Karsten Solheim facts for kids

Karsten Solheim (September 15, 1911 – February 16, 2000) was an American golf club designer and businessman. He founded Karsten Manufacturing, a golf club maker known as PING. He also started the Solheim Cup, a major international team competition for women's golf.

Early Life and Education

Karsten Solheim was born in Bergen, Norway. His family moved to the United States in 1913. They settled in Seattle, Washington, in the Ballard area. Karsten's father was a shoemaker.

Karsten graduated from Ballard High School in 1931. Two years later, he started studying at the University of Washington. He wanted to become a mechanical engineer. However, his family faced money problems during the Great Depression. He had to leave college after his first year. He then worked in his family's shoe shop.

When World War II began, he went back to studying engineering. He took courses from the University of California. He then worked in the defense industry. He worked at Ryan Aeronautical in San Diego. After the war, he worked as a salesman for a while. Then he returned to engineering. He worked for companies like Convair and General Electric.

Innovations in Golf Club Design

In 1954, Karsten Solheim was living in upstate New York. He was 42 years old when his friends at G.E. invited him to play golf. He quickly enjoyed the game. He found that his biggest challenge was putting. So, he decided to design his own special putter.

He used simple items like sugar cubes and popsicle sticks to create his first design. Instead of attaching the club's shaft at the heel (the end of the blade), he attached it in the center. He used scientific ideas to design golf clubs. Before this, club design was mostly based on trying things out. Karsten moved much of the club head's weight to its outer edges. This is called "perimeter weighting."

Starting PING Golf Clubs

Solheim began making golf clubs in his garage. Later, he moved to Phoenix. He showed his clubs to professional golfers at tournaments. At first, some were doubtful. But things changed in early 1967. Golfer Julius Boros won the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open. He used Solheim's "Anser" putter.

Later that year, Solheim left G.E. to start his own company. He named it Karsten Manufacturing. This company makes the PING brand of golf clubs. In 1969, he introduced golf irons that used the same perimeter weighting idea. These clubs quickly became very popular. Other golf equipment makers soon started using his new ideas. These innovations became standard in the golf industry.

Supporting Golf and the Solheim Cup

Because PING was so successful, Solheim became a big supporter of golf. He gave millions of dollars to golf courses. These included the Karsten Golf Course at Arizona State University and Karsten Creek Golf Course at Oklahoma State University. He also sponsored LPGA tournaments in different states.

Karsten Solheim was the main person behind the creation of the Solheim Cup. This is a tournament held every two years. Teams of women professional golfers from Europe and the United States compete. It was inspired by the men's Ryder Cup. The first Solheim Cup was played in 1990.

2009 Solheim Cup – Team of USA (2)

Solheim later developed Parkinson's disease. In 1995, he passed his company to his youngest son, John. Karsten Solheim died in Phoenix in February 2000. He was 88 years old.

His ideas, like perimeter weighting and using investment casting (a way to make metal parts), are seen as two of the most important changes in golf history.

Awards and Recognition

Karsten Solheim received an "E" award from President Reagan in 1988. This was for increasing trade with foreign companies through Ping.

In 1991, Solheim was added to the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame.

Two college golf courses are named after him:

• The ASU Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona, opened in 1989.
• The Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Oklahoma, opened in 1994.

The mechanical engineering department at the University of Washington honored Solheim. After he passed away, his wife Louise started a scholarship fund for students. She also created the Solheim Manufacturing Labs in his memory.

In 2001, Karsten Solheim was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. He was recognized for his lifetime achievements in golf.