Blue Tees Rainmaker Launch Monitor Review: Can This Launch Monitor Replace a Simulator?

Guys, if I’m being honest, the sub-$600 launch monitor category has gotten a little bit stale.

For a while now, the Swing Caddie SC4 Pro and Garmin Approach R10 have basically owned that space. They’re great devices, no question about it. But they’re both also a little bit limited in their own ways.

And honestly, the market could use more options at this price point. Competition, after all, helps all of us by keeping prices under control and forcing more innovation and interesting features.

Well, the new Blue Tees Rainmaker just might be exactly the kind of device that can completely shake up this category.

If you’ve been paying attention to golf tech over the last few years, you already know Blue Tees. Their rangefinders have been turning heads, and their speakers have built a loyal following. They’ve definitely carved out a real reputation for delivering premium features at prices that actually make sense.

And now they’ve got a launch monitor.

The Rainmaker is Blue Tees’ first-ever entry into the personal launch monitor space. It’s $599. It’s got a 4.3-inch built-in color display. It puts 13 data metrics on the device itself, with another 7 in the paid LAUNCH app. It works indoors and outdoors. It integrates with GSPro and E6 Connect for simulator play. And it connects to the rest of the Blue Tees platform in a way that nobody else at this price point is doing.

The Rainmaker has shipped since this was first written, and two things are worth knowing before you spend $599. The screen shows 13 metrics, not the 20 the marketing implies, and there is a five to six second wait between your strike and the reading coming up. It is also sitting at 3.4 out of 5 on Blue Tees’ own store, which is the most useful number I can give you here. Here are the five reasons it is still worth a look, and the catches that come with each one.

Quick Overview

• Priced at $599, it offers premium radar tracking and deep data analytics without the $1,500+ price tag of high-end units.
• Features a bright, full-color screen that instantly displays 13 key metrics on the device, letting you practice without constantly checking your phone. A further 7 metrics sit behind the paid LAUNCH app.
• Syncs seamlessly with the Blue Tees app to feed your real-world carry numbers into their rangefinders for “Scout AI” smart caddie recommendations.
• Fully compatible with top-tier virtual golf software like GSPro and E6 Connect, making it a budget-friendly anchor for a home garage setup.
• Built with an IPX4 waterproof rating and an integrated handle/stand, it transitions effortlessly from indoor bays to rainy outdoor driving ranges.

Reason Number One: The Built-In Display Is a Bigger Deal Than You Might Think

I know what you’re thinking. It’s just a screen. Every device nowadays has one of those. What’s the big deal?

Here’s the big deal.

Most launch monitors at this price are built around the app first. That means you end up spending half your practice session staring at your phone instead of hitting golf balls.

Not with the Rainmaker. Not if you don’t want to. The 4.3-inch display is bright, has an 800:1 contrast ratio, and is designed to be readable from a distance, which matters since this is a radar device that needs to sit 5 feet behind you on the range.

But what’s really cool is that you can customize what data you want to see on the screen. You can even pick how much of the data you want to see at one time. You can choose one metric, four metrics, or nine metrics at a time. So, like, if you just wanted to get your carry distances during a quick pre-round warmup and you don’t want to be distracted by a bunch of other information, no problem.

Or, if you want to go full data-nerd mode during a serious practice session, you can do that too. You can get nine of your metrics on the device’s built-in screen. Then, if you want all of the data that the Rainmaker is capable of reporting, that’s what the app is for.

As for the built-in screen, you can control all of it with the detachable magnetic remote that comes with the device. It’s pocket-sized, lightweight, and it means that you never have to walk back to the unit to change a setting or select a different golf club.

That’s a genuinely awesome user experience at $599.

Reason Number Two: 20 Data Points on a $599 Launch Monitor

Usually, if you’re spending $500 or $600 for a launch monitor, you’re going to have to accept some compromises when it comes to how much data you get.

Not with the Rainmaker. This thing is loaded. Twenty data metrics on a $599 device is impressive!

Like I talked about, you can get up to nine of those metrics on the Rainmaker’s built-in screen. And if you want all of the data, you can interact with the app, including to review and compare all of your stored sessions.

Here’s what the Rainmaker directly measures and makes available on the customizable screen:

• Ball Speed
• Launch Angle
• Launch Direction
• Apex
• Carry Distance
• Total Distance
• Backspin
• Sidespin
• Spin Axis
• Attack Angle
• Club Speed
• Club Path
• Smash Factor

Then, if you connect to the Blue Tees Launch app, you unlock these metrics that are calculated by the Blue Tees physics engine:

• Side
• Side Total
• Hang Time
• Descent Angle
• Apex Time
• Landing Speed
• Landing Spin

One thing worth highlighting is that other launch monitors in this price range are only directly measuring four or five data points and calculating everything else. The Rainmaker is directly measuring significantly more. That definitely matters for accuracy, and it’s one of the things that separates this device from similarly priced competitors.

Look, I’m not saying this thing is a Trackman or GCQuad. But to get 13 metrics reading on the device itself, with so many of them directly measured, for $599 is still a serious value statement. Just know that the other 7 sit behind the paid app. Blue Tees also contradicts itself here: the paid package panel advertises 12 additional data points, while the metric grid on that same page asterisks 7.

Reason Number Three: We Have Never Seen a Connected Ecosystem at This Price

Here’s what really separates the Rainmaker. We’ve been seeing a lot of interconnection across different brand platforms lately. Companies like Foresight Sports kind of pioneered the idea where you can get club recommendations in a rangefinder based on your data from a launch monitor from that same company.

It’s definitely a cool feature. But the problem is that it’s usually really expensive.

Well, with the Rainmaker, you can now get that advanced feature for a much more reasonable price.

Every time you hit a shot with the Rainmaker, that data gets stored for every club in your bag. Then, if you’ve got one of the new Blue Tees Captain rangefinders, which start at $250, you can get personalized club recommendations based on your actual carry distances from your Rainmaker sessions.

And what’s really cool is that the Rainmaker data updates continuously. So as your distances change, the club recommendations will update.

You can also get those same personalized club recommendations through the new Blue Tees Player Pro speaker.

Think about what that actually means on the course. You pull out your rangefinder or speaker, get your distance, and instead of doing mental math about whether you’re a hard eight or an easy seven, the recommendation is just right there. Based on your game. Your actual data from your actual practice sessions. That’s a genuinely powerful thing to have for under $1,000.

As I said, this isn’t a new concept. But if you wanted to get this kind of feature through a brand like Foresight Sports, you’d have to pay thousands of dollars. Now, with the Rainmaker, you’ve got a $599 launch monitor and then just a couple of hundred dollars more for the rangefinder or speaker.

Reason Number Four: It’s Just Plain Simple to Use

Seriously, one of the reasons golfers don’t use their launch monitors as much as they should is because getting most of them set up can be a real pain in the ass.

Blue Tees definitely thought about this. The Rainmaker is designed to remove basically every one of the friction points.

The integrated handle doubles as a stand. Flip it down, set it 5 feet behind you, and an on-screen level indicator tells you immediately whether you’ve got the alignment right. That’s it. You’re ready to hit.

No app connection required to get started. Turn it on and go.

The device supports multiple user profiles, which is another nice touch. So if you’re at the range with a friend who wants to hit a few, you switch to a guest profile and his data doesn’t mix with yours.

Also, you can store up to 1,000 shots directly on the Rainmaker. So even if you don’t sync to the app right away, you’re not losing anything.

Plus, the whole unit is small enough to fit in your golf bag, so it’s super portable.

On top of all that, it’s waterproof. It’s IPX4 rated, meaning practicing in the rain won’t be a problem if that’s what you’re into.

Reason Number Five: Blue Tees Has Earned the Right to Be Taken Seriously

First-gen products are always a little bit of a leap of faith, regardless of who’s making them. And, after all, this is the first Blue Tees launch monitor.

But Blue Tees isn’t starting from zero here. They’ve spent years building a reputation for quality products at honest prices in the rangefinder and speaker space. Golfers who’ve used their gear know that Blue Tees delivers. That means something when you’re trying to decide whether to trust a new product category from a brand.

And honestly, the way they’ve approached the Rainmaker and the thought that went into things like the stand design, the multiple player profiles, the customizable display, these aren’t the decisions of a company that just slapped something together. These are deliberate, user-first choices that tell you something about how seriously they took this.

I have a very good feeling about this product. That’s based on what I saw and learned firsthand at the PGA Show in January and also on what I know about this brand overall. This is not a company that is going to bring a garbage product to market.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do with it from here. As I understand it, Blue Tees plans to develop their own native sim software. So that’s something that could be intriguing. In the meantime, I think it’s great that you can play with either GSPro or E6 Connect.

I think that if Blue Tees brings to the launch monitor space the same quality-to-value ratio they’ve built their reputation on, the Rainmaker has a legitimate shot at being the most disruptive product in its price range this year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Blue Tees Rainmaker Launch Monitor Review a Fit for You?

Look, I’m not going to B.S. you. The Rainmaker is a real product with a real problem, and which one matters more comes down entirely to how you practice.

Here’s the short version. You’re paying $599.99 for a launch monitor that puts 13 metrics on a screen you can actually read outside, runs GSPro and E6 Connect, and sets up in about ninety seconds. That part is genuinely good, and at this price not many units do all three.

The catch is the wait. There is about five to six seconds between your strike and the number coming up. If you hit one ball, think about it, then hit another, you will barely notice. If you like to hit ten in a row and read the pattern, it is going to drive you crazy, and the launch monitor you stop using is the most expensive one you can buy.

The other thing to go in knowing is the money. Every unit ships with twelve months of the GAME AI and LAUNCH membership free, and after that it is $79 a year. Seven of the metrics live in that app. So three years of owning it comes to roughly $758, not $599.

And I would rather you hear this from me than find it later: on Blue Tees’ own store the Rainmaker is sitting at 3.4 out of 5. That is low for a page a brand controls, and it is worth knowing before you click.

So who should buy it? If you already own Blue Tees gear, this is an easy yes, because the connected ecosystem is the one thing here that nobody else at this price is doing. If you are building a sim on a budget, the GSPro door at $599 is a strong argument, and there is a 100 day money back guarantee, so hit a hundred balls on it in the first week and send it back if the delay bothers you. If you just want good numbers with no subscription at all, I would look at the Swing Caddie SC4 Pro at $499.99 instead, though know that its short game reads are the weak spot there.

What do you guys think? Is a five second delay a dealbreaker for you, or does the screen make up for it? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear where you’re landing on this one.

Please take a moment to like and subscribe if you want to keep seeing this kind of content. I definitely appreciate you watching. Thanks, and I’ll see you out on the course.

About the author

Paul Liberatore

Paul Liberatore is the founder of Golfers Authority and a former four-year golf gear contributor to Sports Illustrated. He tests golf equipment hands-on to help golfers make better buying decisions.

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