Blueprint
The first patent for the golf tee is marked on this date in 1899 to George F. Grant.
He was one of the first Black golfers in post-American Civil War America and one of the first Black dentists. His was the blueprint for today's wooden and plastic tees and the last recognition for his invention.
Grant found the method of teeing up a ball and pinching damp sand into a launching pad both inconsistent and tiresome. How could a player determine the preferred height of sand each time? Besides, the constant bending over at every tee box to form the little mounds was both physically taxing and messy on rainy and inclement days. So, tired of the inconvenience, Dr. Grant used his skills to improve the game.
In 1899, the U.S. Patent Office granted patent #638,920 to George F. Grant of Boston. But Dr. Grant was more of an innovator than a businessman and never marketed his invention. He gave some of the tees to friends and playing partners, but most of them were squirreled away at his residence. When he died in 1910, his invention died with him.
