Poster Child

The Golf Lad (a.k.a. the Golf Boy, and the inspiration for the ubiquitous Putter Boy, who graces the '05 Open logo) first appeared in Pinehurst advertising soon after the venerable resort opened its first course (No. 1), in 1899. The Lad welcomed visitors, primarily from the Northeast, to "The Center of Winter Outdoor Life" in the Middle South, a place "free from climatic extremes, and wholesome in every respect."

COLOR PHOTO

Tufts Archives

FOUR COLOR PHOTOS

Tufts Archives

What's Wrong with These Pictures?

In many of the early 1900s ads featuring Golf Lad, another welcoming--and racially caricatured--figure can be seen, usually in the background, doing the heavy lifting. People of color were not accepted as guests at Pinehurst Resort until the early 1970s.