TL;DR: The Rapsodo MLM1 (~$500) told me my 7-iron goes 147 yards, not 165 like I thought. Humbling but helpful. Accurate data for club speed, ball speed, and spin. Works indoors too.
Related: Arccos sensors | GOLFTEC lessons
Let me start with a confession: I used to think I hit my 7-iron 160 yards.
I'd stand over the ball, check the yardage, pull my 7-iron, and feel good about it. The ball would fly into the air, land somewhere in the general vicinity of where I was aiming, and I'd think, "Yeah, that's about 160."
Then I bought a Rapsodo MLM1. And the Rapsodo told me the truth.
I don't hit my 7-iron 160 yards. I hit my 7-iron 142 yards. On a good day—when I pure it, when the wind is helping, when the golf gods smile upon me—I might scratch 155.
The Rapsodo didn't care about my feelings. It just showed me the numbers. And the numbers were humbling.
This is my honest review of the Rapsodo MLM1—a launch monitor that costs $250 and will absolutely destroy your delusions about how far you hit the ball.
What the Rapsodo MLM1 Actually Is
The MLM1 is Rapsodo's original mobile launch monitor. It pairs with your iPhone or iPad (sorry, Android users—you're out of luck) and uses a combination of doppler radar and your phone's camera to track your shots.
You set it up about 6-8 feet behind you, aim it down your target line, and swing. The device captures your shot, gives you instant feedback, and—this is the cool part—shows you a video replay with a shot tracer overlaid on it.
What it measures:
• Ball Speed
• Club Speed
• Launch Angle
• Launch Direction
• Smash Factor
• Carry Distance
• Total Distance
Rapsodo claims it's within 2% accuracy of Trackman, which costs about $20,000. At $250, the MLM1 is roughly 1/80th the price. That's either an incredible deal or a suspicious claim. After a year of use, I'd say it's accurate enough to be useful, and affordable enough to not feel crazy.
The Day I Learned I Don't Hit It as Far as I Think
My first range session with the Rapsodo was supposed to be exciting. New toy. New data. New insights into my game.
It was exciting, all right. Just not in the way I expected.
I started with my driver. I know struggle to hit my driver much past 200 on a good swing. Maybe 210-220 if I'm lucky. I'm a bigger guy. I should hit it far, right?
First swing: 174 yards carry.
I checked the device. Maybe it wasn't set up right. I adjusted it slightly. Hit another.
Second swing: 187 yards.
Third swing: 193 yards. Hey, that's more like it!
Fourth swing: 140 yards. Topped it.
By the end of the bucket, I had my answer: my driver averages around 195 yards carry, and on a good day—a really good day—I can get it over 200.
Not 240. Not 230. 195.
I sat with that information for a while. It wasn't pleasant.
Over the next few weeks, I ran every club in my bag through the Rapsodo. Here's what I learned:
Driver: Thought 240 yards → Actual 195 yards
3-Hybrid: Thought 200 yards → Actual 178 yards
4-Hybrid: Thought 190 yards → Actual 162 yards
5-Iron: Thought 180 yards → Actual 158 yards
6-Iron: Thought 175 yards → Actual 152 yards
7-Iron: Thought 160 yards → Actual 147 yards
8-Iron: Thought 140 yards → Actual 132 yards
9-Iron: Thought 120 yards → Actual 118 yards
PW: Thought 110 yards → Actual 102 yards
Here's the really depressing part: my hybrids and long irons all average somewhere between 150-189 yards. There's barely any gap between them. I essentially have four clubs that do the same thing.
And my 7-iron? The club I reach for on 165-yard approach shots? It doesn't break 150 unless I absolutely flush it.
I've been playing the wrong clubs for years. Decades, maybe. Every time I've come up short on an approach and blamed the wind, or the lie, or bad luck—it wasn't bad luck. It was bad math.
Why This Is Actually a Good Thing
I know this sounds like a negative review. It's not. The Rapsodo MLM1 is genuinely one of the best purchases I've made for my golf game.
Here's why: you can't fix what you don't know.
Before the Rapsodo, I was delusional. I'd hit a 7-iron from 165 yards, come up 20 yards short, and think something went wrong. Nothing went wrong—I just don't hit a 7-iron 165 yards. I never did. I was just guessing.
Now I know. When I'm 150 yards out, I hit 7-iron. When I'm 165 out, I hit my 5-iron or hybrid. When I'm 175 out, I hit my hybrid and pray.
My Arccos strokes gained data has actually improved since I started using real distances. Turns out, hitting the right club—even if it's more club than your ego wants—leads to better results than hitting the wrong club with confidence.
What I Love About the MLM1
1. It's dead simple to use. Set it behind you. Open the app. Swing. That's it. There's no complicated calibration, no fiddling with settings. It just works.
2. The shot tracer is addicting. Every shot gets a video replay with a tracer showing the ball flight. You can go back and replay your good and terrible shots and you might see what you did right (or wrong).
3. It's portable. The MLM1 is small enough to keep in your golf bag. I bring it to every range session now. It lives in the pocket where I used to keep extra tees and broken dreams.
4. It's accurate enough for a 21 handicap. I'm not trying to dial in my spin rates to compete on the PGA Tour. I just want to know if my distances are improving. The MLM1 tells me that consistently that they're not.
What I Don't Love
1. iOS only. If you have an Android phone, the MLM1 won't work for you. That's a significant limitation.
2. Outdoor lighting matters. In bright sunlight, it's hard to see the iPhone. In overcast conditions or at twilight, it's much easier to see your shot details.
3. Range balls affect the data. The Rapsodo normalizes data and doesn't account for the fact that range balls don't fly as far as premium balls. My actual on-course distances are probably 5-10 yards longer than what I see on the range. At least I'm telling myself that.
The Unexpected Benefit: Better Practice Sessions
Before the Rapsodo, I'd go to the range and just... hit balls. No structure. No purpose. Just whacking drivers until my hands hurt.
Now my range practice feels like a golftec practice in a simulator. Only better if I'm hitting on the grass and not the mat. I'll focus on one club and try to hit a target number. I'll track my average ball speed and see if I'm making better contact.
The data turns practice from mindless repetition into actual work. And the shot tracer makes it fun enough that I actually want to practice more.
Who Should Buy the MLM1
Buy it if:
• You want to know your actual distances (not your ego distances)
• You have an iPhone or iPad
• You practice at outdoor ranges with 8ft+ space behind you for setup
• You want to make your range sessions more productive
• You're on a budget but still want useful data
Skip it if:
• You have an Android device
• You primarily practice indoors
• You need spin data for every shot
• You can't handle the truth about your distances
The Verdict
The Rapsodo MLM1 costs $250 and will probably add 5 strokes to your confidence while subtracting 5 strokes from your actual scores.
It told me I don't hit my driver 240. It told me my 7-iron tops out just over 150 on a great strike. It told me that my long clugs all go almost the same distance. It told me everything I didn't want to hea, but it was exactly what I needed.
I've been playing the wrong clubs for years because I believed my own lies. The Rapsodo doesn't lie. It just shows you the numbers and lets you decide what to do with them.
For me, it gave me more confidence in my club distance which makes a difference when you actually hit it right. All because a $250 device told me the truth.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Half a star deducted for the fact it drains my phone battery and the fact that it ruined my self-image as a long hitter.
– Jason
The Rapsodo MLM1 is available for $249.99 at rapsodo.com.