The Development of Golf tee

In the official Rules of Golf, tee is defined as a device designed to raise the ball off the ground. It must not be longer than 4 inches,

Boynton Beach, AL (prHWY.com) June 7, 2012 - In the official Rules of Golf, tee is defined as a device designed to raise the ball off the ground. It must not be longer than 4 inches, and it must not be designed or manufactured in such a way that it could indicate the line of play or influence the movement of the ball.

In golf, a tee is normally used for the first stroke of each hole. The area from which this first stroke is hit is informally known as the teeing ground. Normally, teeing the ball is allowed only on the first shot of a hole, called the tee shot, and is illegal for any other shot. However, local or seasonal rules may allow or require teeing for other shots as well. Teeing gives a considerable advantage for drive shots, so it is normally done whenever allowed. However, a player may elect to play his or her tee shot without a tee, this typically gives the shot a lower trajectory. Golf tees are among the humblest of golf equipment. It plays a supporting role in the golf game, but the golf tees are very essential for most golfers. The tee is the implement that supports the golf ball, raising it above the ground, when the ball is played from the teeing ground. Most golfers will use a tee on tee shots even though they are not required to do so. The golf governing bodies the R&A and the USGA rule on the conformity of golf tees, same as they do for any other golf equipment.

Modern golf tees are pegs that are pushed into the ground, usually made of wood or plastic or rubber compounds. Typically, the top end of the tee is flared and concave to support the golf ball and keep it stable and stationary, however, the design of the top of the peg can vary. Tees may only be used when playing the first stroke of a hole from the teeing ground. An exception is when there is a penalty that requires the golfer to return to the teeing ground and replay the stroke.

Tools designed specifically for teeing a golf ball started arriving on the scene in the late 1800s, although it's safe to assume that individual golfers were experimenting with different implements before that. The earliest tees were just clumps of dirt. Golfers in the ancient mists of Scotland would use a club or their shoe to stab the ground, digging up a little mound of turf on which to set the golf ball. As golf matured and became more organized, sand tees became the norm.

What's a sand tee? Take a little wet sand, shape it into a conical mound, place the golf ball atop the mound, and you have a sand tee. Sand tees were still the norm into the early 1900s. Golfers typically found a box of sand on each teeing ground, which is the origin of the term tee box. Sometimes there was also water provided, and the golfer would wet his hand, and then get a handful of sand to shape into a tee. Or the sand in the tee box was already wet and easily shaped. Either way, sand tees were messy, or by the late 1800s implements for teeing the golf ball started. As noted, it's safe to assume that golfers who were also tinkerers and craftsmen were experimenting with different types of golf tees - devices and implements designed specifically for the task of raising and cradling the golf ball - prior to the first tee patents. But eventually, one of those tinkerers did have to file the first patent application for a golf tee. And that person was actually two people, William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas of Scotland.

The first-known tee designed to be pushed into the ground was called the "Perfectum" and was patented in 1892 by Percy Ellis of England. The Perfectum was essentially a nail with a rubber ring added to its head. There were other patents issued during this era, as well, for both types of tees - those that sat on top of the ground, and those that pierced the ground. Many were never marketed, and none of them caught on commercially.

Many people think Grant has invented the golf tee, however, Grant never manufactured the tee and never marketed it, so his tee was seen by almost no one outside his circle of friends. The Reddy Tee was the invention of Dr. William Lowell Sr. who patented his design in 1925. But even before the patent was finalized, Grant had struck a deal with the Spalding Company for their manufacture. The Reddy Tee was wood and Lowell's first tees were green. He later switched to red, hence the name "Reddy Tee." Lowell's tee pierced the ground and had a concave platform at the flared top that cradled the ball, holding it stably in place. Unlike his predecessor inventors, Dr. Lowell heavily marketed his tee. The masterstroke was signing Walter Hagen in 1922 to use Reddy Tees during an exhibition tour. The Reddy Tee took off after that, Spalding started mass-producing them, and other companies started copying them. And ever since, the basic golf tee has looked the same, it's a wooden or plastic peg, flared at one end, with the flared end concave to cradle the ball.

Today, there are fancier versions of tees that use bristles, tines or prongs to support the ball; that come with depth indicators on the shaft of the peg to indicate ideal ball heights; that use angled rather than straight pegs. But the majority of tees in play continue to be the same form and function as the Reddy Tee.
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