Former Senior Director of United States Golf Association Handicap Department Dean Knuth, as the developer of the USGA's Course Rating and Slope Rating System, became known in golf circles as: The "Pope of Slope".
"Golf Digest Contributing Editor Dean Knuth, is the Tiger Woods of number crunching (he invented the Slope System)" ---Golf Digest, March, 2008, page 64.
The odds of scoring better than your handicap in any given round are one in five, according to Dean Knuth, the former USGA handicapping official who devised the Slope rating system and whose Web site, popeofslope.com , is a fount of fun facts about handicaps. The chances of beating your handicap by three strokes? One round in 20. By eight strokes? One round in 1,138. For most of us, that's once in a lifetime. Wall Street Journal,
"The Genius of Handicapping", November 1, 2008, by John Paul Newport
Headlines
Dean's Analysis of the World Handicap System
In an effort to create a process that every golf association in the world can accept, we have downgraded the handicap system here in the United States. What was a straightforward and precise process has been transformed into one that is more complicated and less precise. American golfers will soon feel its changes. I believe that the introduction of what I ll call par handicaps, is the most significant mistake.
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BONITA, CA (July 6, 2016) Dean Knuth, designer of the popular Knuth Golf High Heat family of metalwoods, was one of nine golf industry executives honored by Golf Inc. magazine as an "Innovator In Player Development".
Knuth was the only golf equipment designer selected on the list, which appeared in the May/June issue of Golf Inc., a long-running golf industry trade publication. Knuth Golf launched its High Heat driver to rave reviews at the 2015 PGA Merchandise Show, then followed this year with the introduction of the High Heat 3-wood and hybrid.
The article highlighted the fact that Knuth, a former USGA Senior Director, designed High Heat with amateurs of all skills levels in mind:
"Pros can swing at speeds as great as 113 mph and hit the center of the face nearly every time. Weekend golfers don't quite have that firepower or accuracy. So the center of gravity is 25 percent deeper and 18 percent lower than most major brands. As a result, High Heat is longer, straighter and more forgiving."
Those claims are backed up in tests by Golf Laboratories, the worlds recognized leading robot testing company, which showed the High Heat High Heat driver to be longer, straighter and more forgiving than the major brands. Sports Illustrated Golf Writer Gary Van Sickle wrote that High Heat was the most significant technological innovation in golf equipment, and a game changer for amateur golfers with advantages compared to major brands when it was launched at the PGA Merchandise Show in 2015.
The High Heat driver won the prestigious ING Industry Honors award for Product Ingenuity this year, as voted upon the members of the 26-year-old International Network of Golf, a non-profit, media-based networking organization.
Knuth Golf launched its 3-wood and hybrid at this years PGA Merchandise Show, with its titanium cup face instead of the traditional steel faces like the major brands. Once again the media and players reviews were extremely positive, with comments like Incredibly easy to hit and hot-faced. Like the High Heat driver, several media named the metalwoods the Best of their breed.
Knuth, who created the Slope Rating System used in USGA handicapping, was pleased with the honor bestowed by Golf Inc. magazine.
Our goal from the beginning has been to design and produce clubs that assist amateur golfers of all skill levels in their quest to get better and gain more enjoyment from golf, said Knuth. The more fun golf is to play, the more likely we are to attract new players. We are thrilled Golf Inc. magazine has recognized our efforts to do just that.
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