Neon Gas was first discovered by William Ramsay and M.W Travers in 1898 in London. Neon signs such as the Sharpies Golf House sign are the result of French engineer and chemist, Georges Claude. In 1902 Georges and his French Company Claude applied an electric discharge to a sealed tube of neon gas to create a neon lamp. By 1923, Claude Neon had introduced neon gas signs to America however neon reached its height of popularity in the 1940’s and 1950’s with many colourful designs that advertised a huge range of products.

The Golf House grew out of a pawn shop run by Russian immigrant, Harry Landis who arrived in Sydney via Broken Hill in 1917. In 1918, Landis purchased the Railway Loan Office at 226 Elizabeth Street, Surry Hills where he opened a pawnshop. In 1923 he moved the pawnshop into 220-222 Elizabeth Street, where two of Harry’s sons entered the business, Harry Jr. and Jack. The pawn shop became divided into two main sections, musical instruments, run by Harry Jr. and sporting goods, particularly golf equipment run by Jack. After WWII military service, Jack Landis established the Golf House. Harry Landis Sr. died in 1953 and the shop was divided between the two sons.

The Golf House sign was built between 1958 & 1964 by Consolidated Neon, which became Claude Neon, who owned and maintained the sign which they leased to the Golf House. Ron Ries, an employee at Consolidated Neon for over 50 years remembers how the Golf House sign was designed and drawn out on a blackboard in fluorescent paint. It was then sized and priced and taken out for the signing of a contract. Ron Ries then took out the drawings for approval at the Council Health and Building Department and when the approval was granted, he supervised the construction of the sign. It was first laid out in full size on a brown paper pattern in the layout room. The pattern was then used to make the steel skeleton, which had a front return and a back to enclose and waterproof the electrics. The neon tubes and globes were attached to the skeleton. The sign won the Outdoor Advertising Association award for the best sign in 1964.

In 1977 Harry Landis Jnr moved his music business to Park Street, leaving The Golf House as the sole occupant. In 1978 he sold The Golf House to his son Rob, who worked in the business and had two investor partners. While the shop was the premier golf store in Sydney, it relied to a great extent on the second hand trade and new equipment was increasingly being made more cheaply in Taiwan and elsewhere. It became uneconomical to buy and refurbish old golf clubs. In 1985 Rob Landis and his partners sold the stock and the half-share in the building to professional golfer, Lindsay Sharp, while retaining the name. Lindsay was unwilling to pay the price asked for the goodwill and renamed the business Sharpies Golf House. The sign had to be changed to Sharpies Golf House by Claude Neon because Lindsay did not own the original name. Lindsay Sharp is known for his sporting efforts as he was the first professional to win the newly introduced National Ambrose competition in Australia. The internationally known “Ambrose” competition was first played at Victor Harbor in February, 1966. The Ambrose competition was introduced to Australia by Richard and Mary Ambrose from Spring Valley Country Club in Michigan USA, who had cattle interests in the Victor Harbor district. The Ambrose competition was introduced as a concept known as “the shotgun game” to the Victor Harbor club during 1965. The shotgun game was a concept game which had been played at the Ambrose’s home club. The Victor Harbour club included it in their tournament calendar and committed itself to the promotion of the concept throughout Australia. It was at Victor Harbor that the game format first became known as the “Ambrose”. The first National Ambrose competition was played at the then new Liverpool Golf Club in Sydney, on the 6th March, 1974, for a purse of $5100.00. The best score recorded for an Ambrose event was scored by a team comprised of professionals Jerry Breaux and Lindsay Sharp.

In 1996 Lindsay Sharp sold the half-share in the premises and in 1999 he sold the business to Ray Drummond, who has a number of golf stores (Nevada Bob’s Golf Shops). In 2002, Claude Neon sold the Sharpies Golf House sign to Nevada Bob.