So you bought a Rapsodo MLM2 Pro. Great choice for the garage, the range or the backyard net. Now you have numbers. Heaps of them. Here is how to turn them into a better handicap instead of a better spreadsheet.
1. Get the setup right, then leave it alone
Rapsodo's guidance for indoor use is about 14 feet in total: around 8 feet from the ball to the net, with the unit sitting 6.5 to 8.5 feet behind the ball. Squeeze it and you will lose readings or get dodgy ones.
Once it works, do not fiddle. Same mat, same spot, same alignment every session. The whole point is that when a number changes, it is because you changed.
Source: Rapsodo, MLM2PRO product page.
2. Know which numbers are measured and which are calculated
Rapsodo lists eight measured metrics on the MLM2 Pro: ball speed, club speed, launch angle, launch direction, spin rate, spin axis, club path and angle of attack. Seven more are calculated from those: smash factor, carry, total, side carry, descent angle, apex and shot type.
Why it matters: measured numbers are the raw truth of the strike. Calculated numbers are models built on top. When you are diagnosing a problem, start with the measured ones.
3. Use RPT balls if you care about spin
According to Rapsodo, the MLM2 Pro only shows spin rate and spin axis with a Titleist or Callaway RPT ball, and the full metric set comes with Rapsodo's Premium membership. If you are working on flight, ballooning drives or irons that will not hold a green, spin is worth having.
Sources: Rapsodo, MLM2PRO product page, Rapsodo, MLM2PRO Premium membership.
4. Practise against a number, not at a net
This is the big one. A hundred balls at nothing in particular is exercise. Twenty balls with a clear target is practice. Before each block, decide:
- The club. One at a time.
- The target number. For example, a carry and a ball speed that a golfer at your goal handicap typically hits.
- The one thing you are working on. Strike, start line or launch. Not all three.
Not sure what your targets should be? Our handicap targets page has published numbers by handicap, with sources.
5. Watch smash factor for strike
Smash factor is ball speed divided by club speed. It is the quickest read on whether you found the middle. If your club speed is decent but ball speed lags the target for your goal handicap, smash factor will usually tell you strike is the leak. Trackman's handicap data shows how much ball speed separates good players from the pack at similar club speeds.
Sources: Trackman club speed, Trackman ball speed.
6. Track dispersion, not just distance
Side carry and launch direction tell you how wide your misses are. Shrinking the spread saves more shots on the course than adding ten yards, because it keeps you out of the trees Dilly knows so well.
7. Review the trend, not the session
Everyone has a bad range day. Judge progress over weeks. If your 7 iron average carry and spread are both heading the right way, you are getting better, whatever last Tuesday said.
Where Pickle Shot fits
Everything above is what Pickle Shot is being built to do for you: set a target by goal handicap, map every shot and session against it, and tell you in plain English what to fix next. Rapsodo MLM2 Pro and MLM owners are first in line. Here is what we are building for Rapsodo owners.