Miles Bennett
The golf tee has come a long way since its early days in the 1500s when golfers would use sand or wet sand to create a small mound to elevate their ball. Over time, various inventors have patented different designs, with the first patent issued to Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. This tee, however, was cumbersome and had issues with the ball falling off. The quest for a better tee led to Percy Ellis's Perfectum in 1892, which added a peg for stability. The evolution continued with improvements by inventors like PM Matthews and George Franklin Grant, who is credited with inventing the modern wooden golf tee. Grant's patent in 1899 was the first in the US, but he neither sold nor promoted it. It was William Lowell's Reddy Tee in the 1920s that became the first widely used commercial golf tee, thanks to his strong marketing efforts and endorsements from professional golfers.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | The history of the golf tee dates back to the 1500s. |
| First inventors | Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas invented the first golf tee in 1889. |
| First patent | The first patent for a golf tee was issued in 1889 to William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. |
| First patent by an American | On 12 December 1899, Dr. George F. Grant, an American dentist, was the first American to patent a tee that he had invented in 1898. |
| First commercial golf tee | The Reddy Tee, invented in the early 1920s by another American dentist, William Lowell, was the first commercial golf tee. |
| Materials | Golf tees can be made from wood or durable plastic. |
| Length | A standard golf tee is 2.125" (5.4 cm) long, but both longer and shorter tees are permitted. |
| Rules | According to the R&A and USGA rules of golf, a tee must not be longer than 4 inches (101.6 mm) and must not influence the movement of the ball. |
| Previous methods | Before the invention of the modern golf tee, golfers used little heaps of sand or mounds of earth to tee up the ball. |
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What You'll Learn
Golfers used sand to make tees in the 1500s
Golfers in the 1500s used sand to make tees. Sand tees were constructed by taking a little bit of wet sand, shaping it into a conical mound, and placing the golf ball on top. This practice continued for about 300 years. The first rules of golf, written in 1744, stated that golfers 'teed' on the ground. At this time, golfers used sand to make a tee within one club length of the previous hole. Caddies would often scoop out sand from the bottom of the hole to make the tee, which caused the hole to deteriorate, so sandboxes were provided on golf courses.
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The first golf tee patent was in 1889
The first golf tee was invented in the 1500s in Scotland. For centuries, golfers used sand to create tees. They would wet the sand with a towel and create a mound to place the ball on. In 1875, Old Tom Morris created separate teeing areas at St Andrews, defining the teeing area as a common practice.
The first golf tee patent was granted to Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. Their patent document describes a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder. This tee sat on top of the ground and was unstable in windy conditions.
In 1892, English golfer Percy Ellis invented the "Perfectum", which added a peg to the tee for stability. This was the first tee that could be placed in the ground. Scottish inventor PM Matthews patented a similar tee called the "Vector" in 1897, featuring a metal spike and a rubber cup to hold the ball.
In 1899, Dr. George Franklin Grant, an African-American dentist and Harvard graduate, patented an "improved golf tee". His design consisted of a wooden peg with a rubber sleeve to support the ball. However, Grant neither sold nor promoted his invention, and it went unnoticed by the golfing community.
It was not until the 1920s that manufactured tees became widely used, thanks to the marketing efforts of Dr. William Lowell, another dentist. Lowell's "Reddy Tee", a simple wooden peg with a flared top, became the prototype for the modern golf tee.
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The first commercial golf tee was the Reddy Tee
The history of the golf tee dates back to the 1500s. For centuries, golfers made tees from sand or sod, which was a messy process. In the late 1800s, golfers began to experiment with different materials to create reusable tees, using cork, paper, or rubber.
The first patent for a golf tee was issued in 1889 to Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. Their design was a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder. However, this tee did not pierce the ground and was cumbersome in windy conditions.
In 1892, English golfer Percy Ellis invented the "Perfectum", which added a peg to the tee for stability. This was the first tee that could be placed in the ground. However, these early tees still had issues with the ball falling off and did not gain widespread popularity.
The first commercial golf tee that gained widespread use was the "Reddy Tee", invented by American dentist William Lowell in the early 1920s. Lowell first took up golf at the Maplewood Golf Club and was frustrated with the messy process of using sand and water to tee his ball. He wanted to create a tee that would keep his clothes from becoming soiled while golfing. Lowell experimented with different materials, ultimately settling on wood as the best option for his tee. The "Reddy Tee" was a simple wooden peg with a flared top, painted red so that it could be easily seen on the grass.
Lowell's strong marketing efforts, including hiring professional golfers Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood, Sr. to promote the "Reddy Tee" during exhibition matches, helped to bring manufactured tees into widespread use. The "Reddy Tee" became the prototype that all golf tees have followed since, and it remains the most common type of golf tee today.
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Dr. George Franklin Grant invented the modern wooden tee
Grant graduated from Harvard with honours in 1870 and was hired by the Harvard Dental School in mechanical dentistry. He went on to develop inserts for patients with cleft palates, gaining international fame in the dental community. He also became the first Black professor at Harvard University and the nation's first Black faculty member in dental education. In addition to his dental achievements, Grant developed a love for golf, which he played at Franklin Park outside Boston, and later built a meadow course next to his country home in Arlington Heights.
Grant's invention of the wooden tee consisted of a wooden peg attached to a rubber tube with a cup on top to hold the ball. He designed the tee to be less rigid at the top and more stable at the bottom. Grant obtained a patent for his "improved golf tee" in 1899, but he did not market his invention, and it was not widely known until the US Golf Association recognised him as the original inventor of the wooden tee in 1991.
The first commercial golf tee, the "Reddy Tee", was invented in 1921 by another American dentist, William Lowell, and manufactured in wood with red tops for visibility. Despite not achieving commercial success with his invention, Dr. George Franklin Grant's contributions to both dentistry and golf are testament to his innovative spirit and impact on American history.
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Golf tees are now made from wood or durable plastic
The history of the golf tee dates back to the 1500s. For centuries, golfers used sand to create tees, which was often messy and cumbersome. In the late 1800s, golfers began experimenting with different materials to create reusable tees, such as cork, paper, and rubber.
The first patented golf tee was invented by Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. Their design was a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder. However, this tee did not pierce the ground and was prone to toppling over in windy conditions.
In 1892, English golfer Percy Ellis invented the "Perfectum," which added a peg to the tee for increased stability. This was the first tee that was designed to be placed in the ground. Over time, various inventors experimented with different designs and materials for golf tees.
Today, golf tees are typically made from wood or durable plastic. The standard golf tee is 2.125 inches (5.4 cm) long, but both longer and shorter tees are permitted as long as they do not exceed 4 inches (10.16 cm) in length. The simple wooden tee remains the most common type, popularized by Dr. William Lowell's "Reddy Tee" in the early 1920s. Lowell's design was a wooden peg with a flared top, which became the standard for modern golf tees.
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Frequently asked questions
The earliest golf tees were mounds of dirt, sand, or sod.
The first golf tees were invented in the 1500s.
The first artificial golf tees were invented in the late 1800s. They were made from cork, paper, or rubber.
The first patented golf tee was invented by Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889.
The modern golf tee was invented by Dr. William Lowell, a dentist from Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early 1920s.
