Our Hands-On Review of the Flightscope MEVO Golf Launch Monitor
Numbers are everywhere in golf these days. For many golfers, consideration of spin rates, launch angles, and smash factor has become just as important as the answer to the question “How far did you hit that?” was in the not-too-distant past.
Whether you’re a feel player, a budding gearhead, or a bona-fide technical guru, having some sense of your key statistics can improve your game and let you know what to work on—and help you monitor progress toward your goals. One of the most intriguing devices released in the past year is the Flightscope MEVO, a personal launch monitor designed for regular golfers.
The MEVO is positioned behind you and uses Bluetooth technology to connect to your phone or tablet. Utilizing radar technology (as do most launch monitors), the MEVO can provide your swing speed, ball speed, launch angle, carry distance, and spin rate as well as the height of your ball in flight. The only thing the MEVO cannot measure is sidespin, so if you hit a hosel rocket that travels 40 yards, the MEVO is liable to tell you it traveled 120 yards based on the other data it has captured.
The MEVO also allows you to pair that data with videos you take of your swing using your phone or tablet. That way, when you have particularly good (or bad) swings, you can see how your numbers match up to the swing in the video. In theory, this should make it easier for you to see and replicate your better swings and eliminate the moves that are hurting your game.
Flightscope recommends you use its foil stickers on golf balls to help the MEVO measure your spin rate, but in my tests at an outdoor range, I didn’t see any noticeable difference in the data I received from when I didn’t put the small stickers on the golf ball. If you’re using the MEVO in a restricted space, such as hitting balls into a net, those stickers may become more important in order to allow the MEVO to be as accurate as possible. Another opportunity that the MEVO presents in restricted flight spaces is the ability to test a range of golf balls and find the one that gives you the optimum amount of spin rate—which is how I plan to use it for the coming season.
The MEVO won’t replace your club fitter, but it will help you narrow down your club selection as you think about changing equipment—giving you a sense of how that new driver compares to your current one while also helping you create a road map to improvement. The best thing? This $500 launch monitor fits in your pocket, so you can take it on the course and measure your swing in real-world conditions, as well. It could be just the tool you need to get ready for a pilgrimage to try Streamsong Black this spring.
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