Shaping the next generation of athletic accessories

Technology has completely changed the world of sport. It has tightened competition, strengthened athlete abilities and unlocked previously unreachable levels of performance. Nowhere is this more apparent than in sports equipment and accessories. And science is at the heart of this evolution. That’s why Dow was tapped by a manufacturer of luxury golf bags and accessories to help design the next generation of golf bags - created with eco-conscious consumers in mind for Team Europe and Team USA for the 2023 Solheim Cup.

Given the bag’s specific demands for customization, durability and sustainability, Dow’s LuxSense^™ technology was the clear winner. LuxSense™ is a breakthrough premium silicone leather that Dow initially developed to improve the performance of luxury automotive interiors. It was designed to be the first synthetic material to meet the high standards of the automotive industry and compete with authentic leather on sight, smell, and haptics. The ace in the hole? It has lower carbon emissions than the material and superior levels of abrasion, stain and UV-resistance -  the ideal solution for golf bags.

Off the course, Team USA and Team Europe also go head-to-head in bag aesthetics, toeing the bleeding edge of design and incorporating a host of bespoke embroidery and screen-printed elements. The new material used for their 2023 bags had to be able to be formulated in five different bright shades, including white, which is one of the colors most sensitive to UV damage. Fortunately, the UV-resistant properties of LuxSense™ can help ensure these bags look vibrant for years of play to come.  Once these performance attributes were fine-tuned, Dow worked directly with the fabricator on color matching and product manufacturing to ensure on-time delivery of the bags to the LPGA and LET.