
Did you know that Ulysses S Grant invented the golf tee?
But his recreational passion was golf, which he played in a meadow near his home in Arlington, Mass. Even though the patent for his tee, issued on Dec. 12, 1899, was the first in the country, Dr. Grant never capitalized on his invention. Instead, he had prototypes made for his own personal use and handed them out to family and friends.
How were golf tees made before the tee?
Prior to the invention of the wooden tee at the turn of the 19th century, golfers made tees out of sand. Courses would supply each hole with a box of wet sand from which the golfer would fashion a raised mound using either his hands or a cone-shaped mold.
Who was George Franklin Grant?
George Franklin Grant, DMD 1870, was the second African American graduate of Harvard Dental School (now the Harvard School of Dental Medicine) and the second African American dental school graduate in the country. He was also the first African American faculty member at Harvard University.
What happened to Dr Grant's Tees?
Because Dr. Grant was an inventor and not a marketer, he never reaped the benefits of his innovation. He gave some of the tees – manufactured in a small shop I Arlington Heights – to friends and playing partners. When Grant died of liver disease in 1910, the invention passed with him.

What was before golf tees?
Prior to the invention of the wooden tee at the turn of the 19th century, golfers made tees out of sand. Courses would supply each hole with a box of wet sand from which the golfer would fashion a raised mound using either his hands or a cone-shaped mold.
What did the first golf tees look like?
The tee consisted of a wooden peg attached to a rubber tube with a cup on the top to hold the ball. Grant designed the tee to be less rigid at the top and more stable at the bottom. Grant didn't announce , promote, or sell his work and was unnoticed for a long time.
When did they start using tees in golf?
The first known tee to pierce the ground was a rubber-topped peg sold commercially as the "Perfectum." This was patented in 1892 by Percy Ellis of England. In 1899, an African-American dentist, Dr. George Franklin Grant, obtained a patent for an "improved golf tee".
How many children did George Grant have?
George Franklin GrantEducationHarvard School of Dental Medicine class of 1870OccupationDentist, academic, inventorSpouse(s)Georgina H. SmithChildrenMaybelle C.Grant (Mrs. Alfred P. Russell) George F. Grant, Jr. Frances O. Grant Theodora Grant, Helene Grant4 more rows
Who invented golf?
Charles Blair MacDonald, who attended St. Andrews University and learned the game at the St. Andrews Golf Links, is considered the father of American golf course architects. In 1893, MacDonald built the Chicago Golf Club, which was the country's first 18-hole course.
Who invented the golf ball?
Dr. Robert Adams began creating golf balls out of Gutta Percha "Gutty". The Gutty golf ball was created from the dried sap of the Sapodilla tree. It had a rubber-like feel and was formed into ball shapes by heating it up and shaping it while hot.
Who invented the kicking tee?
There wasn't a pair of uprights Don Burgess couldn't clinically slice right through the heart. Burgess, one of Canada's greatest rugby kickers, influenced hundreds of young players as a coach and invented the Burge kicking tee.
When was the batting tee invented?
Eustice came up with the idea for his tee in the fall of 1986, while at a science convention in Phoenix. He saw a Wiffle Ball suspended on a column of air and wondered if the same could be done with a baseball. He began experimenting in his backyard, using a drum-shaped vacuum cleaner.
Why is it called tee time?
Why Is It Called “Tee Time”? It is called a tee time because of the area of the golf course that you are intended to report to for your tee time. The teeing ground is where a golfer hits their first shot from. Since you will be playing from this teeing ground at a specific time, it is called a tee time.
How many inventions were made by black inventors?
With 50,000 total patents, Black people accounted for more inventions during this period than immigrants from every country except England and Germany.
When was Franklin Grant born?
September 15, 1846George Franklin Grant / Date of birthGeorge Franklin Grant earned a reputation for exceptional skill in bridge work. The son of Phillis Pitt Grant and Tudor Elandor Grant, he was born on September 15, 1847, in Oswego, New York. There, his father made a living as a barber.
What is George F Grant famous for?
Grant received a U.S. patent No. 638,920, the world's first patent for a golf tee – a wooden spike with a flexible rubber peg for the ball. Because Dr. Grant was an inventor and not a marketer, he never reaped the benefits of his innovation.
What did Dr. Grant do?
After graduating with distinction as one of 12 students in the Dental School’s Class of 1870, Grant was hired as an assistant in the Department of Mechanical Dentistry in 1871. He was a pioneer in treating patients with cleft palate, a congenital condition in which the bones and soft tissue in the roof of the mouth are not closed.
Was Dr. Grant a dentist?
In addition to Grant’s renown as a dentist, he was a passionate golfer; considerable evidence points to Grant and his golfing partners as some of the earliest African American golfers in the post–Civil War era. His daughter, Frances, recalled caddying for her father in the 1880s in the Boston suburb of Arlington Heights, where her father had built a meadow course next to his home in the country. The family had moved to Beacon Hill, but in his free moments Grant returned to the course in Arlington Heights.
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Who invented the golf tee?
The first patent issued for a golf tee was issued 10 years earlier than Grant's, and by the British Patent Office, to two Scotsmen. William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas' tee did not pierce the ground and was a completely different shape and design.
When were golf tees invented?
Golf tees were originally fashioned from nature, using either sod or sand. In 1899 , Grant — a dentist of import and the first African-American faculty member at Harvard University — received a patent for "an improved golf tee" from the United States Patent Office.
Did Grant's tee have a template?
Grant's tee, in fact, did not provide the full template (for example, the top of the tee was flat rather than concave) for the modern tee. It had a different shape, too, and almost nobody from Grant's era saw it.
