KNUTH GOLF HIGH HEAT
When Golf Tips first tested the High Heat driver in early 2018, the feedback was loud, clear and long: This club was something special, especially for mid- to high-handicappers who tend to venture away from the center of the club now and again. Then we got hold of the Knuth Golf High Heat 5-metal a couple months later and saw the same game-breaking magic in play.
Inventor Dean Knuth’s Optimal CG Game Changer and Fire Zone Face Technologies — which expands the sweet spot to the entire face by reducing the average thickness of the toe and heel areas by 30 to 40 percent — the High Heat driver produces ball speeds of 1.41 times the average swing speed (known as the “smash factor”) compared to the major brands’ average of 1.3. That translated into more than 20 yards extra distance, and the data is similar for the 3-metal too and 5-metal, too.
Knuth took the USGA’s changes to the “CT” rule — the amount of time a ball can stay on the face of a club, from 257 to 275 microseconds — and pushed those numbers toward the High Heat’s perimeter, to an average of 267 on the toe and 266 on the heel. That’s why Knuth has dubbed High Heat’s full-hot-face effect “257+ Technology.”
Combined with a low and deep center of gravity, the High Heat is fashioned for amateur golfers, especially those lamenting the loss of distance that has crept into their games as the decades stack up.
Golf Tips testing bore that out: What felt like slight toe hits resulted in powerful mini-fades that landed near the 250-yard marker. Center strikes, of course, were even more impressive in impact explosion, ball flight height and carry distance.
The testing continued with one big fly after another. Even definite heel shots stayed on line — on a string with, again, solid carry and roll-out distance. With the High Heat driver, strikes that were once disappointing are now exhilarating, time after time.
When Knuth’s metal and hybrid versions came out, we gave them a spin, too, and got the same sweet power-packed sensation with each swing — even those that were clearly on the toe or heel.
Driver $499, fairways $329, hybrids $257 | www.highheatgolf.com
