Louise worked at Convair, Lockheed Aircraft (now Lockheed Martin Aerospace) and Cornell University’s College of Engineering, but never when her four children were young. Family always came first. So, when Karsten, who had been transferred to Phoenix by General Electric in the 60s, started building putters in their garage, Louise handled the business side of things, even going back to school to learn about international taxes, shipping and supply chains. She even named what turned out to be Karsten’s most famous design, a beryllium copper putter with an offset head and the weight distributed in the heel and toe. “Call it the Answer,” Louise told her husband.

Karsten said, “That won’t fit in the allotted space.”

“Well,” Louise answered with her typical calm, “Maybe you could drop the ‘W’.”

Dignified and supportive, Louise took a similar approach in 1990 when an idea came up for a biennial women’s professional match-play event between Europe and the United States.

The PGA of America and DP World Tour had the Ryder Cup, and the USGA and R&A hosted the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup, matches between amateur men and women from the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland. But there was no similar showcase for women professionals. Karsten was the embodiment of the American dream, born in Bergen, Norway to parents who sailed to Seattle when he was two. Through innovation, faith, family, countless hours and gallons of sweat, Karsten had become an icon in a game he didn’t play until age 43.

“We could do this,” Louise suggested at the match-play idea. That was all she needed to say. The Solheim Cup was born.