net, the short ball flight tended to come back with almost every shot being called 'Straight'. Outdoors, with the camera interface seeing the entire ball flight it was much more accurate identifying Pull/Hook/Draw/Fade etc. 

Keep in mind, the only real data points you get are club head speed at impact, and ball speed at launch. The rest of the distance is the device doing math that we don't want to. You do get the depiction of ball flight on outdoor sessions, and since ball flight is king, that is a big benefit with this device. If you are looking for more advanced club related data like attack angle, face angle, path and such, you're out of luck. And if you are a 'spin nerd' then  you are left out completely.

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On Course 20 of 30 points: The Rapsodo MLM is not really designed or intended for on course use. That being said, I did have the opportunity to take it out onto the course on a slow day and see what I could get out of it. Of course, you have to have the time to go through the setup process before any shots you want to record on the course. The data again was accurate relative to the comparison, which on-course for me was ShotScope v3. I did like getting to see a video replay of a couple of good shots though. 

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On the range though, where it is intended to be used, it is easy to set up, even if it's not necessarily quick. It provides good, useful launch data and it's nice and portable so you don't have to take a whole bunch of extra stuff with you to the range to use it.

Miscellaneous 7 out of 10  points: It feels like there is a lot more to cover in the Miscellaneous category for the Rapsodo MLM when you start looking into the extra little features in the app. 

One that most of the testers were keen to investigate was the Coach Connect feature. Once I looked into this in the app, I decided it wasn't really for me. Living where I do, I have year round access to coaches I can see in person that are within close proximity to my house. For players who live in remote areas without a lot of golf course options or quality coaches close enough, then the Coach Connect feature can get you in touch with a coach. There are a lot of coaches in the Rapsodo system, but price depends on which coach you choose. Then you have to take video recordings of you swing/s to send them and wait for their feedback and drill recommendations. 

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Other in-app features were the remote Long Drive and Close to Pin contests. I'll admit, those didn't seem inviting enough to me to try. Take note though, those in-app contests do offer prizes to the winners, of course you have to be a subscription member to participate.

A feature added later into our testing process was the Insights feature. So each recorded session gives premium subscription members an option to get robot analysis of their practice session. It uses some algorithms to compare your recorded session to other players of your handicap level to suggest where you are better or worse than average on some performance parameters, and gives a suggestion on where to work to improve. It seems pretty intuitive and accurate with the analysis, but it goes by every shot in the session, including any drill swings or outlier swings you recorded.

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One helpful little feature is the club recognition for outdoor sessions. It is, so far, not available on indoor sessions, but outdoors, if you hold an iron in front of the camera for a few seconds, it will automatically change the club in the session. I found that it works about 80% of the time, and is more accurate recognizing irons versus driver etc. 

I especially liked the headphone compatibility option. If you have Bluetooth compatible headphones connected while you use it, you get audio feedback after each shot with ball speed, launch angle and distance. You can also listen to your range tunes at the same time. I didn't notice any detriment to the device function life with that over the sessions where I went without the headphones.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the camera field of view can be a serious limiting factor if you are looking for reviewable video of your swing. With long clubs the hands and forearms tend to get cut out of the frame at the top of the backswing unless you more significantly further from the device. When you do that though, the data accuracy tends to get degraded. Same applies with indoor use. You may not have sufficient room in front of the MLM to get the entire swing in the frame. It's designed to capture the launch data though, and it does a good job of that.

Play It or Trade It - 10 out of 20 points: I went middle of the road here because my jury is still out on what I plan to do with this long term. The folks at Rapsodo were more than generous with our test group and set us each up with a one year premium subscription. I'm going to wait and see what comes down the pike as far as additional features or upgrades. There is also the fact that this is a rapidly growing segment of the golf gadget market and there are likely to be more options to choose from in the not too distant future. For now it stays, and I'll continue to use it during my league off season to help steer me toward where to focus my lessons and practice.

Conclusion: The Rapsodo MLM is not a device for every golfer out there. As I mentioned in the discussion thread, if you are a competitive golfer or are seriously trying to improve your game, then it is a wallet friendly option as a personal launch monitor compared to it's high priced big brothers used by professional coaches and teachers and club fitters. Other than saying "I have this really cool gadget I use on the range" there really isn't much utility in it for a purely recreational golfer. It's got enough useful data you can verify your club gapping. If you are working on swing changes, ball flight is where it's at, and this is a very good ball flight monitor. As far as capturing video of the swing, well, the device is what it is. It is a Launch Monitor, and it does a good job of giving you the basic launch data you need - Club Speed, Ball Speed, Smash Factor, Launch Angle and doing the math on all that, an accurate distance. 

Final Score: 67 / 100 points

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Driver:  :PXG: 311XF Gen5, Tensei CK Pro Orange, S flex

Fariway:  :PXG: 311XF Gen6 3-Wood, Tensei Blue 55g R flex

Hybrid:   :PXG: 211, 3H Project X Evenflow H, 80g, 5.5

              :titleist-small: TSR2 4H, Tensei Blue R (Forum Tester)

Irons:  :titleist-small: T200 2023, Tensei Blue R (Forum Tester), 5-GW

Wedges:   :cleveland-small: CBX2 Zipcore  52*, 56* Project X Catalyst Spinner Graphite Shaft

Putter: :EVNROLL: ER2 Murdered Out

Link to review
Looks & Feel
Setup
Accuracy
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Play it Or Trade it

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How we doing y’all?!  Welcome to B.Boston’s official Rapsodo MLM review!  I am super excited about this one as I had literally commented to another member on instagram that if I had $1,000 to spend on golf equipment I would buy a personal launch monitor and get some lessons, then I saw that MGS was looking for testers for exactly that!  

No review would be started correctly without thanking both Rapsodo and MGS for offering up this launch monitor for review.  And thank you to the mods for selecting me.  It is always a humbling experience to be chosen to do a review and I know we have high expectations of our reviewers here.  Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

Who is this B.Boston guy anyway?

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk a little bit about me!  My name is Bryan, and I am from Bellingham, MA.  Based on my user name you might see that I identify with Boston as my “home” city.  I grew up about 40 minutes outside the city, went to school just outside the city, and have lived within those 40 minutes for my entire life.  If you don’t know me already, or heck even if you do based on my Cobra Connect posts last year you’d probably expect me to be your Dunkin’ and Sam Adams drinking cousin from Boston sports guy with a wicked accent and Tom Brady posters all over the place.  While some of that is true… my accent is apparently disappointing.

Obligatory family photo from our recent vacation:

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I’ve been golfing since as long as I can remember, getting my first set and going to the executive par 3 near me from when I was about 7 years old, but I got much more serious about it (read: tried to eliminate my slice) as I got into college.  Now 34 years old and a happily married father of three I would say I am borderline obsessed with the game and I have an ultimate goal of reaching “scratch” status for my handicap.  I am currently a 5.8 based on my Arccos stats.  Strength of my game is putting and I’m really hopeful that I can dial in my approach and long game with the help of the Rapsodo MLM and Coaching.

State of my game:

Just for reference here is a current view of some Arccos data:

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My gapping is pretty good and I really just need to work on consistency.  My worst stats come from Approach and Short Game shots.  I need to get better in my proximity to the hole on approaches, and get closer for an easy one putt if I don’t hit the green.

Here’s a recent swing clip.  This should be useful representative of a starting point for me before any changes or developments from the coaching aspect of this review:

My signature shows my current WITB, but in case you’re reading this on mobile and can’t see I’m playing here are the details:

  • Driver: Callaway Epic Max LS
  • Fairway:  Cobra Speedzone 5-wood
  • Hybrid:  Titleist TSi3 20*
  • Irons:  Cobra Forged Tec (5-GW)
  • Wedges:  Cobra MIM Black (52, 56, 60)
  • Putter:  Evnroll ER2B
  • Ball:  Titleist Pro V1x
  • Tech:  Precision Pro NX9 Slope, Arccos Caddie

I’m a tech nerd at heart so I’m always interested in ways to utilize technology to enhance my game.  I have been loving Arccos and its strokes gained information as it has been insightful in many cases and damn eye opening in others.  I’ll record my swing at the range and on the course to see if there’s anything I notice off on a particular day, and can not wait to pair it with a powerful tool in the Rapsodo MLM to get an even better understanding of my game.  

What will I be looking at in this test, and what am I hoping to get out of it?

I will primarily be using this device outside at the driving range, and hopefully getting some actual on-course data as well.  I know that from both last year’s forum testing and the most wanted articles that the Rapsodo MLM is top of its class and very comparable to professional grade units for good quality strikes.  I know all of these units can suffer on strikes that are at opposite ends of the bell curve, so I don’t expect perfection, but I will do my best to test out the accuracy claims.  I want to see what the Rapsodo shows as my carry gapping versus my Arccos stats total yardage.  Also to see if I am getting good ball speed gaps, peak heights, etc. to make sure that everything is looking in line.

However, the thing I’m most excited to take part in is the coaching feature as I have only ever had one golf lesson and while I would love to have a coach and consistently see them, it’s difficult for me to know which day I’ll be able to shoot to the range on lunch and scheduling something after work is challenging, and if I’m booking time on the weekend for golf, I’d much rather it be time playing on the course and enjoying the game.  I really feel that the coaching feature will help me maximize my range sessions by getting feedback and things to work on for the next bucket of balls.    

I’m also going to try and have some fun, and highlight some of the cool features for you all.  There will be a long drive contest and hopefully some other videos along the way.

Much more to come with the unboxing and review!  Please sound off in the comment section with anything else you’re hoping to see from my review or any of the other testers.  As much as this review is about my experience, I want to make sure the forums are learning everything they possibly want to about them to aid in future purchase decisions.

Make sure to give this thread a follow so you don’t miss out!

Initial Impressions! (September 10th Update):

I’ve had three range sessions in the books now with the Rapsodo MLM and have had an opportunity to try everything out except the coaching feature, so I’ll be adding more details about that later on.

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Rapsodo claims that the MLM sets up in under 30 seconds and I have to agree.  The iPhone and iPad apps are super responsive to start a practice or game session and just as slick in reviewing rounds once the session has been uploaded.  Every time that I powered the unit on it connected quickly to my phone and I was able to get a session going without any issues.  Even swapping to the iPad to test went smoothly.  I had no issue going through my session after getting home, looking at swing videos, and viewing detailed data.  I had even forgotten to switch clubs at one point and that was easy in the app too.  I can’t stress enough how simple the app made it to get setup and start hitting shots.  This is important to me because I don’t want to be thinking about the set up and capture of swings to get the data to the point that I’m not thinking you know… about my golf swing and hitting the shots I want to hit.  

Here’s my typical range setup:

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The iPad version of the app allows for more data to be shown and I think it looks cooler.

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Side Note:  On the first day I did have to improvise as the MLM needs to generally be level with the ground you are hitting on, so I used a flipped over small bucket as the ground behind the mat I was on sloped down and away.  I have since used it slightly below the level of the ball (maybe 4 or 5 inches) and it seemed to work just fine.  But it was still level, which I think is more important.

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Rapsodo highlights several features when talking about the MLM:

  • Shot Tracer

  • GPS Shot Map

  • Video Playback

  • Club Gapping

  • Interactive Games/Sharing

  • Shot Library

  • NET(Indoor/Outdoor)

  • Smart Club Recognition

They also highlight that accuracy matters, and so far the MLM seems to have done really well on good/average strikes.  Poor strikes have been less consistent, but yeah, it’s a poor strike and likely out of the focal range of the unit’s radar.  I’m not going to fuss that the unit was unable to show my topped drive was 30 yards before it hit the ground instead of a 42 yard carry (I mean if I were to have had a shot like that…. Which I NEVER do!).  

So far the clunkiest part of the app experience has been exporting swing videos to the camera roll.  For such a smooth app for everything else it takes way too many clicks, and too much time to do.

So what does this accuracy get you?  Here are the metrics the Rapsodo MLM captures:

  • Distance (Carry for irons, user selectable Carry or Carry + Roll for woods)

  • Ball Speed immediately after impact

  • Club Speed immediately prior to impact

  • Smash Factor for strike efficiency

  • Launch Angle

  • Launch Direction

So far, it seems to be a pretty accurate launch monitor, particularly with well struck balls.  I’ve had a few data issues with pull-hooks, my guess is because the ball gets lost behind my club or body and the reading gets messed up.  I can forgive that miss as I realize these are not perfect commercial sized radar units.  It’s also disappointing that there is no spin, but I read a rumor that they are working on that, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see.  My club and ball speed numbers are right inline with what I saw earlier this year on a trackman and were well within my expectations.

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(Very cool to have the visual satellite overlay view, but I’m not convinced the scaling is quite right.  More research needed.)

Not too shabby for the asking price right?  But wait, there’s more!

There are two main subscriptions offered with the MLM for golfers.  Basic (AKA Free), and Premium ($99 annually)..  There is also a Coach Connect subscription, but that is teaching professionals and is out of scope on this review.  With the Basic subscription you only get cloud storage for your last 100 shots included.  The premium subscription includes more:

  • Cloud storage for 10,000 shots

  • Slow motion swing replays at 4 speeds

  • Shot Apex data on your swings

  • Access to online golf lesions through the Coach Connect platform

I need some more time to think about it, but I don’t think we’re getting enough as consumers at the Free level.  100 shots isn’t even 10 good shots with each club in my bag, so the club gapping is much less appealing.  Heck, that’s not even two full buckets at the range.  I really think that something like 250 or 300 shots should be included, or I should be able to use my iPhone or iPad’s internal memory.  It is super portable with the included carry case, so it really would be a shame to not be able to see more than 2 range sessions of history since I can see myself always having it there available to use.

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As for the upgraded features you do get with the premium, I DO enjoy the peak height indicator on the shot replays.  It’s not always easy to tell due to the angle of the camera and it is something that I do like to see.  The ability to play your swings in several levels of slow motion is neat, but I think the app needs to use a higher FPS on the camera’s phone to really take advantage of it.  Slow motion videos from the native iPhone app are much better.  I need to do a comparison there on the downswing as well as some more testing to show what I mean.

I should be getting into the online golf lessons soon, and will update here after I get to try that out.  Until then, it’s off to the range for some more hone my skills with the Rapsodo MLM in tow!

 

Final Scores! (November 23rd Update):

Looks & Feel (10 out of 10 points) 

The Rapsodo MLM is very well built and feels like a tank.  It feels very dense and solid, not hollow.  I like that feeling as it feels more high quality even if a lighter unit may be just as good.  It strikes a good balance with some softer feeling rubberized plastic.  Also the buttons and flap that you open for the phone/tablet stand have a satisfying smooth feeling to them. 

The case is a good standard feeling rangefinder style zip case.  With that storage for between uses and the high quality feeling unit itself I have no doubts that unit will hold up long term.

 

Setup (13 out of 15 points)

As I touched on in my initial impressions, the Rapsodo MLM and Rapsodo app could not be easier to set up and get going. Turn it on, place it down, open the app, select practice or the mode you want, set location and heading, verify you’re in your box and the ball is in its box, and Go.  Demos in the app are very good at showing you what to do step-by-step if it’s your first time setting it up.  

The unit charges fast enough through standard USB connections and I don’t doubt I can get through 2 or more range sessions on a charge, but I usually just charge it after a practice session anyway.  

Upon swinging the replay shows all your relevant data (more is shown on the iPad, and I prefer that view).  The data is all useful information for your shots and can help track your progress.  I find the ball speed to be the most useful (with driver at least) as a way of determining how solidly I’m hitting the ball.

While I won’t say any of it is useless, the least useful metric to me is the shot shape.  I’ve had several shots that were over or under curved, likely due to the device not capturing spin.  However, I don’t recall it being wildly off, but enough that I consider the tracer more of an estimate than a calculated or tracked overlay.

 

Accuracy (13 out of 15 points)

As far as accuracy is concerned I want to note that I used the Rapsodo MLM exclusively at the driving range outdoors..  I have no indoor or outdoor net experience so this is all based on Outdoor mode with range balls. 

I think the unit overall does a really good job on well struck shots.  Considering the condition of the range balls I was using I was expecting some variance, even if the data is normalized.  One area I did see some strange results was on shots that started more left and maybe got part of the ball flight lost behind me while swinging.  I also had several shots where the tracer did not start at the ball, and I am not sure if that means the numbers are good or not.  

Here is a chart of my Arrcos Smart Distance versus Rapsodo Lifetime Stats (Driver and woods are set to Carry+Roll setting in the app):
 

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So now, let's take a look at the story here by club grouping:

  • Wedges (52*, 56*, and 60*)
    • No surprise here.  At the range I hit my 52, 56, and 60 to some specific targets and on-course I end up with many different length shots.  The Rapsodo distances feel very accurate to the targets I am usually shooting at with them
  • Irons (including PW and GW)
    • These feel really accurate in aggregate as well.  Considering I don’t get much roll through the 9 iron I am happy to see they match my Arccos on-course performance.  It makes sense to me that I would see some gaps in the longer irons as Rapsodo does not account for roll on these shots.  If anything, the quality of ball I’m hitting may start to impact carry figures for the 6 and 5 irons by 3-5 yards.
  • Hybrid
    • Ok so this is the only one that I really don’t agree with.  It’s also one of the clubs I hit the least during practice, so it could be a sample size thing with a few bad shots pulling the numbers down.  I think I only have a dozen or so shots with it in the Rapsodo data, but once again when we account for roll, this may only be 5-8 yards off on carry.  Maybe it rolls a lot more for me than I’m thinking?
  • 5-wood
    • This looks pretty good to me.  At this point the range I practice at does back uphill, so it’s easier to gauge how close to the targets your landing and estimate total carry distance.  Also I don’t tee this club up at the range and my Arccos data would include tee shots which in theory would allow for some additional distance.
  • Driver
    • This one is tough for me to gauge.  I don’t like seeing a 20 yard gap here, but I have a hard time believing the range balls are not partially to blame here.  The last few sessions out I could see the ball traveling shorter overall distances even though the Rapsodo unit was showing a lot of the same swing speeds.  It also had my efficiency at about 1.42 so maybe with my gamer balls that number would be a little higher.  Or maybe it is because I was practicing a lot with the Epic Max LS as it was the newest club in my bag, and I was trying different shafts, and had a bunch of poor shots in the data.  I will note that I saw my biggest “Hmmmm” moments when looking at the Rapsodo readouts with the driver, particularly if my start line got pulled to the left at all.  But, more on that later…

I’m docking a couple points here because the accuracy of the shot tracer and shot direction/path is just OK.  With no ability to edit for the landing point  it looks awkward if you’re not hitting on a flat surface and without spin measurements it’s only ever going to be a guess anyway, but overall the yardages seem solid in aggregate even if some individual shots are off.  I actually had purposely not looked at the summary stats until writing this section so I was pleasantly surprised to see the figures matching up and making sense.    

see here the tracer isn't starting at impact, or even within the range of the "hit zone" on this one.  I had more than a few shots like this:

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On-Course (25 out of 30 points)

At the range getting ready to play is pretty simple.  Open the app, move the icon over the spot to where you’re hitting, and set your heading.  Then all you have to do is line up your unit and make sure the hitting area is within the box on the screen.  I can’t say that it interfered with my normal practice routine at all.  I could make my swing, watch the flight, and then turn around in time to see the some/all of the replay and see the numbers.  It worked out well because I could see if the MLM picked up the shot shape and get a gauge as to if I felt it was a good shot or not.  I didn’t really get along well with the “Smart Club Recognition” but it was simple to select the right one, or even edit post practice if I forgot  (I usually work through my bag with all even or odd clubs so it’s pretty clear when I changed based on the numbers.  

Compared to my old way of playing at the range I didn’t really change much.  I normally will use my rangefinder to get the distances to flags or markers and go from there.  One thing I did do differently with the MLM is set up in line with the middle of the range which has a 100 yard marker.  Then I would try to hit all my balls over that flag to get the distance as I was warming up, which was great with the unit for tracking accuracy and distance, then get to my target practice in the second part of my practice. 

However, I did run into some issues/limitations with the MLM while out on the range.  The unit does not like high contrast situations.  At one of my practice sessions it was hot and humid, and I was able to hit in a covered bay to keep myself, and the MLM a little cooler.  However the MLM failed to capture probably close to 25-30% of swings that session as the ball was starting in the shade and jumping out into a bright clear sunny day.  The unit was unable to track this so it must be using both its radar and your mobile phone to track and lost the ball from transition from shade to sun.

The unit also did not seem to like my Hybrid very much, missing a noticeable amount of shots with that club, including several that were just straight, medium trajectory, boring shots.  I still can’t quite figure out why, but it was enough to notice the trend.  

While I can’t say I play better or worse since including this in my practice, my range sessions or definitely more enjoyable.  It’s also fun to use the long-drive feature as @Lacassem and I did.  I recorded that with the intent of creating a video to share with everyone, but it was windy and the audio came out like absolute trash… and my competitor was trash that day too. 😉 

 

Miscellaneous (7 out of 10 points)

Speaking of the long drive/closest to the pin built in challenges…. They need to work on the UI for that a bit.  So I’m deducting 2 points.  First,  the results are not saved in your shots or sessions.  When Mark and I completed the long drive challenge we wouldn’t have been able to back and see the totals for each round had I not set up a screen record.  It is not saved in your session, and you cannot review the swings after.  On top of that, there is barely a final page or summary screen at the end.  I’d love to see Longest from each round and longest overall or something with the averages… something more than just our names in first and second and then once the page clears it’s gone forever.  Although that’s probably how Mark wanted it since it was a clean sweep for me.  *Side note: maybe next time you show up for a long drive competition don’t be wearing work boots.*

Nothing really much to mention otherwise.  Shipping was quick.  We were all hoping to get to try out the coaching feature, but were not able to get access to coaches during the testing period (-2 points) despite our mod’s best efforts (thanks Jamie!).  But we did get a full year of premium from Rapsodo (+1 point).  I may investigate the coaching feature in the Spring, or maybe over the winter if I find some indoor practice time, but with the prices varying wildly from coach to coach I may be better off getting in front of an actual coach the old-fashioned way, face-to-face, so they can see my particular inconsistencies IRL and not just a selection of my best and worst swings. 

Rapsodo INSIGHTS.  This has some real potential and now that I’ve seen what it is I feel like I can’t un-see the gap that was there before.  Insights in a new AI driven addition to the MLM app that gives you feedback (sort of like strokes-gained) on your practice sessions as a whole.  It takes the MLM from being a “toy” to being a real “tool” that can be used for improvement in my opinion.  Data like left/right misses and distance compared to other golfers of varying skill levels should help you focus your practice much like strokes gained analysis will point out your on-course weaknesses.  I’m excited about this addition and look forward to seeing more added to it for even better practice sessions.  

Here are some of the summary screens you get with Insights, it really does take the MLM to the next level:

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Play it or Trade it? (15 out of 20 points)

This is a tough question for me to answer.  So I’m going to break it down into a few parts for the unit and the subscription.  I think that the unit is great, and see no reason to not continue using it.  Despite a few challenges with the technology working great my numbers are pretty spot on in aggregate and I think it’s one of the best personal launch monitors out there for its cost.

When we factor in the annual subscription things get a little less clean for me.  I think $99 per year is a bit much for cloud storage and some expanded analysis.  I also feel that the base level does not include enough storage for the asking price of the unit.  
Regarding coaching (which is not factored into the score here as I did not test it, but as an aside) the prices vary significantly from instructor to instructor, which you’d see just the same if you were looking at different coaches at a few places near you, but Rapsodo does a good job of having the coaches offer both standalone, lesson packs, or unlimited monthly offerings.  It also looks to have limited slots for coaches which is good, because it gives me the sense that the coaches will have the correct amount of time to dedicate to each student.

The most natural competitor I can think of to the Rapsodo MLM and other personal launch monitors using this base plus subscription model would be Arccos’s shot tracking system or Shot Scope.  I think both the PLM and On-Course data gathering are both means to the same end of improvement for golfers.  If we take a look at this as a three year investment the MLM will cost you around $800,  While 3 years of Arccos is going to run about half of that.  

Now I know they are not the same tools, but if someone came to me asking which one they should get FIRST, my answer would be Arccos or Shotscope.  I feel that the on-course data and strokes gained analysis is going to be money better spent for golfers.  However, if you’re like me and already have on-course shot tracking, well, then the Rapsodo MLM is a powerful tool that can partner with your on-course data to help measure improvements during practice.  I hope that in the next few years costs can come down, but the Rapsodo MLM is not high priced compared to some of the other units that it is competing against considering the accuracy of the results. 

 

Conclusion (TL;DR):

Rapsodo has an absolute hit with the MLM unit and slick operating iPhone/iPad app.  It works well in most conditions, and if you know where it doesn’t work well you can generally avoid setting it up that way.  I’m not sure there is a more accurate unit available in its price bracket, and while I’d like to see either a reduced annual subscription fee, or more features for the base plan, I can see that Rapsodo is putting the money into R&D as the new INSIGHTS platform is a welcome addition to post-practice analysis.

Overall, I like it, but I don’t love it.  However I think it will be a very useful tool for my future practice sessions and I’m excited to see if I can improve my game a little bit from the insights analysis and my on-course tracking during normal rounds.  Insights is a massive release for analyzing your practice sessions and I also feel that many of my issues with it can be address via software updates.  I am confident that the folks over at Rapsodo are working hard to stay ahead of the competition with constant improvement and updates.
 

B. Boston’s Final Score: 83!

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:callaway-small: Epic Max LS 10.5 - Motore X F3 6X | :cobra-small: Speedzone 5-wood - Ventus Blue 8S | :titelist-small: TSi3 20* Hybrid - KBS Proto 85S

:edel-golf-1: SMS Pro 4-PW - Steelfiber i110S | :taylormade-small: MG3 Raw Black 50.09, 54.11, 58.11 - DG TI S200

:EVNROLL: ER2B | :titelist-small: Pro V1x | :918457628_PrecisionPro: NX9 Slope | Jones Trouper R | :CaddyTek: CaddyLite EZ v8

 

Link to review
Looks & Feel
Setup
Accuracy
On the Course
Miscellaneous
Play it Or Trade it

Hello fellow spies.

Welcome to my review of the Rapsodo MLM.

First let me say a big thank you to MGS and Rapsodo for the privelege of being a part of this test.

Who am I?

My name is Chuck and I live in the Seattle area.  No, I'm not a Seahawks/Mariners/Sonics (RIP) fan.  I'm a big hockey fan and have a love/hate relationship with soccer.  I love the Pittsburgh Penguins and now I'm going to be a Kraken fan!  Release the Kraken!

I'm a father of 3 girls and a grandfather to 2 of the most beautiful little girls in the world, one is 5 and the other is 6 months.

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My Game

I'm 49 years old and have been playing golf for the better part of my adult life.  I picked it up early in my 14 year career in the Marine Corps.  I'm a self taught player, never had any lessons other than the free ones you get from your buddies.  The strength of my game is in the short strokes and bunker shots.  I don't get a chance to play as often as I would like, which is the reason (excuse) for my 18 handicap.  The Coach Connect option of this test is going to be the part to which I pay very close attention.

Here is my swing...

MGS Tests

I have had the honor of being a part of one other MGS test, linked below.

Nippon N.S. Pro Zelos 8 – Official MGS Forum Review by IDontGiveAchuck

My Expectations

As I said before, I'm really looking forward to testing the Coach Connect.  I hope to give a very amateur point of view on this as someone who's never taken formal lessons before.

In summary, I am excited about this test.  I look forward to seeing the data and comparing it to data I get from the launch monitors at the local range.  I hope to do everyone here a service and give a worthwhile review of the Rapsodo.

I'll post the unboxing as soon as it arrives.

 

The Grand Unveiling...

Here are the photos of my unboxing:

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Initial Thoughts

Packaging - Despite it being a demo unit that does look like its been put through its paces, the packaging is well put together.  I like the look of it and the information provided on the box is well done.

Contents - I like the soft case that is supplied.  Keeps everything nice and tidy.  Also comes with "carabiner" clip to hang it from my bag and allow everyone to know I have a Rapsodo MLM! 😆

Unit - Again, even though its a demo unit, it's in fairly decent condition.  I can tell its been used by the scuffs and scratches, and hopefully this doesn't affect testing. 

I like the size of it, not even the size of my hand.  So huge plus there.  Very much a MOBILE launch monitor.  

Controls are easy enough to understand, it has 1 power button on the side, and 1 multi-color status light on the front.

I'll be testing this with an iPad and it fits on the unit fairly well, although I think that an iPhone will probably be more stable.

 

Just tap it in.  Lil' taparoo.

:honma: TW747 460 10.5° Vizard stiff

:adams-small: 4 Hybrid

:Sub70: 699 5-Aw; KBS Tour-V 90 Stiff

:cleveland-small: Tour Action 58°

:taylormade-small: Spider Interactive

Link to review

120 Comments




1 minute ago, sirchunksalot said:

Just saw over in the "How'd you play" thread that @B.Boston is going to start using the coaching feature soon and just wanted to let you all know I'm really looking forward to this aspect of the review. I think it's a great feature that Rapsodo has and I'll be interested to see how it works out for you all. 

You've all done a great job so far, keep it up!

Yup we’re all hoping to get the access codes this week!

I believe we will have a month of access but I haven’t looked deeply into how the lessons/coaching works yet. 

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First Impressions and unboxing! Sept 7th

To start off I have had my Rapsodo for about a week now and ran into a hiccup to start. Although my ipad is compatible on the range and course, it is NOT net compatible. It is a little disappointing as it isn't too old, but I understand and will be looking to update it at the end of the month as net practice at home is where a large focus of my review is going to be. With that I also got my new net and matt! Another hiccup is my driver decided to explode so I am waiting on my folks to come visit from Canada where they are bring my backup bag and a old driver. With baby on the way and some more things a new driver isn't quite in the cards at the moment. So here is the setup!
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The net was pretty simple to setup even with budget ikea instructions. It also came with a nice bag about the size of a baseball bat bag which it will fold into. Construction is sturdy and its is 8" by 8" by 8" so plenty of space. I also like there is a middle net which helps stop or kill some of the momentum also making me feel a little more comfortable hitting it towards the wood wall which is my neighbours living room. The mat is nice, not a lot of padding but enough that it feels good to hit off of even on the outdoor tiles. 

To start I did some baseline numbers with PRGR and swing speed is up and solid so I have a good idea of what to expect going in. I'll do a lot of numbers compared to PRGR as at $200 there can be the question what does Rapsodo give you for the extra $300?

A few things to start with the Rapsodo unboxing- As other testers have mentioned there isn't a ton to it. The unit, usb c cable (this gets a big plus for me), case and the box with basic instructions. If I'm honest it is kinda nice, nothing you don't need, not a lot of extra waste. Also for me nice that doesn't include a extra wall block as it would have to be Swiss which wouldn't come so would just be tossed anyway. 

The setup of the unit is also straight forward, instructions lay things out as you would expect and walk you through step by step.
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Pairing took all of 3 seconds, setup with GPS, calibration and placement not too much longer. Again impressed with the simplicity of it. I did note however I had to take the ipad case off as the device being used needs to be properly in the Rapsodo slot in order to get best outcome. I haven't taken that case off for over a year or so and now I remember why, it was tough! A great case, but don't want it to hinder any results. 

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I love the size of the unit as well. Compact and sleek I would label it as. Again a theme of everything you need and not really anything you don't. For now that will wrap up my first impressions. I am looking forward to starting up the Coaching portion of the unit as it is what really interested me about this unit. I will be starting up a bit later then the toher testers with a work assignment over the next few weeks that takes me out of town, but will try and do some follow up as I get along and hopefully sneak out some range sessions with it over this week before I leave. 

For your viewing pleasure here is a video of some unedited swings from the other day, this was where I also noticed the ipad didn't function with the net and will need to update. 
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hXzsY9QnNbR64BJG8

 

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I just posted some of my initial thoughts after three range sessions with the Rapsodo MLM in main review section.

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I've got an idea of things I still want to test and look into, mainly the coaching platform which will begin soon, but if anyone has questions now is the time to ask!  We're all in the thick of it now and we don't want to leave any questions unanswered if we can test them for you.

Next week will likely be a dual range session week so I'll have an opportunity to check something out then.  Also,  I did TRY the shanked wedge test... But I just couldn't do it.  I did hit some beautiful wedge shots that way though.  Sometimes the mind won't allow us to shank a wedge when we want to.... but put me about 40 yards from a tabletop green and it's got no problem at all blading one into the next county... go figure! 

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17 hours ago, B.Boston said:

I just posted some of my initial thoughts after three range sessions with the Rapsodo MLM in main review section.

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I've got an idea of things I still want to test and look into, mainly the coaching platform which will begin soon, but if anyone has questions now is the time to ask!  We're all in the thick of it now and we don't want to leave any questions unanswered if we can test them for you.

Next week will likely be a dual range session week so I'll have an opportunity to check something out then.  Also,  I did TRY the shanked wedge test... But I just couldn't do it.  I did hit some beautiful wedge shots that way though.  Sometimes the mind won't allow us to shank a wedge when we want to.... but put me about 40 yards from a tabletop green and it's got no problem at all blading one into the next county... go figure! 

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Your shank effort is noted and appreciated! 
 

Have you had any trouble with the rapsodo missing errant shots? 

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15 minutes ago, HeathS16 said:

Your shank effort is noted and appreciated! 
 

Have you had any trouble with the rapsodo missing errant shots? 

I’ve had maybe 5 shots in 3 range sessions that I would classify as gross misses (a pull of a pull with a hooky hook) those didn’t read. 

quite frankly I don’t want to know those numbers! 😂

I did have a range session where the MLM was not working great. It missed upwards of 20 shots. I think I’ve locked that down to being in the shade of a hitting bay on a bright sunny day. The contrast change of the ball going from shade to sunlight seems to cause issues with the camera and then the radar doesn’t pick up on the shot. I guess the MLM doesn’t just use the radar but uses your video in combination (I need to verify this). 
 

but outside of that potentially very specific issue, it seems to do well with a variety of pulls, draws, slices, and pushes.  I was also able to hit a few flop shots that worked. But I imagine a super high and soft flop shot might not read. I’ll try that this week too. 

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3 minutes ago, B.Boston said:

I’ve had maybe 5 shots in 3 range sessions that I would classify as gross misses (a pull of a pull with a hooky hook) those didn’t read. 

quite frankly I don’t want to know those numbers! 😂

I did have a range session where the MLM was not working great. It missed upwards of 20 shots. I think I’ve locked that down to being in the shade of a hitting bay on a bright sunny day. The contrast change of the ball going from shade to sunlight seems to cause issues with the camera and then the radar doesn’t pick up on the shot. I guess the MLM doesn’t just use the radar but uses your video in combination (I need to verify this). 
 

but outside of that potentially very specific issue, it seems to do well with a variety of pulls, draws, slices, and pushes.  I was also able to hit a few flop shots that worked. But I imagine a super high and soft flop shot might not read. I’ll try that this week too. 

Lovely. As always with your responses I appreciate the dedication!! 

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1 hour ago, Headhammer said:

Following cause I'm really interested in the Rapsodo. Question to the testers-What info do you get from the device itself versus the "Premium Subscription"? 

Hey Hammer!  I believe the only stat you don’t get is the “peak height” info on your replay. 
 

I know that is listed as a premium feature and it’s actually not listed anywhere in the data table of your shots.  Of course, that could be because there’s no spin measurement to help calculate it. 

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1 hour ago, Headhammer said:

Another question for the testers-on a crowded range does the Rapsodo ever pick up other shots from players on either side of you? 

Not that I’ve run into with people hitting to my left and right.  The MLM has you place the ball within a window on screen.  I kind of doubt that it has the ability to pick something up like that.  It would take a pretty wide focus on the radar and these small units seem to be rather narrowly focused.

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On 9/11/2021 at 6:07 PM, Headhammer said:

Following cause I'm really interested in the Rapsodo. Question to the testers-What info do you get from the device itself versus the "Premium Subscription"? 

Hey Hammer,

I was going to save a few comments on this until posting the review, but it's good here in the discussion thread as well. Best I can tell from the Rapsodo website, the "Premium Subscription" offers cloud storage for 1,000 recorded shots vs. the free service storing only 100. So you get the ability to review more than your most recent range session or two. 

The other thing the Premium Subscription provides is the opportunity to spend even more money. Keep in mind, the premium subscription itself is $100/year. With Premium, the Coach Connect service is made available. Now, while there are a number of lesson drill videos available for free there, the actual coaching comes at a price. And the price varies depending on the coach. If you choose one of the PGA Tour level gurus, the lessons available could be $400. With the 'entry level' coaches, you can get a lesson for $25. Of course, the quality of their feedback is going to be limited by the quality of the video recording of your swing that you are able to send them.

All that being said, the question to answer is 'Do I even need the premium subscription?'

If you feel you NEED access to your last 1000 practice swings to review on your own, then A: = Maybe. Me, I only want to keep track of the last session or two to know if any swing changes are working or if I'm noticing a new miss trend.

I live in an area with a year round golf season, so practice and coaching availability is rarely a problem. If you're a golfer living in a 'golf seasonal' region, and need or want access to a coach when you can't practice/play outside.. A= Maybe to Probably.

Similarly, if you are just in a remote area and don't have reasonable access to a facility with a quality instructor or coach, then Rapsodo's Coach Connect may be worth the additional cost.

Having not used the Coach Connect service yet during the test, I'll offer my early opinion of it. Right now I'm thinking of it as the remote golf coaching version of a gym membership. They expect a lot of users to sign up, then not show up. First you have to pay the annual Premium Subscription, so Rapsodo will get their cut that way. If that is the only way to gain access to a coach you'd otherwise have to go without, then budget will limit the level of the instructor. While I think it would be cool to be able to take a lesson from Mike Malaska, for me, it's not $200 for a single lesson cool. My $60/hour coach and free clinics through the $49/month practice membership at my local course have me happy with the state of my game right now so I'm not as tempted to go the Rapsodo Coach Connect route.

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48 minutes ago, GregB135 said:

Hey Hammer,

I was going to save a few comments on this until posting the review, but it's good here in the discussion thread as well. Best I can tell from the Rapsodo website, the "Premium Subscription" offers cloud storage for 1,000 recorded shots vs. the free service storing only 100. So you get the ability to review more than your most recent range session or two. 

The other thing the Premium Subscription provides is the opportunity to spend even more money. Keep in mind, the premium subscription itself is $100/year. With Premium, the Coach Connect service is made available. Now, while there are a number of lesson drill videos available for free there, the actual coaching comes at a price. And the price varies depending on the coach. If you choose one of the PGA Tour level gurus, the lessons available could be $400. With the 'entry level' coaches, you can get a lesson for $25. Of course, the quality of their feedback is going to be limited by the quality of the video recording of your swing that you are able to send them.

All that being said, the question to answer is 'Do I even need the premium subscription?'

 

Thanks for the feedback. My concern with the subscription was that you got minimal metrics & tracking with device itself and both you and @B.Boston have alleviated that concern. Honestly, I'm not sure how many more subscription services I can handle, and I have no idea how the younger generation is dealing with the plethora of monthly fees they have to maintain their lifestyles.

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Update for all: We had a bit of a hiccup on the backend with the accounts to get the coaching feature for us so we are still awaiting news on this. We are hoping to have it cleared up shortly and have access to the feature as well. 

On a personal front I was away on a work assignment for a while then came back home and my parents are visiting Switzerland from Canada (also first time in Europe for them) and seeing as we normally only see them once a year I have to give them priority which has stalled most my updates. However they did bring my "backup bag" all the way from Canada so I have my lovely Cobra Fly Z+ driver back to replace my broken GBB Epic Sub Zero. Along with my other gorgeous fly z pro irons, black trusty rusty wedges and more... can you tell I'm happy to have them back? 

In any case things will be fired up again shortly and I have still been using the net to get some good swing feels as well as some videos which have been fun to analyse my own swing and when the coaching feature is activated it will be interesting if they see much of the same thing or something completely different.

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10 hours ago, GolfSpy_APH said:

Update for all: We had a bit of a hiccup on the backend with the accounts to get the coaching feature for us so we are still awaiting news on this. We are hoping to have it cleared up shortly and have access to the feature as well. 

On a personal front I was away on a work assignment for a while then came back home and my parents are visiting Switzerland from Canada (also first time in Europe for them) and seeing as we normally only see them once a year I have to give them priority which has stalled most my updates. However they did bring my "backup bag" all the way from Canada so I have my lovely Cobra Fly Z+ driver back to replace my broken GBB Epic Sub Zero. Along with my other gorgeous fly z pro irons, black trusty rusty wedges and more... can you tell I'm happy to have them back? 

In any case things will be fired up again shortly and I have still been using the net to get some good swing feels as well as some videos which have been fun to analyse my own swing and when the coaching feature is activated it will be interesting if they see much of the same thing or something completely different.

Always good to have family visit.  I'm lucky that both my parents and in-laws live in town.  Enjoy the time! 

 

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On 9/25/2021 at 1:25 AM, B.Boston said:

Got an email today about some app updates:

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im hoping the “big” updates are something related to capturing spin, but we shall see. 
 

there was also a link asking for beta testers on the app so I put my info in for that. I’ll update everyone if that comes to fruition. 

You beat me to this post! Was very interested in what some of these updates are and was happy to see that they are continuing to update for more devices. 

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On 9/30/2021 at 11:43 AM, B.Boston said:

Yup!  I’m hitting the range tomorrow.  Anyone got any last minute questions or requests?  

i wouldnt mind seeing or hearing how everyone aligns their units. Any tips or tricks to getting some good reads. I currently have one and sometimes I get good days and some are bad. 

Thanks all for your time and effort in putting together these reviews.

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On 10/3/2021 at 2:23 AM, GolfSpy_APH said:

So far I haven't had my issues with mine, its been pretty good for setting up and haven't any hiccups. That being said I've also used an ipad which I think has been better as well. 

I ended up getting one with the Ryder Cup deal and I have had a horrible time with it, I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.  It'll pick up maybe 1/3 of the shots in any given session (4 sessions so far).  Contacted their customer support and got tips for using it and those haven't worked either. One of the tips was to use an ipad and not a phone which is making me wonder if the mlm is tailored more to that? 

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1 hour ago, HeathS16 said:

I ended up getting one with the Ryder Cup deal and I have had a horrible time with it, I'm not sure what I am doing wrong.  It'll pick up maybe 1/3 of the shots in any given session (4 sessions so far).  Contacted their customer support and got tips for using it and those haven't worked either. One of the tips was to use an ipad and not a phone which is making me wonder if the mlm is tailored more to that? 

When @Lacassem and I had a little Long Drive competition we did see several missed shots, and I think that the MLM might have been a little too far below the level of the ball.  We were at a spot in the range where it dips down a bit behind the hitting bays.  I noticed some of she shot tracers were starting below the actual ball line.  

That makes two sessions out of 6 or 7 where I had some issues with shot capture.  The first was believed to be the shaded hitting bay vs bright sunlight just a few feet past impact which was causing tracking issues, but this time we were outside on a mostly cloudy but bright day.  I'm guessing that had to be the issue with the setup this time.  FWIW I didnt notice and increase or decrease in the amount of missed shots with my iPad vs iPhone.  Both struggled on the first day I had issues.  

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274 Comments




This is a test I seriously would love to participate in. I will take the opportunity to give a review worthy of my fellow golf junkies, My Golf Spy readers and in the spirit of the My golf Spy mission. I have the ability and equipment to do indoor testing as well. 

Thank You My Golf Spy for all of the work you do.

I have an iPad and would prefer to use the ipad for the testing. Also have an android phone....  

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Would love to test this unit as I am currently looking to quicken my swing speed and am looking for such an item as this. 

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I’ve been wanting to buy a launch monitor for some time now. I’m what they (those people)  call a range rat. I love practicing my shots always truing to dial in the yardages to really have a feel for those shots. I feel it helps you trust those all important approach shots in those crucial situations during a match. It just seems the timing is always wrong to make the purchase. That and the fact I don’t want put out hundreds of dollars when most of the lower priced unit are not so accurate. By seeing how its won MGS Most Wanted awards 2 years running I’d say it has some great feedback. Also should pair well with my iPhone 12 Pro. 

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This would be a great chance for me to drill down to the numbers of my golf game. I am self taught and don’t have extensive time or access to monitors so I would love to take this to the range and see how I can improve my game!

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I have signed up for a lot of MGS testing opportunities, and have wished to be selected for all of them. This one though is, by far, the one I am most excited about! I have considered taking the L with my wife and a trip to the doghouse by buying a Rapsodo on many occasions. This would make all parties involved happy! Maybe not my wife though. Yet another “golf thing.”

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I only live a few miles from Rapsodo and would love to be able to help. I'm especially interested in bringing the unit on the course during on-course practice sessions. My world is filled with iOS devices and I'd really like to try the PLM with each. Good luck to everybody!

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I would love to try one. Since the birth of my second kid, I'm finding harder to get to the range so I am doing more practice at home. I'm in the process of designing my indoor practice range. The next piece I'm looking to add is a personal launch monitor. I have tested the Mevo and loved it. I would love to try the Rapsodo before I make a purchase.

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Sweet testing opportunity. I've had my eye on this launch monitor for a while, and could use the coaching too. Would love to be one of the 4 lucky winners!

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Android has roughly a 2 to 1 edge in market penetration of mobile devices running Android versus iOS.  This is absolutely hilarious this is iOS only.

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What an awesome opportunity. Would love to participate in the testing. Always looking for more data, feedback on my game and coaching. 

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Would be a fantastic opportunity to become a tester of the Rapsodo MLM Launch monitor, i live a 5 minute walk from our local driving range and course, this would be of great benefit to test out as i work shifts and can't always get a round in, so spend a fair bit of time at the range practicing trying to get a better idea of club distance although not always easy with range balls 🤞👍

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This would be great. Personal launch monitors are a wonderful tool to get insight into your game. Id love to be a tester. 

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