Dr. George Franklin Grant (1847-1910) was an avid golfer, dentist, the first black faculty member at Harvard University, and the original inventor of the golf tee (U.S. Patent #638,920) in 1899. Although other tees had been developed earlier, none caught on. Grant's invention resembles the modern day tee and was described as having a "tapering portion [usually wood] to be driven in the ground first, and a flexible tabular head [usually rubber], the lower end of which embraces the upper portion of the base."
Despite obtaining an official patent, Dr. Grant did not receive widespread credit for his invention until recently. In fact, GolfDigest published an article in May of 1991 that suggested Dr. William Lowell, a white dentist, invented the modern golf tee 21 years later in 1924.
When he wasn't teaching or innovating in dentistry, Dr. Grant played golf often - both on real courses and in a meadow course he built himself next to home where he spent his summers in Arlington Heights. Grant invented the golf tee in 1899 because he was tired of building a little mound of dirt to prop up his ball before hitting his first shot on every hole. Grant chose to give away golf tees to friends and other players rather than pursue building a business around golf tees. He never marketed the tee, and died suddenly in 1910, 11 years after receiving the patent.
In a 1991 essay published in the Trotter Review, Dr. Wornie Reed investigated GolfDigest's claim that Dr. Lowell invented the golf tee, and discovered that the leading institution in the sport, the United States Golf Association, did not recognize Dr. George Grant for receiving the first patent for the golf tee.
In the essay, Dr. Reed unpacks why Grant hadn't been recognized by the USGA. Dr. Lowell invented a golf tee, much like Grant's, in 1924 and received US Patent #1,497,687. He painted his tees red and named them the Reddy Tee. Reddy Tee struggled to gain traction as a business until Lowell paid $1,500 to have champion golfers Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood use Reddy Tees in an exhibition match in 1922. The novelty caught on, and by 1940, there were over 140 US patents for golf tees made of various materials.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1828&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=fd468a5a76d5ac5d79eb06d9256cd946 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3657&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=4d12caca39a2f6311b10085fe584e370 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1511&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=10eb817dfc1e6c257e38b116401d568c 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3023&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=c9268836fecf8dfb11892d82b95bd1f5 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1170&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=85e72d5080ea55be6ca0ab5da4eb4496 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2340&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=76f784e3c11d3773aa21298d5e9f3785 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=877&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=7b4590a6eb05160b9cbaae1475faf6de 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Grant_George_2020-12-18-213429.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1755&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=8fff7ad4aecfbc566760a4f12e20f3df 1152w)
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=921&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=d943bd79af2c64e3488aa684fd896222 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1842&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=065a49271550972c8990eb303dc3effb 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=761&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=34e846f2932f6026889b350cee9b3248 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1522&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=81eef3da0326e39e8903a79b3aa924e3 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=589&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=b9a2441b140b7846e122838269e6a054 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1179&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=df2e5e1d8d978c591bdc43cbd4a45948 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=442&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=8248799ca075d71d3380b8c94f5f52f7 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/Remy_7.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=884&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=ad0cd4620d98ee944432c98028c6f4b3 1152w)
Photo by Michael Remy
Reed goes on to explain, "that Dr. Grant was not given his due in golf's top publication, Golf Digest, is illustrative of the many difficulties that persist in maintaining accuracy and visibility in the historical record when it comes to African Americans... [my investigation] reveals how it happened that Dr. Grant's name has been bypassed: quite simply, Dr. Lowell was able to market his tee, whereas Dr. Grant did not wish to do so and would most likely have been blocked from doing so if he had tried. What this history reflects, then, is the problems that blacks have often had in American society stemming from a lack of equal access to mainstream industry and commerce (1)."
We chose to collaborate with Varyer on a George Grant focused capsule to highlight his innovative spirit, love for golf, and the toxic societal climate that led to him not receiving due credit from the leading golf institution for close to 100 years.
![](https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1501&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=1200&s=c740e0c57c6735d9072c84ca77cfc9aa 1200w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=3003&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=2400&s=b64b5b4bd6f64b36b372b2df79471397 2400w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1241&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=82&usm=20&w=992&s=9f43831631cb23e5d3e85d08662d62e4 992w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=2483&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=61&usm=20&w=1984&s=e13baf88bc0e5d7b454c1850efc209d2 1984w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=961&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=768&s=35d882009487b3ad5755cce99d4d6fa9 768w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1922&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1536&s=855e18c12a918fa982163c3bc2a0c13a 1536w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=720&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=60&usm=20&w=576&s=c79d2ce6d4dde73f4f295004216a072d 576w, https://varyer.imgix.net/varyer-whim-tees-6.jpg?auto=format&crop=focalpoint&domain=varyer.imgix.net&fit=crop&fp-x=0.5&fp-y=0.5&h=1441&ixlib=php-3.3.1&q=45&usm=20&w=1152&s=940ad9a2101abb1dff59576888aa03e1 1152w)
While it's great that the USGA now officially recognizes and celebrates Dr. George Grant's contributions to the game, his story reminds us of how we write history, and must hold ourselves accountable to get it right to the best of our ability.
Reference:
1) Reed, Wornie. Sports Notes Who Invented the Golf Tee? Trotter Review. Volume 5. Issue 3, Article 6, 9-23-1991.