Imagine a world where all the people who make personal launch monitors would actually give you what you wanted.
We would, no doubt, have launch monitors that would work indoors and outdoors with any golf ball. They would automatically, without the user doing a damn thing, adjust for altitude, wind, golf ball type and the golfer’s hair and eye color. We would get endless metrics, including spin, spin axis, sidespin, backspin, topspin, Spin and Marty and Spinning Wheel as sung by Blood, Sweat and Tears.
The unit would also give us launch angle, descent angle, attack angle and an isosceles triangle. You’d also get club path, path to target, face to path, Path to Glory and glory, glory hallelujah.
And, dear friends, you’d get all of this, plus golf sim capabilities and a cure for the heartbreak of psoriasis, for the low, low price of $199.
With no subscriptions.
Hey, you have your fantasies. I have mine.
It is against that backdrop that Rapsodo is launching its new personal launch monitor today. The Rapsodo MLM2X Pro looks an awful lot like its predecessor, the MLM2 Pro, and its basic functionality remains largely the same.
There are, however, enough upgrades and enhancements to make it worthy of a little more investigation. Is it the “perfect” launch monitor? By the standards described above, certainly not.
But then again, as we will see, it doesn’t have to be.
What’s new in the new Rapsodo MLM2X Pro?
I’m not sure if we can say definitively that Rapsodo started the personal launch monitor movement. We can, however, say the company definitely gave it a kick in the pants when it launched the original MLM (Mobile Launch Monitor) in 2019.
“The was revolutionary for its time,” Rapsodo Marketing Manager Andy Ireton tells MyGolfSpy. “Great tool but the category evolved and now it’s more about numbers and golf simulation.”
Rapsodo introduced the MLM2 Pro three years ago so the new MLM2X Pro update appears to be right on schedule.
“We’ve integrated a lot of consumer feedback into the MLM2X Pro,” says Ireton. “First, it comes with the ability to actually do simulated putting. You could play simulated golf on the MLM2 Pro but you couldn’t putt.”
Additionally, the new MLM2X Pro comes with faster processing power to speed up response time (and keep up with the competition).
“Within a second of hitting a golf shot, you’re getting your numbers,” Ireton explains. “That improves shot-to-shot pacing and makes practice more efficient.”
Like its predecessor, the Rapsodo MLM2X Pro combines Doppler radar with two high-speed cameras that can capture up to 240 frames per second. When used in the practice mode, it provides you with either 11, 13 or 15 metrics (more on that shortly) and automatically captures a video of your swing. You can watch the video at ¼, ½ or full speed with the ability to annotate. You can also share the video with your coach.
11, 13 or 15? It’s a spin thing (and a subscription thing)
On the range, the MLM2X Pro, like its predecessor, gives you 13 out of a possible 15 metrics (11 without a subscription – we’ll get to that). The 13 includes carry and total distance, launch angle and direction, ball speed, apex, descent angle, side carry (yards offline), club speed, smash factor, attack angle, club path and shot type. The two you don’t get?
Spin and spin axis.
Before we start howling, there’s a caveat. It’s not that the MLM2X Pro can’t give you spin numbers. It just won’t, unless you use a specially marked RPT (Radar Performance Tracking) golf ball from Callaway or Titleist.
“For us, accuracy is table stakes,” Ireton explains. “We don’t want people to feel that they can’t trust what they’re seeing. If we can’t provide accuracy within one percent of Trackman or Foresight, we won’t do it. We want to make sure people understand that upfront.”
With RPT balls (indoors or outdoors with a net), you’ll get all the spin numbers you want. To that end, the MLM2X Pro comes with one dozen RPT balls from your choice of Callaway or Titleist.
“We have partnerships with both of them,” says Ireton. “Each ball has 27 markings and allows the MLM2X Pro to accurately measure spin rate and spin axis. That helps the indoor experience immensely, since there’s only a limited space for the ball to actually travel.”
For outdoor practice, spin shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Smash factor, carry and total distance can tell you how you’re hitting it. Your eyes can tell you spin axis.
If you’re a fitter or an instructor or if you’re evaluating clubs to make a buying decision, we’re having a different conversation. But outdoor practice? 13 of 15 should do you just fine.
Simulation is a different story
Spin is also more important if you’re looking for a realistic simulator experience. Rapsodo says it’s taking several steps forward with the new MLM2X Pro via the company’s first-ever PC app as well as the new Rapsodo Studios which features 4K graphic software and 30 high-level golf courses to start.
“Quail Hollow, Bethpage Black, Sea Island, we’ve scanned all these courses to make them as detailed as possible,” says Ireton. “We’ve gone through all the physics so we get the spins, the kicks, the bounces and the greens all accurately laid out.
“When you step onto a Rapsodo Studios course, you feel like you’re actually teeing it up on Bethpage Black.”
Ireton says the Rapsodo Studios courses are accurate down to one centimeter, less than half an inch. That sounds a little outlandish but video gaming technology is more elaborate than you’d think these days.
“They have a device that includes a bunch of cameras,” Ireton explains. “Someone walks the course first thing in the morning and the device takes in-depth imagery of every hole. The amount of data absorbed by those cameras is remarkable.”
Rapsodo’s design team then runs through all of that information to create a detailed simulation, down to every single bunker, every break of the green and every blade of grass.
“Our product team then goes through it to make sure the physics feel accurate. When a shot toward a bunker looks like it kicks left, it should kick left. We take that seriously because the closer we can get to realism, the more it feels like you’re actually playing the course.”
The 4K graphics will only be available through Rapsodo’s new PC app. The company also suggests a gaming computer because of the high level of graphic detail.
What about subscriptions?
Subscriptions are everyone’s favorite topic so let’s get right to it.
The new Rapsodo MLM2X Pro runs $899.99. You can use it without an additional subscription. Out of the box, it gives you 11 basic metrics: ball speed, club speed, total and carry distance, smash factor, launch angle, launch direction, apex, design angle, side carry and shot type. You also get cloud access to store your library of shots but you’re limited to 100 saved shots.
To get the most out of the MLM2X Pro, you’ll want the Core membership at $199.99 per year. That gets you access to all 15 metrics as well as Rapsodo’s full suite of practice tools including a target range, bag mapping and a wedge matrix.
The Core membership also gets you access to Rapsodo’s 30,000-course library for basic simulation as well as the new simulated putting feature. If you want the full Rapsodo Studios 4K simulator experience, that will run you $399.99 per year. It includes everything in the Core membership plus access to the high-resolution courses.
We get that some of you might be morally opposed to subscriptions but it remains a fact of life in today’s personal launch monitor world. Perhaps the best way to look at subscriptions is to think of the $899.99 purchase price as an “initiation fee.” It gets you into the club. After that, you have to decide if you’ll get $200 worth of benefit out of your annual subscription.
Hey, it may work for some. It may not for others.
Rapsodo MLM2X Pro: Final thoughts
As we stated up top, the Rapsodo MLM2X Pro may not be the perfect personal launch monitor. However, at its price point, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It succeeds in being pretty darned good. Ireton stated Rapsodo wanted to clean up and speed up connectivity and data processing. We can say without hesitation they nailed both.
First-time setup is always the hardest but after that it’s quick and seamless. Processing speed is equally impressive. You’ll see your results on your phone or tablet almost instantly. Additionally, Rapsodo’s updated mobile app is intuitive. Features such as bag mapping, target practice and the wedge matrix are robust and offer actionable metrics.
We have not tried the unit’s basic simulation program or Rapsodo Studios. History, however, tells us both features should operate as expected.
In the final analysis, we can give the new Rapsodo a thumbs up for ease of use and another one for feature set. Depending on how you view subscriptions, we can give it another thumbs up for value. If you consider cost of ownership over, say, five years, the MLM2X Pro plus the Core membership will run around $2,100.
At that point, it’ll be 2031 and the launch monitor industry will have evolved yet again. Maybe, by then, we will have that $199 launch monitor that does everything we described above.
Except maybe that heartbreak of psoriasis thing. That might be too much to ask.
The new Rapsodo MLM2X Pro is available now online and at retail for $899.99. For more information, visit the Rapsodo website.
The post The New Rapsodo MLM2X Pro Launch Monitor Isn’t Perfect But At $899 It Doesn’t Have To Be appeared first on MyGolfSpy.
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