Adding Purpose to Your Range Sessions
Do you struggle, aimlessly hitting buckets of range balls one session after another, but not seeing any improvement to your game? It's really no surprise because you have no game plan to work on specifics that will make you a better golfer. But that's about to change. Just hitting the market, Rapsodo’s Combines practice platform identifies your weaknesses, helping you kick-start improvement by providing goal-specific targets during your practice experience.
Built into Rapsodo's iPhone app, Combines works exclusively with the company's Mobile Launch Monitor (MLM) powered up behind you at the range. You hit 24 shots total – that’s eight shots to each of three targets. It’s a super-easy process, and what happens next is pure magic.
Combines accurately measures every shot's distance and dispersion to generate an overall weighted score plus your hypothetical handicap from each target distance. For example, it may tell you that you play to a 5-handicap from 150 yards but a 16-handicap from 175. That instantly lets you know what distances or clubs you are hitting well and those you need to work on most during your practice session, so you can go through the rest of your bucket with purpose. Each session’s results are presented with colorful graphics, including ball-flight tracing, shot-dispersion maps, and easy-to-understand data. Combines even compares your median proximity from the target to a pro’s and other players within your handicap range. The entire evaluation takes 20 minutes, and the results are incredibly useful. When you repeat the process next time, you will be able to gauge your improvement.
Mark Blackburn, 2020 PGA Teacher Coach of the Year and instructor at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Hoover, Ala., has been using Combines with PGA pros and believes it's a great tool that can instantly improve any golfer. “It helps gamify your practice experience to make it more meaningful and effective," he says. “You will ultimately have a structured game plan for what you need to improve and where you need to spend your time on the range. People get in the habit of just hitting balls but not necessarily tracking performance or identifying their weak points. Combines helps remove any mystery. It’s a way to analyze your personal data in real-time and provide valuable feedback.”
One of golf’s top swing specialists, Rapsodo advisor Dr. Sasho MacKenzie adds, "It maximizes the effectiveness of your full-swing practice time and provides key insights, immediate performance assessment and long-term tracking of your skills.”
The free version of Rapsodo’s app provides pertinent data about every shot you take — total distance, carry distance, smash factor, ball speed, launch angle, clubhead speed and launch direction — but the best use of your range time will be with Combines. If you already own Rapsodo’s MLM, you can get Combines for $99 by upgrading to the premium subscription that offers everything above plus personalized data-driven insights based on your launch data, slow-motion video replays, shot tracing with apex measurement, video storage for up to 10,000 videos, access to Coach Connect for online golf lessons with top instructors and more. If you're new to Rapsodo, you can buy a MLM + Premium Subscription bundle for $569.99. For further information, visit Rapsodo.com.