Rapsodo MLM2Pro Review: Did They Fix the Bugs?

When the Rapsodo MLM2PRO was first released in 2023, it seemed like it was going to be a category killer.

Doppler radar, 2 cameras, simulator features and more – for under $1,000?

It felt like a shoe-in for best launch monitor under $1,000.

But once I (and others) got our hands on it, there were some problems.

The MLM2PRO was buggy.

Wifi issues abound.

Missed shots.

When it worked it was great, but when it didn’t?

It was borderline unusable.

Well, that was April 2023.

Now I’m updating this in July 2024, and the giant question is:

Did Rapsodo fix the issues?

Do all the modes work as well as they should?

And is it now the best launch monitor under a grand?

Today, I’m going to go into detail on all of that and more.

And just to make one thing really clear up front:

Yes, they’ve fixed all the bugs that plagued the early version of the product 🙂

Let’s jump in.

First Impressions of the Rapsodo MLM2Pro Launch Monitor

Out of the box, it’s clear that Rapsodo is serious about this product. It feels extremely well put together, with thoughtful packaging and presentation.

It’s a step up from the original MLM. 

The Rapsodo MLM2Pro comes with a sturdy case that makes it very portable. I’ve found it to slide easily into any golf bags, even the Sunday Ryder, which has a smaller garment pouch than most.

The MLM2Pro is made up of two pieces, the device itself and its stand.

Despite its plastic build, the device feels relatively high-end.

The tripod feels like a dichotomy, however. The mount for connecting the stand to the MLM Pro is made of an extremely robust metal. It really gives you confidence the legs aren’t going to come off mid-use. 

But the legs themselves are made of cheap feeling plastic.

As a whole though, the MLM2Pro feels well-built, and representative of its $699 price point.

Upon setting it up, I quickly noticed it sits up much higher than any competing products like the Mevo Plus or R10. This makes it a little more conspicuous on the range, but in practice, I found this made it easier to ensure it was aligned and set up properly.

One of the biggest differences between the new MLM2Pro and both the older MLM and R10 is the implementation of dual cameras, along with Doppler Radar.

You can clearly see the cameras and they add to the design of the device. We’ll talk more about what those cameras do in a minute.

I’m also happy to see it charges via a standard USB-C cord. 

My general thought upon first checking this launch monitor out? So far so good.

Setting Up the Rapsodo MLM2Pro

Setting up the Rapsodo MLM2Pro is very simple and straightforward.

As with any golf tech device, I recommend you spend a few minutes at home before you plan to use for the first time to make sure the app is up to date, the latest firmware is installed, and that you’ve got all of your personal settings dialed in.

The MLM2Pro gives you a few options for pairing to your phone or tablet which is great.

You can connect both to the same WiFi network if you have one available. 

If there isn’t one available, then it will output its own signal which you can use to connect.

This is one of my big complaints about the FlightScope Mevo Plus. With that, you have to connect via the Mevo Plus wifi signal.

So if you’re using an iPad that doesn’t have cellular, you’re doing a little back and forth to make updates. By being able to connect both your tablet and the MLM to a local network, you solve this problem – or at least make it significantly better.

It’d be nice to see a Bluetooth option, but this is a minor issue.

I’ve had no problems connecting the MLM2Pro to either my phone or tablet, using both a local network and Rapsodo’s network. The prompts are very clear, and the connections have always been very strong.

Building Your Bag Within the App

They’ve made a great quality of life update since it’s initial release when it comes to building your bag.

It used to force you to input the club type, make, model, and a display color.

This required a lot of scrolling and is a tedious process.

Now, it doesn’t force you to do any of this – so if you just want to quicky get going, and don’t care about having all of your specific club data in there – you don’t need to input it.

MLM2Pro Alignment and Getting Ready to Use

This is hands down one of the best features of the Rapsodo MLM2Pro – it’s so easy to set up for use.

You open the app, connect your device using one of the aforementioned methods, and then select a handful of details about your session:

• Mode: Driving Range or Hitting Net
• Ball type: Range, Premium, Callaway RPT
• Elevation: Sea Level, Current Elevation, Custom

From there you’ll confirm your alignment. One of the built-in cameras shows the scene, and you’ll make sure the target line is properly aligned, and that your ball is placed within the outlined hitting zone.

Hit continue and you’re ready to rock.

This is similar to the alignment process for the FlightScope Mevo Plus. It’s a bit more basic, but in my experience I actually found it to be easier to set up correctly and it takes less time than the FlightScope – which is one of the major benefits this has over the Mevo Plus.

I attribute this to the added height that the Rapsodo has over the MLM. This makes uneven ground behind the ball less of a factor.

The downside is that the hitting area is much smaller than on the Mevo Plus. But we’ll talk about how that comes into play later on.

Both of these launch monitors have a leg up on the Garmin Approach R10, which doesn’t feature built-in camera.

For reference and those interested, here was my initial review of the Rapsodo MLM2PRO from April 2023:

Using the MLM2Pro: Initial Impressions

The hitting screen when using the MLM2Pro features 3 metrics across the top, and a down-the-line view using the built-in MLM camera.

The default metrics are carry distance, total distance, and side carry which tells you how many yards off-center you hit it. But other metrics that the Rapsodo measures that you can switch out are:

• Club speed
• Ball speed
• Smash Factor
• Launch direction
• Launch angle
• Descent angle
• Apex
• Shot type
• Spin (if using Callaway RPT balls)

The MLM 2 Pro is extremely fast, and after you hit a ball, it displays a full-screen overlay showing these metrics in bigger numbers.

A few seconds later it automatically shows a replay of your swing on video.

I actually found myself really enjoying this feature. If you don’t have a device like a deWiz and you’re working on swing changes, getting immediate visual feedback I’ve found to be very useful for making adjustments.

Up to 10k swings can be saved if you have a Premium Membership, which we’ll talk more about in a bit.

I do wish there were a better way to star your best swings, or ones you want to go back and review. If you’ve hit 50 7-irons in a session, it can be a little tricky to know which shots are relevant for further review when you just have a giant list of shots.

If you don’t like the camera view, you can switch it to show an overview of the range instead. When you’re outside, this will be a GPS aerial view of your actual range – which is a cool feature.

It’s especially cool if you happen to be at a higher-end course that has very well-defined greens on the range. This makes it easy to get a sense of accuracy with your shots when hitting towards specific greens.

Getting Your Data During a Session

I was expecting the MLM2Pro interface to feel a little more, well, pro.

After using the FlightScope Mevo Plus for so long, I’ve gotten used to being able to view any and all of my data however I want.

That system essentially feels Trackman-esque when it comes to getting your metrics.

The MLM2Pro, however, is definitely taking more of the “consumer” approach, similar to the R10.

One of the main examples of this is with how you’re able to get your data.

On your phone, you can only see 3 data metrics at a time during a session. You can switch out what those 3 are, but I haven’t found a way to see a full screen of all of the included metrics. This feels like an odd omission, and may simply be my own incompetence.

Even the R10, which feels much more geared toward casual consumers, allows you to see all of your data.

This gets a little bit better in an iPad where you’re able to see a few more metrics at a time due to the larger screen. But still, not everything.

You’re able to get more data when you’re reviewing your rounds after the fact, but even then, I’ve found it tough to get all the data points for any given shot in its entirety.

This absolutely makes it more user-friendly, and easier for beginners to digest and understand. But being able to configure more would be useful for more experienced golfers.

Rapsodo Range

Despite my issues being able to customize your screen and metrics in the practice mode, the newer Rapsodo Range does give you more versatility.

There are a couple different ranges to choose from, and you’re able to see all of the metrics available to you all at once.

Why you’re not able to do something similar in the regular practice mode is odd, but if you don’t care about the video replay of your swing, and prefer more metrics as well as a shot tracer – this is the mode for you.

Is the Rapsodo MLM2Pro Accurate?

This brings us to our most important question: is the Rapsodo MLM2Pro accurate?

And I’m happy to report, that yes, the Rapsodo absolutely seems to be accurate. Frankly, more so than I was expecting it to be.

But first off…

What Metrics Does the Rapsodo MLM2Pro Actually Measure?

This is where things can get confusing when comparing launch monitors. Just because a product will give you a number for a specific metric, that doesn’t mean it is actually measuring it. In many cases, it is using an algorithm to make its best guess of a specific number based on the metrics it does directly measure.

For instance, the Garmin R10 only directly measures four specific measurements:

• Ball speed
• Clubhead speed
• Launch angle
• Launch direction

Everything else is calculated based on that.

Generally, the less expensive a launch monitor is, the fewer things it’s directly measuring.

The Rapsodo MLM2Pro measures similar numbers to the Garmin, but adds a big feature with accurate spin rate and spin access when using the RPT balls.

The MLM2Pro provides 13 metrics including: 

• Ball Speed (measured)
• Club Speed (measured)
• Launch Angle (measured)
• Launch Direction (measured)
• Spin Rate (measured)
• Spin Axis (measured)
• Smash Factor
• Carry Distance
• Total Distance
• Descent Angle
• Side Carry
• Apex
• Shot Type

But the good news is that despite the fact many of these numbers are calculated via an algorithm, it’s still very accurate.

Using the MLM2Pro Indoors with RPT Balls

Let’s start with indoor accuracy.

For this long term update, I went to the indoor simuilator at my club and compared the MLM2Pro directly against a Trackman.

The results? Fantastic.

Carry distances across my gap wedge and 7 iron were on average less than 2 yards difference. With driver it was an average difference of about 5 yards.

Clubhead speed and spin rates were very close as well.

It’s not dead on, but when you’re looking at a $700 device compared to one that’s $35,000? It’s close enough to be useful.

You can watch my video review update for more details on the numbers:

That said, I’d expect the spin numbers to be a little bit less accurate when hitting outdoors on a range.

The benefit the MLM2PRO has is there’s a dedicated high speed camera used to specifically track spin rate, when paired with RPT balls.

RPT stands for Rapsodo Precision Technology. Essentially these are Callaway Chrome Soft balls that use “True Vis” technology with special dot patterns around the balls. This allows for the impact camera built into the MLM 2 Pro to accurately measure spin and axis numbers for your shots.

The system works great. It gave me closer spin numbers to the Launch Pro than the 2020 FlightScope Mevo Plus did – which is saying something. I still need to do a comparison with the latest 2024 Mevo Plus.

When you switch to the “Impact Camera” view, it’s pretty wild to see the ball moving in 240fps.

That said, I found the framing was often off for this zoomed-in view. So while it helps give more accurate spin numbers, reviewing the camera footage itself hasn’t been particularly useful.

I’ve found that the RPT balls aren’t the most durable, either. After one session all 3 of my balls were pretty scuffed up. It’s also a little annoying having to retrieve balls every 3 shots. So I’ll likely pick up a dozen to make practice a little more convenient and to help the balls last a bit longer.

Using the MLM2Pro Outdoors

The MLM2Pro also works (mostly) great outdoors on the range.

There’s an extra step in the setup process where you tell the app which range you’re using, and then orient yourself to show it which direction you’re hitting.

This was one of the unique features of the original MLM, and I’m glad to see it was brought over here.

I haven’t had a chance to do a proper distance comparison to a higher-end device outdoors yet, but in testing distances with an accurate rangefinder, it seemed pretty spot on.

Using the MLM2Pro as a Simulator

When it comes to a golf simulator under $1k, the Rapsodo is going to be one of your best bets. 

Similar to the SC4 and R10, it comes with a free basic mobile license for e6 simulator software. Where the SC4 only has one course, the R10 has 6 (including Bandon Dunes!), and the MLM2PRO has 5 courses, 2 practice ranges, and 3 games.

The courses it includes are:

• Aviara
• Stone Canyon
• The Sanctuary
• Wade Hampton
• The Belfry

Along with e6 access, if you have a Rapsodo Premium Membership (more on that in a minute), then you can use “Rapsodo Simulator” to play “simulated” rounds.

This is almost identical to Home Tee Hero for the Approach R10.

It works really well, and I like that you can set your approach parameters to take over for the lack of putting capabilities.

For instance, you can set it so that if you hit it within 10 feet it’s a 1 putt, and 30 feet it’s a 2 putt. On the green outside of that is a 3 putt.

Since the Rapsodo doesn’t include any putting, this is a clever way to do it. And let’s be honest, putting on simulators never works all that well anyhow.

They’ve also made a recent upgrade to add elevation to these courses, which only adds to the experience.

I do find it a little annoying to have to constantly go back to your phone to switch your club when you’re in this mode.

I’d love to see an Apple Watch interface so you can do this on your wrist without having to constantly bend down to your phone to select a new club.

This is one area where the original MLM has a leg up, in that you can hold the club over the camera and it will recognize which club you’re using and switch it within the app.

Garmin includes a clip for your phone that you can attach somewhere close by, which is a really nice feature, and I found myself missing this in the Rapsodo.

The Rapsodo Combine

This might be my favorite mode in the entire MLM2Pro system.

Essentially you’ll hit 24 balls with 3 different clubs total. 

You can set the specific distances and clubs you want to use.

But for example, the first 2 shots might be 100-yard shots with your Gap Wedge.

Then the next is 165-yard shots with your 6 iron.

Then 2 shots to hit the best drives you can.

You repeat this 4 times.

At the end of your combine, it will show you the dispersion for all your shots, give you a handicap number for your performance with each club, and then give insights and advice on what to practice based on your numbers.

This is one of the most useful and enjoyable launch monitor modes I’ve found to keep the range interesting.

In fact, I enjoyed this so much, that during my testing, I actually found myself getting into practice mode – which is rare when I’m testing devices.

I had to hit 24 shots, so figured I might as well get some extra value out of it.

One quirk though, is I haven’t been able to use the Combine in landscape mode, even on my iPad, which feels like a big miss and easy fix.

Data and Insights

I love the fact that the Rapsodo data is generally accurate, but I’m not a fan of the fact that there’s very little customization to how you’re able to receive and view that data.

This is one of the big areas where it’s clear Rapsodo is targeting the consumer market as opposed to more diehard, data-focused users.

But there’s a silver lining here, and that comes in the form of Insights.

Again, because this is aimed at more casual golfers that may not necessarily know what all of the data points mean, it gives you insights about each session.

It tells you things like how you compared to different level handicaps both in terms of distance and accuracy, and then it gives you recommendations for things to practice in your next session.

It’s presented in a super clear and genuinely useful way that makes these feel like an integral part to the system rather than an afterthought.

Honestly, I wish that both the Garmin and the Mevo Plus had more of this.

A little more help with how to decipher the data could go a long way toward educating users and building long-term loyalty.

Do You Need the Premium Membership to Use the Rapsodo MLM2Pro?

The short answer here is no. But the more realistic answer is a bit murkier.

There’s a little bit of confusion on the difference between the Premium membership for the original MLM and the new MLM2Pro.

The membership page on the Rapsodo website lists membership as $99, whereas on the MLM2Pro product page it states it’s $199.

With the older MLM, unless you wanted a ton of video storage, the Premium membership didn’t feel necessary.

But if I understand things correctly, after your free 1-year free trial with the MLM2Pro, you’ll need the Premium Membership to access:

• Rapsodo Combine
• Rapsodo Insights
• Spin rate/spin axis
• Rapsodo Simulator
• Rapsodo Range
• Impact Vision

Basically, most of the features I love most about the MLM2Pro, will only work if you have a subscription.

It would also seem that one of the included cameras is deactivated completely without the subscription. 

So while yes, you can still use the device without being a member, it essentially removes most of the features that make the device so special.

This makes membership feel pretty essential to me, which I know a lot of people will not be happy about.

TL;DR: Here’s a quick recap of the Pros and Cons

So, you didn’t feel like reading all 4,000 words of this Rapsodo MLM2Pro review? No problem, here are the basics that you should know:

Pros of the MLM2Pro:

• High-quality design and presentation
• Extremely easy to set up and begin using
• RPT balls captured spin data accurately
• Most accurate sub $1k launch monitor I’ve seen
• The built-in camera for video replays works very well
• Combine mode is both fun and useful
• Insights are a useful feature for the less technically inclined

Cons of the MLM 2 Pro:

• Getting more than 3-4 data points to display at once is difficult/not possible in some modes.
• RPT balls aren’t the most durable
• Can only get spin data indoors
• No smartwatch support
• Premium membership is more expensive than Garmin’s and is basically a necessity if you want to use the best features of the device.

Final Thoughts on the Rapsodo MLM2Pro

Overall, I’m incredibly happy to say the Rapsodo MLM2Pro has mostly lived up to the lofty expectations set for it.

It’s hands down the most accurate launch monitor I’ve used under $1k, and the ease in which you can set it up and begin a session makes it that much better.

The dual cameras are truly a nice functional addition, whether it be for high-quality swing reviews, or the ability to get impressively accurate spin numbers when using RPT balls – even if the impact camera view isn’t particularly useful.

The Combine and Insights are great features, and when you throw in the Rapsodo Simulator mode you truly have a feature-packed device. That said the fact all of these are premium features is a bit of a bummer, and makes it all but a requirement to pony up the $199/year fee for a Rapsodo membership.

I’ve had the occasional issues with missed shots. There were a few annoyances with my initial setup. And I really do wish the interface could be tweaked to allow you to view the data in more ways.

But for $699? Damn. This is one hell of a device.

It’s amazing to see how quickly technology has advanced to give us a product with such useful data, at such a reasonable price.

I’m not sure why, given the price point, I was expecting the MLM2Pro to be more of a competitor to the Mevo Plus. It’s really a pretty different product for a different market. It’s more of a direct competitor to the Garmin Approach R10. They both have their place, they both have their strengths and weaknesses, but there’s no denying the MLM2Pro is going to continue to turn a lot of heads.

I have zero hesitations in recommending it. It’s an incredible value for the price, and even with the Premium membership fee, it’s quite simply one of the best golf tech products on the market.

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The Best Launch Monitor Under $1,000

9.5 Fantastic

The Rapsodo MLM2Pro is the best launch monitor under $1,000. It has both dual high speed cameras and doppler radar, functions as a simuilator, has virtual golf through Rapsodo Golf Club, and an app they've been continuing to improve. The catch? The $199/year subscription is all but essential. Overall this is the best at the price point, but others might find the Garmin R10 more wallet friendly over the long term for a similar experience.

The Good

1. Dual cameras and Doppler at this price point is fantastic
2. They've been continuing to update and improve consistently since launch
3. e6 works well

The Bad

1. Subscription is on the high side
2. App still feels relatively consumer level
3. Have to use RCT balls to get best spin numbers, which makes using on the range a non-starter

• Presentation 10
• Performance 9
• Price 9
• Personal Affinity 10