For the fifth consecutive year, Rapsodo Golf proudly holds the title as the” Official Launch Monitor of the Golf Digest Hot List”. This accolade is not just a badge of honor but a testament to the unwavering trust and collaboration between Rapsodo Golf and the Golf Digest team.
The Golf Digest Hot List is one of the most anticipated events in the golf community, where the latest golf equipment—including drivers, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and putters—undergoes rigorous testing from golfers of all skill and ability. The award-winning Rapsodo MLM2PRO Mobile Launch Monitor was once again at the heart of this prestigious event, meticulously collecting data from just under 30K golf shots during the two-week period. Paired with each hitting station, Rapsodo’s launch monitors provided instant feedback to the 32 player testers that are the bedrock of the Hot List process. After all testing was completed, tens of thousands of data points were reviewed by the Golf Digest editorial team in the process of determining the 2025 Hot List.
Rapsodo Golf has become a cornerstone of the Hot List, thanks to the unwavering confidence placed in their technology by the Golf Digest Team and Editorial Staff. The Rapsodo MLM2PRO provides unparalleled insights and accuracy that help determine the performance of the latest golf technology for golfers of all skill levels.
Measured against higher-priced launch monitors, the Rapsodo MLM2PRO consistently achieves accuracy within 1% on the golf metrics collected including measured spin rate and spin axis, when paired with an RPT™ golf ball. This precision ensures that golfers can trust the data provided, whether they are seasoned professionals or enthusiastic amateurs.
GOLF DIGEST DISSECTING THE DATA AT THE HOT LIST
For this year’s Hot List the Rapsodo data for all players was input and filtered to examine desired player groups through an analytics package developed by Golf Digest’s team of scientific advisors, led by Tom Mase, Ph. D, professor of mechanical engineering at Cal Poly.
Additionally, each player’s data was cycled through and considered separately.
Through a two-sided Grubbs test for outlier shots, the Rapsodo data for individual players and clubs were presented in the form of scatter plots that compared performance to the club category as a whole.
In addition, the Rapsodo data characterized performance in multiple key metrics, including ball speed, launch angle, spin, apex and descent angle.
Every Hot List Tester:
- Each club hit (drivers, fairway woods, 5 irons, 7 irons etc.) was analyzed separately
- A two-sided Grubbs test for distance outliers was applied to the club distance data. Total distance was used for drivers while all others used carry distance. The Grubbs test was set such that there was less than a 5 percent chance data eliminated belonged to the sample (a = 0.05).
- The mean for all remaining player’s shots was calculated.
FURTHER REFINING GOLF DATA IN HOT LIST PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
For shots whose distance was less than 80 percent of the mean distance were considered mishits and eliminated. For example, a player’s 7-irons shots, whose mean was 150-yards carry, would not be considered if their carry distance was less than 120-yds.
Next, shot distances were turned into percentages by subtracting the mean distance from each shot’s distance and then dividing by mean distance (and multiplied by 100). This was done for each player allowing us to aggregate shots hit by players having different club head speeds.
Data was plotted for all models and each model. Individual model plots have that product’s shots (minus outliers and mishits) plotted in red against a greyed-out plot of all products. Even further refinements were made around the categorization of type of irons to continue to segment each type of club for specific type of performance use.
RAPSODO TRACKED DATE CONTINUES TO BE TRUSTED BY GOLF DIGEST
For golfers seeking to improve their game, the Rapsodo MLM2PRO stands out as a reliable and trusted tool. Golf Digest Senior Equipment Editor, Mike Stachura, called the impact of the Rapsodo team vital to the Hot List process. “Data has become fundamental to our Hot List process, and acquiring that data is no small task. Rapsodo’s commitment has been exceptional, and there is no question we are better at what we do thanks to the input of the MLM2PRO and the contributions of the entire Rapsodo team.” The recognition from the Golf Digest Hot List reaffirms Rapsodo Golf's commitment to excellence and innovation in the world of golf technology.
In the ever-evolving landscape of golf, Rapsodo Golf continues to lead the way, providing accurate and insightful data that empowers golfers to reach new heights. As the Official Launch Monitor of the Golf Digest Hot List, Rapsodo Golf celebrates this remarkable achievement and looks forward to many more years of partnership and success.
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