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Dean Knuth Designed the Slope System...
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Pope Of Slope

Father's of Invention

Since 1950, new technologies have played key roles in shaping the game we know today

Dean Knuth
Pope of Slope

After failing in his 1965 tryout as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, Dean Knuth attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He spent 11 years in the Navy, then studied computer-systems technology and devised a new way of calculating course ratings using degree-of-difficulty factors instead of yardage. That led to an invitation by the USGA in 1978 to join its handicap research team. After adopting his course-rating system, the USGA made Knuth its Director of Handicapping in 1981. Within a year, he had devised the Slope System, with its portable handicap. Its key was the Handicap Index, which is applied to a chart (Course Handicap table) that determines how many strokes are needed on any set of tees at any golf course. Knuth, who later spearheaded the USGA's tournament score-tracking system to sniff out sandbaggers in local competitions, is now a marketing executive in the private sector.

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