Every time a Solheim Cup is contested, the captains of both the U.S. and European Teams always pay a lot of attention to the gear that is given to every athlete competing.

From luggage sets to golf bags to uniforms to headwear, both captains take a lot of pride in the little details, making sure that everything is as unique to that year’s event as possible, often highlighting the location the Solheim Cup is being played at with small nods to the country, state or venue.

One of the most highly customized items each Solheim Cup year are the participants’ golf bags. Captains tend to infuse the design of each bag with elements that are significant to both them and their players, and this year’s Solheim Cup captains, Stacy Lewis and Suzann Pettersen, were no exception to this rule.

As they did last year, the 2024 Solheim Cup bags again featured LuxSense™ Silicone Synthetic Leather technology, an innovative, silicon-based leather material engineered by Dow. Luxsense™ is incredibly customizable and is an eco-friendly alternative to traditional leather products, which takes a significant amount of resources to produce while also creating large amounts of waste. The material is crack-resistant with a top coating that prevents abrasions, making it perfect for outdoor environments like the golf course.

When it came to designing their 2024 Solheim Cup bags, Captain Lewis wanted to remind her athletes of what it means to represent their country and make history just down the road from Washington, D.C., putting a lot of time and energy into every piece of the U.S. Team’s bags this season, from the font style to the panel colors.

“The theme of the whole week for me is to for these players to understand not only what it means to play in a Solheim Cup, but to represent their country and the history,” said Lewis. “You have to know the history to be able to know what you're becoming a part of and what you're representing.”

Captain Pettersen, on the other hand, wanted to work in some inspirational messaging and iconography to encourage her players as they competed at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club and vied for their fourth consecutive Solheim Cup.

“We've tried to keep some kind of a touch, if it’s hints of what I stand for, or what the team stands for, or if there's a common theme that we're going to work around,” said Pettersen of the design. “It's nice to put some details to it that, for the players, could be a little bit of a kick in the butt if they're out on the course and if they see something that can remind them of something else.”

But the bag’s sustainable elements are not lost on Pettersen, who is a proud Dow ambassador. “Dow is very supportive of women's golf,” Pettersen said. “(They are) an official partner with the LPGA, and for them to involve their business and innovation into the women's game in this way, the golf bag, with a very great material called Luxsense™, and it's sustainable. It's eco-friendly, trying to kind help create a better footprint. You got to start somewhere, so I'm very thankful to Dow for the work and the effort they put in to try and help.”

Both captains’ final designs were on display in Gainesville, Va., in September, and this year’s bags certainly didn’t lack in personal flair. Take a look at some of the details that Lewis and Pettersen created for their respective team bags at the 2024 Solheim Cup:

U.S. Team

Bald Eagle

The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States, as well as one of the country’s most recognizable symbols. It is the main focus of the Great Seal of the United States, an emblem that was created in 1782 and that is often associated with several national organizations within the American government, also being featured on the $1 bill. It only made sense to have it somewhere on this year’s U.S. Solheim Cup bag.

Bald Eagle on American Solheim Cup Bag

Blue Panel

In an effort to incorporate more blue into her team’s golf bags, Captain Lewis decided that the front panel, which had the player’s name on it, should be navy blue for the 2024 Solheim Cup, something that hadn’t been done in recent years.

Blue Panel on Front of U.S. Solheim Cup Bag

Cherry Blossoms

Washington, D.C., is well known for the cherry blossom trees that bloom each spring and turn the city into a sprawling sea of pink, so Lewis had images of those trees embroidered into the bag’s strap. The trees were a gift to the United States from a Japanese diplomat in the early 1900s.

Cherry Blossoms on U.S. Bag Strap

Six Stars

The six stars around the bag of the U.S. Team’s golf bags represented the six branches of the United States Military: Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force.

Six Stars on U.S. Solheim Cup Bag

Solheim Cups

The number of Solheim Cup icons on a player’s bag represents how many Cups that athlete has competed in. This feature has become fairly commonplace for both the United States and European Teams over the years and was again used in 2024.

Solheim Cups on U.S. Solheim Cup Bags

Stars and Stripes

As another patriotic nod, Captain Lewis elected to have the 50 stars and 13 stripes of the U.S. flag featured on the upper part of each side of the American golf bags.

Stripes on U.S. Solheim Cup Bags

State Flag

Every U.S. Solheim Cup Team member had the flag of their home state on the front panel of their golf bag just above their names.

Florida State Flag on Nelly Korda's Solheim Cup Bag

U.S. Constitution Script

The United States of America on the side of the U.S. bag is written out in the script used in the U.S. Constitution. Considering Robert Trent Jones Golf Club isn’t far from Washington, D.C., this was another detail that connected the Solheim Cup to the nation’s capital.

Stripes on U.S. Solheim Cup Bags

European Team

Blue and Yellow

The flag representing the European Union is blue and yellow, so traditionally, the European Solheim Cup Team is decked out in those two hues for the biennial team competition. Europe’s bags in the last two Solheim Cups have been predominantly blue with yellow and white accents.

European Solheim Cup Bag

European Union

The “o” in Europe on both the side panel of the bag and the strap features the circle of stars that is on the flag of the European Union.

European Union Flag O on Solheim Cup Bag

Solheim Cups

Like the Americans, the Europeans often have the Solheim Cup icon on their bag, with one Cup representing every edition of the biennial team competition in which an athlete has competed.

Solheim Cup Icons on European Solheim Cup Bag

Viking Helmet

As a nod to her Norwegian heritage, Captain Pettersen elected to have a blue and yellow Viking helmet on the bottom of her team’s golf bags. The phrase “KEEP ‘EM COMING” is under the helmet and was an encouragement for her team as they worked to claim their fourth straight Solheim Cup.

Viking Helmet on Bottom of European Solheim Cup Bag

“KEEP ‘EM COMING”

The phrase “KEEP ‘EM COMING” is under the Viking helmet on the base of the European bags and was an encouragement for Captain Pettersen's team as they worked to claim their fourth straight Solheim Cup, something that had never been done by either side in the event’s history.

Keep 'Em Coming on the Bottom of the European Solheim Cup Bags

Golf Bags Featured Personal Touches From Both Captains, Dow Technology at 2024 Solheim Cup

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