By Doug Hoxeng, Ph.D.

If you could improve in just one area for lowering your golf scores, which would you choose:  (1) Driving Distance (2) Driving Accuracy (3) Greens-Hit-in-Regulation (GIR) (4) Pitching/Chipping (5) Sand Saves, or (6) Putting?

Dr. Lou Ricco, a highly regarded golf analytics expert, statistically determined that missing greens affects a golfer’s score far more than any other factor. The cause? Most amateur golfers miss the center of the club face more than 50% of the time resulting in loss of distance and accuracy.

Knuth Golf is the only known manufacturer to take advantage of the new USGA rule change enabling “greater trampoline effect” in the toe and heel areas than the 257 milliseconds limit for the center zone of the club face. Our 2018 Knuth 257+CT driver testing (see http://www.azgolfernews.com/article.php?arid=2631) discovered significant forgiveness and even more distance on some off-center strikes. Would the new 257+CT Knuth hybrids and fairway metals be as forgiving and enable more GIR?

Using the Foresight “Quad” launch monitor for non-teed approach shots, the 257+CT Knuth #7 fairway metal/fw (22 degrees loft) and #5 hybrid/h (25 degrees loft) were tested for “forgiveness” on toe and heel strikes.

Results: Hitting more greens from Knuth’s “Toe Zone” and “Heel Zone” forgiveness

The Quad-measured results were impressive. All toe and heel shots reported below landed on a reference regulation green sized 24 yards wide by 36 yards deep. For the 5h, a significant result was that a toe zone slightly low strike out-performed the center zone reference strike with 102% Ball Speed and retained 99% of Carry Yardage. For the 7fw, a wide toe zone center strike retained 96% of Ball Speed and 92% of Carry Yardage.

Here is optimism for golfers prone to heel zone strikes. For the 7fw, an “extremely wide and low” heel strike out-performed the center strike with 102% in Ball Speed and retained 93% of Carry Yardage. A 7fw “high heel” strike retained 94% of Ball Speed and 90% of Carry Yardage. A 5h “low heel” strike retained 97% of Ball Speed and 88% of Carry Yardage. 

Conclusion:  Knuth’s 257+CT Fairway and Hybrid Clubs enable more GIR and likely lower scores

Based on our testing, the new Knuth hybrids and fairway metals provide significant forgiveness in both the toe and heel zones creating a unique triple trampoline club face, like the Knuth driver. For many, this technology will result in more Greens in Regulation and lower scores. Readers can test the Knuth clubs for themselves via a 30-day money back guarantee (see www.KnuthGolf.com). Select “Arizona Golfer” when ordering to receive a 15% discount.

Doug Hoxeng, Ph.D. is a golf industry consultant and contributor to the Arizona Golfer.