Karsten Solheim

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Karsten Solheim (born September 15, 1911 in Bergen ( Norway ); † February 16, 2000 in Phoenix (Arizona) ) was an American of Norwegian descent. The putters and iron clubs he designed revolutionized the design of golf clubs and are known under the PING brand .

origin

His family emigrated from Norway when Solheim was a child. Professionally he followed his father and became a shoemaker. His enthusiasm for technology drew him towards aircraft construction. In 1953 he moved to General Electric . As a result, he indirectly came into contact with golf. General Electric colleagues took him to play golf. He quickly became an ambitious and ambitious player.

Dissatisfaction with traditional putters

Since he had difficulties putting and thought conventional putters were insufficient, he designed his own putter in 1959 and built it in his garage at home. It was named "PING 1A". Ping stands for the bright noise that is made when the bat and ball come into contact. Characteristic for this racket was a different weight distribution than with conventional models. Since the weight was not evenly distributed over the entire club head, but increased on the heel and toe, the putter was easier to hold on a line. A closer hit with the ball became easier. Visually, the club differed in that it placed the shaft in the middle of the head and not on the edge as with the usual blade putters. The engineer Solheim later formulated his approach as follows: "I saw immediately that by using the simple laws of physics and mechanics it would be possible to make something more efficient than a blade, and thus avoid such off-line putts".

First iron bat

In 1961 Solheim had already moved to Phoenix (Arizona). The company's headquarters are still here today. In that year he developed iron for the first time. Innovations were a weight distribution with a lower center of gravity and a recess on the back of the club head, called "Cavity Back". The irons were named "69" because Solheim considered 69 shots to be an excellent result of a round of golf.

Development of the "Anser" putter

Another improvement to the putter came to Solheim in 1966 as a flash of inspiration. So instead of on paper, he put it on the dust cover of a record. A lower center of gravity and the recess on the back improved the properties of the racket tremendously. The name "Anser" is derived from the English word "Answer". The bat should be the answer to imprecise putts. Allegedly, Solheim's wife Louise suggested leaving out the "w" so that the name would fit the club head.
Due to its unusual design, the putter was initially laughed at at professional tournaments. That changed when Julius Boros won the Phoenix Open in 1967, the first PGA tournament with a ping putter. In 1969 the first Masters was won with this racket. A total of 500 victories on the PGA Tour were achieved with him. This makes it the most successful putter of all.

Foundation of Karsten Manufacturing

In 1967 Solheim gave up his job at General Electric due to increasing demand. He professionalized the club production, which was previously largely done by hand, and founded the company Karsten Manufacturing. As a result, Solheim developed a whole series of innovations. In addition to irons and putters, wooden clubs, bags and other pieces of equipment were brought onto the market under the brand name "Ping".

Solheim Cup

Solheim was the driving force behind the founding of the Solheim Cup named after him , the female counterpart to the Ryder Cup . Here the best professional golfers in America meet their colleagues from Europe. It was first held in 1990 and takes place every two years. Solheim is therefore considered to be a promoter of professional golf for women.
Karsten Solheim has been a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame since 2001 .

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  1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated August 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.golfakademie-gmbh.de
  2. ↑ Bernd Störtebek: Golf & Enjoyment: Iron in the Fire. In: Zeit Online. April 12, 2006, accessed August 28, 2007 .
  3. ↑ http://www.worldgolfhalloffame.org/karsten-solheim/

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Solheim, Karsten
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American engineer and entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Mountains
DATE OF DEATH February 16, 2000
Place of death Phoenix (Arizona)