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Amelia Earhart wasn’t just one of the world’s best early aviators. She represented women as capable, courageous, politically minded and service-oriented as a changing national culture opened new opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated spheres. Her interest in golf coincided with American women taking up the game at unprecedented rates in the 1930s.
Following her marriage to publisher George Palmer Putnam, Earhart never lived far from a golf course – first, across the street from The Apawamis Club in Rye, N.Y., and, when the couple moved to Burbank, Calif., in 1934 to be closer to the area’s burgeoning aviation industry, a home bordering Lakeside Golf Club.
The few reports of Earhart playing golf note her game accommodated her demanding schedule. She played early before going to her office, or, while on a Carolinas road trip with Putnam, they squeezed in a quick round at Pinehurst.
The dynamic lifestyle she shared with the high-achieving modern women around her inspired Earhart to design a clothing line. In 1934, Earhart hosted a business luncheon for top New Jersey sportswomen, including three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur medalist Maureen Orcutt, to gather insights on clothes that allowed for maximum comfort and style. Orcutt emphatically noted skirts and sweaters were preferable for golf. Earhart’s subsequent utilitarian yet ladylike designs included “divided skirts,” a.k.a. culottes, as well as a two-piece golf dress. The matching blouse featured a button-down pocket above the right wrist for tees.
Earhart’s connections included Babe Didrikson Zaharias, the Olympic track star and future three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion. Though scant evidence of their friendship remains, the Earhart artifacts in the USGA Golf Museum’s collection were acquired from the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Foundation. Included are nine golf clubs, headcovers and beige canvas golf bag embossed with Earhart’s initials.
