Karsten Solheim
Encyclopedia
Karsten Solheim was a Norwegian
-born American
golf
club designer and businessman. He founded Karsten Manufacturing, a leading golf club
maker better known by its brand name of PING
, and the Solheim Cup
, the premier international team competition in women's golf.
, north of Bergen, Norway
. His father was a shoemaker
, and the family emigrated to the United States in 1913, and settled in Seattle, Washington. Karsten graduated from Ballard High School in 1931 and enrolled two years later at the University of Washington
, with aims at becoming a mechanical engineer. Due to family financial hardship during the Great Depression
, he withdrew from UW after his freshman year and then worked in the family shoe shop.
Upon the outbreak of World War II
, he resumed his engineering studies via University of California
extension courses and joined the defense industry, working at Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego
. After the war he initially worked as a salesman, but then returned to engineering with positions at Convair
and General Electric
.
invited him to make up a foursome. He quickly took to the game and found that his main problem was putting, so he designed himself a revolutionary putter. Instead of attaching the shaft at the heel of the blade, he attached it in the center. He applied scientific principles to golf club design, which had previously been based largely on trial and error, transferring much of the weight of the club head to the perimeter.
Solheim took to manufacturing golf clubs in his garage and after a move to Phoenix
he touted them to skeptical professionals at tournaments. Acceptance came when Julius Boros
won the PGA Tour
's Phoenix Open using Solheim's "Anser" putter in early 1967. Later that year, Solheim resigned from G.E. to establish Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING
brand of clubs. In 1969 he introduced irons based on the same principle of perimeter weighting, and these were quickly successful. The other golf equipment manufacturers soon followed his innovations, which became industry standards.
With the success of PING, Solheim became a benefactor of golf. He donated millions of dollars to the Karsten Golf Course at Arizona State University
and Karsten Creek
Golf Course at Oklahoma State University, and sponsored LPGA
tournaments in Oregon
, Arizona
, and Massachusetts
. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Solheim Cup
, the biennial tournament between teams of women professionals from Europe
and the United States
, which was modelled on the men's Ryder Cup
, and was first played in 1990. Later that decade he developed Parkinson's Disease
, and in 1995 he handed over his company to his son John. He died in Phoenix
in February 2000 at the age of 88.
Solheim was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame
in 2001.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
club designer and businessman. He founded Karsten Manufacturing, a leading golf club
Golf club (equipment)
A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and...
maker better known by its brand name of PING
Ping (golf)
PING is an American brand of high-quality golf equipment, as well as one of the largest of the remaining American manufacturers of golf clubs, based in Phoenix, Arizona, founded by Karsten Solheim, who was an engineer at the General Electric company. In 1959, he started making his own putters in...
, and the Solheim Cup
Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation.The inaugural Cup was held in 1990,...
, the premier international team competition in women's golf.
Early life
Solheim was born in AustrheimAustrheim
Austrheim is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. Austrheim was separated from Lindås on 1 January 1910. Fedje was separated from Austrheim on 1 January 1947...
, north of Bergen, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. His father was a shoemaker
Shoemaking
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand. Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or...
, and the family emigrated to the United States in 1913, and settled in Seattle, Washington. Karsten graduated from Ballard High School in 1931 and enrolled two years later at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, with aims at becoming a mechanical engineer. Due to family financial hardship during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he withdrew from UW after his freshman year and then worked in the family shoe shop.
Upon the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he resumed his engineering studies via University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
extension courses and joined the defense industry, working at Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. After the war he initially worked as a salesman, but then returned to engineering with positions at Convair
Convair
Convair was an American aircraft manufacturing company which later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Vultee Aircraft and Consolidated Aircraft, and went on to produce a number of pioneering aircraft, such as the Convair B-36 bomber, and the F-102...
and General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
.
Golf
While living in upstate New York in 1954, Solheim took up golf at the age of 42 when his colleagues at G.E.General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
invited him to make up a foursome. He quickly took to the game and found that his main problem was putting, so he designed himself a revolutionary putter. Instead of attaching the shaft at the heel of the blade, he attached it in the center. He applied scientific principles to golf club design, which had previously been based largely on trial and error, transferring much of the weight of the club head to the perimeter.
Solheim took to manufacturing golf clubs in his garage and after a move to Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
he touted them to skeptical professionals at tournaments. Acceptance came when Julius Boros
Julius Boros
Julius Nicholas Boros was a Hungarian-American professional golfer.-Early years:Boros was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut...
won the PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
's Phoenix Open using Solheim's "Anser" putter in early 1967. Later that year, Solheim resigned from G.E. to establish Karsten Manufacturing, makers of the PING
Ping (golf)
PING is an American brand of high-quality golf equipment, as well as one of the largest of the remaining American manufacturers of golf clubs, based in Phoenix, Arizona, founded by Karsten Solheim, who was an engineer at the General Electric company. In 1959, he started making his own putters in...
brand of clubs. In 1969 he introduced irons based on the same principle of perimeter weighting, and these were quickly successful. The other golf equipment manufacturers soon followed his innovations, which became industry standards.
With the success of PING, Solheim became a benefactor of golf. He donated millions of dollars to the Karsten Golf Course at Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
and Karsten Creek
Karsten Creek
Karsten Creek Golf Club is located west on Highway 51, just outside of Stillwater, Oklahoma. It replaced Lakeside Golf Course as the home course of the Oklahoma State University Men's and Women's golf teams 1994...
Golf Course at Oklahoma State University, and sponsored LPGA
LPGA
The LPGA, in full the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an American organization for female professional golfers. The organization, whose headquarters is in Daytona Beach, Florida, is best known for running the LPGA Tour, a series of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from...
tournaments in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He was the driving force behind the creation of the Solheim Cup
Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force behind its creation.The inaugural Cup was held in 1990,...
, the biennial tournament between teams of women professionals from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which was modelled on the men's Ryder Cup
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States. The competition is jointly administered by the PGA of America and the PGA European Tour, and is contested every two years, the venue alternating between courses in the United States and Europe...
, and was first played in 1990. Later that decade he developed Parkinson's Disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, and in 1995 he handed over his company to his son John. He died in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in February 2000 at the age of 88.
Solheim was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame
World Golf Hall of Fame
The World Golf Hall of Fame is located at World Golf Village near St. Augustine, Florida, in the United States, and it is unusual among sports halls of fame in that a single site serves both men and women. It is supported by a consortium of 26 golf organizations from all over the world.The Hall of...
in 2001.
External links
- Profile at World Golf Hall of Fame - Karsten Solheim
- University of Washington - Mech. Engr. Hall of Fame - Karsten Solheim