Jackson Reid
The golf tee has come a long way since the early days of golf in the 1500s, when golfers would mound up sand and earth to get the ball off the ground. The first golf tee was invented by Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889, but it was large and unstable. The first patented and marketed tee was the Reddy Tee, invented by Dr. William Lowell, a dentist from Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early 1920s. However, Dr. George Grant, a Black Harvard graduate and dentist, is credited by the USGA as the original inventor of the wooden tee. He received a patent for his design in 1899 but never promoted it, so it went unnoticed.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Inventor of the golf tee | Dr. George Franklin Grant, D.M.D. |
| Year of invention | 1899 |
| Date of patent | December 12, 1899 |
| Patent number | 638,920 |
| Description of the golf tee | A wooden spike with a flexible rubber peg for the ball |
| Inventor's profession | Dentist |
| Inventor's alma mater | Harvard Dental School |
| Inventor's race | African-American |
| Inventor's birth year and place | 1846, Oswego, New York |
| Inventor's parents | Formerly enslaved in Maryland |
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What You'll Learn
The first golf tee
The history of the golf tee dates back to the 1500s. For around 300 years, the standard practice for teeing a golf ball was to get sand wet with a towel and mound up earth to get the ball off the ground. However, this process was imprecise and messy.
In 1892, English golfer Percy Ellis invented the "Perfectum", which added a "peg" to the tee, allowing further stability. This was the first tee to be placed in the ground. In 1897, Scottish inventor PM Matthews patented a tee called the "Vector", with a metal spike and rubber cup to hold the ball.
In 1899, Dr. George Franklin Grant, a dentist from the Boston area and one of the first Black graduates from Harvard Dental School, patented the first American wooden golf tee. The tee consisted of a wooden peg attached to a rubber tube with a cup on top to hold the ball. Grant designed the tee to be less rigid at the top and more stable at the bottom. However, he neither sold nor promoted his invention, and it went unnoticed by the golfing community.
In the early 1920s, another dentist, Dr. William Lowell, invented the "Reddy Tee", which became the first modern golf tee. Lowell's design was a familiar one-piece wooden peg with a hollowed-out top, which became the standard even today. He overcame the issue of tees getting lost in the grass by painting them red. Lowell also had golf great Walter Hagen advertise his invention, further popularizing its use.
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Dr. George Grant's patent
Dr. George Franklin Grant, an African American dentist from Boston, received U.S. patent No. 638,920, the world's first patent for a golf tee, on December 12, 1899. The patent described the golf tee as having a "tapering portion [usually wood] to be driven into the ground first, and a flexible tabular head [usually rubber], the lower end of which embraces the upper portion of the base." Essentially, it was a wooden spike with a flexible rubber peg for the ball.
Grant invented the golf tee because he was tired of building a small mound of dirt to prop up his ball before taking his first shot on every hole. He was an inventor, not a marketer, so he never capitalised on his invention. Instead, he had prototypes made, which he gave to friends and playing partners.
Grant died of liver disease in 1910, 11 years after receiving the patent, and his invention died with him. However, in 1991, the United States Golf Association (USGA) recognised Dr. Grant as the original inventor of the wooden tee. To this day, prototypes and early inventions by Dr. Grant can be viewed at the USGA Golf Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.
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William Lowell's Reddy Tee
William Lowell Sr. (1863-1954), also known as William Lowells Reddy Tee, was a dentist and inventor from Hoboken, New Jersey. He is credited with popularising the use of wooden golf tees, an invention first conceived by Dr. George F. Grant in 1899.
Lowell patented a wooden tee for golf, initially making 5,000 tees stained green. He soon changed the colour to red to make them more distinctive and named them "Reddy Tees". The Reddy Tee was a significant improvement on the existing golf tees, which were made of gutta-percha—the same material used for false teeth and golf balls in the 19th century—and tended to be too brittle. Lowell switched to using white birch wood for his tees, recognising that this material was better suited for the purpose.
In 1922, Lowell struck a deal with PGA legend Walter Hagen and his exhibition partner, Joe Kirkwood Sr., to use and promote his Reddy Tees during their matches. This sponsorship proved to be a successful marketing strategy, as it generated exposure for the product and left a lasting impression on audiences who witnessed the professionals using the tees.
By 1925, the Reddy Tee had gained significant traction, with sales reaching $100,000 worth of tees made from celluloid. However, the success of the Reddy Tee also attracted copycat versions, and Lowell found himself battling patent infringement, which consumed both time and money. Despite this challenge, the Reddy Tee Company flourished, and in 1933, it was sold to Red Devil, Inc.
William Lowell Sr.'s son, William Lowell Jr. (1897-1976), followed in his father's footsteps, taking over the family business and continuing to innovate in the field of industrial packaging. The legacy of the Reddy Tee and the Lowells' contributions to the world of golf remains a testament to their entrepreneurial spirit and passion for innovation.
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Early golf tee designs
Golf tees were introduced in the late 1800s, with golfers experimenting with various devices before their standardisation. Before the introduction of tees, golfers would create a mound of dirt or use a handful of wet sand, moulded into a mound, to elevate the ball for the opening shot. This process was often messy and tedious, leading to the development of alternative tee designs.
The first patent application for a golf tee was submitted by Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. Their design featured a flat, wedge-shaped base with prongs at the bottom, allowing the tee to stand above the ground. In 1892, Percy Ellis of England created "The Perfectom", the first tee designed to be stuck into the ground. However, it resembled a nail with a rubber ring attached to the head rather than the modern tee.
Another early design was invented by Boston dentist Dr. George Franklin Grant, who received a patent for his wooden tee design in 1899. Grant's invention aimed to address the inconvenience and discomfort associated with forming sand tees. While his design resembled modern tees, it lacked a concave top. Grant did not market or manufacture his invention, instead creating prototypes for personal use and sharing them with friends and family.
As golf became more organised, alternative tee designs emerged, such as the "peg tee", patented by Grant in 1899. Despite this, sand tees remained the norm on golf courses until the 1920s. It wasn't until the invention of the "Reddy Tee" by dentist William Lowell in the early 1920s that wooden tees gained widespread adoption. Lowell's design featured a concave platform to stabilise the ball, and it was manufactured by the Spalding Company even before the patent was finalised.
Today, golf tees are available in various materials, colours, and designs. While wooden tees, particularly those made from hardwood or bamboo, remain popular, some golfers opt for plastic tees or polymer-based options like the vividly coloured Martini Tees. Golfers can also choose from standard, adjustable, castle, or step tees, with some tees designed for specific performance benefits, such as distance enhancement or improved accuracy.
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The modern golf tee
The first patented golf tee was invented by Scotsmen William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. Their design featured a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder. However, this early tee had its drawbacks, including the ball's tendency to fall off, and it was cumbersome in windy conditions.
Subsequently, several inventors made improvements to the golf tee. In 1892, English golfer Percy Ellis patented the "Perfectum," which added a metal spike base and round rubber pegs to hold the ball in place, making it the first tee that could be placed in the ground. Later, in 1897, Scottish inventor PM Matthews patented the "Vector" tee, featuring a metal spike and rubber cup to further secure the ball.
The golf tee gained widespread popularity with the invention of the "Reddy Tee" by Dr. William Lowell, a dentist from Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early 1920s. Lowell, frustrated with the messy process of using sand and water to tee up the ball, crafted the "Reddy Tee" from white birch wood, colouring them red for easy visibility and marketing them as the "Reddy Tee." He enlisted the help of professional golfer Walter Hagen, who used the tees during his 1922 tour, creating a frenzy among golf enthusiasts who scrambled to collect the discarded tees as souvenirs.
The "Reddy Tee" became the prototype that all subsequent golf tees have followed. Its simple yet effective design, coupled with Lowell's marketing prowess, solidified its place as the standard for modern golf tees.
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Frequently asked questions
The first golf tee was invented by Scots William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. However, the first patented golf tee was invented by Dr. George Franklin Grant, a dentist from Boston, in 1899.
Their patent document describes a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder.
Dr. Grant's golf tee was made of wood with a flexible rubber peg for the ball. It was designed to be less rigid at the top and more stable at the bottom.
The modern golf tee was invented by Dr. William Lowell, a dentist from Hoboken, New Jersey, in the early 1920s. His "Reddy Tee" was the first to become common practice.
