What Did Golfers Use Before Tees?

Ever stuck a tee in the ground and just hammered a drive, without a second thought for that little wooden peg? Before the modern golf tee became a standard piece of equipment, golfers had a much earthier, hands-on approach to teeing off. This article digs into the history of what golfers used before tees, tracks the invention that changed the game, and shows how a little historical knowledge can give you a fresh a ppreciation for this simple piece of gear.

The Original Teeing Ground: A Pinch of Sand and Skill

For centuries, the concept of "teeing" the ball up didn't involve a separate piece of equipment at all. The original "tee" was a designated patch of turf called the teeing ground. And what did golfers use to prop up their gutta-percha golf balls? Sand.

Each teeing ground had a "tee box," a container filled with wet sand. A golfer or their caddie would grab a small handful of this sand, place it on the ground where they intended to hit, and sculpt a tiny little pyramid. This small mound was the original tee. The golfer would then carefully perch their ball on top, hoping it would stay stable enough for them to make a swing. This simple act was a ritual, a craft, and often a source of frustration.

Imagine the process:

• You'd step onto the teeing ground, which was invariably less manicured than the modern tee boxes we know today.
• Your caddie would bring over the bucket of sand and water.
• You’d take a pinch of the damp mixture and knead it in your palm.
• Bending down, you would carefully shape the conical mound. Too high, and you might swing under the ball. Too low, and you'd barely gain an advantage over hitting it from the turf. Too wet, and it would slump. Too dry, and it would crumble.

There was a real art to it. A skilled caddie who could create a consistent, perfectly shaped sand tee was exceptionally valuable. Players became adept at forming their own custom mounds, factoring in the lie of the ground, the wind, and the type of shot they wanted to play. This method was the standard for a very long time, across the hallowed grounds of Scotland and beyond.

Of course, this wasn't ideal. It was messy. On cold mornings, hand-forming frozen, wet sand was hardly pleasant. Achieving a consistent tee height from one hole to the next was nearly impossible, making it difficult to develop a reliable motion with the driver. This reliance on natural materials meant that a fundamental variable in the game - tee height - was left almost entirely to chance and feel. The golfing world was ready for a solution, even if it didn't know it yet.

Early Attempts at Breaking the Mold

Like any good problem, the challenge of building a better tee inspired a wave of innovation. Long before the tee we know and love, inventors patented all sorts of contraptions designed to replace the messy sand mountain. Most of these creations, however, were clunky, impractical, or simply against the traditionalist spirit of the game.

Some of these early tee devices included:

• The "Perfectum" Tee (1892): Credited to Percy Ellis of England, this was a rubber peg with a ring base that you staked into the ground. It was an early forerunner but never gained traction.
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The patent offices in the late 19th century saw numerous designs submitted. Many involved complex combinations of spikes, cups, and springs. They were often bulky to carry, easy to lose, and frankly, more trouble than they were worth compared to a simple pinch of sand.

These early attempts serve as a great reminder that innovation in golf often moves slowly. Golfers are creatures of habit, and the idea of carrying an "artificial" device to tee the ball was foreign. The sand tee, for all its flaws, was organic to the game. It would take a simple, elegant, and mass-producible invention to finally persuade players to leave the sand box behind.

A Dentist Transforms the Game: The Arival of Dr. Grant's Tee

The man who truly invented the modern golf tee wasn't a golf professional or an equipment manufacturer, bur rather a prominent dentist and avid golfer from Boston: Dr. George Franklin Grant. A pioneer in dentistry - he was the first African-American professor at Harvard and an expert in treating cleft palates - Dr. Grant applied his talent for invention to his favorite pastime.

Frustrated with the inconsistency and mess of sand tees, he sought a better way. In 1899, he conceptualized and created a simple, brilliant device. It was a small wooden peg with a tapered bottom that could be easily pushed into the ground, and a concave, cupped top to hold the golf ball securely. It was a far cry from the clunky contraptions that came before it.

Dr. Grant patented his invention in December 1899, receiving U.S. patent No. 638,920. Here’s what made his design so effective:

• Consistency: The wooden peg allowed a player to achieve the same tee height hole after hole.
• Simplicity: It was just a small piece of wood. Nothing to assemble, nothing to break down. You just pushed it into the soil.
• Cleanliness: It eliminated the need to get your hands covered in wet sand before every drive.

Despite the genius of his invention, Dr. Grant never mass-produced his tees or pushed to commercialize them. He gave some to friends and playing partners, but he wasn't interested in becoming an equipment mogul. As a result, his game-changing invention languished in relative obscurity for years. His contribution was largely forgotten, and it took another dentist over two decades later to make tasseled pegs part of every golfer's arsenal.

The "Reddy Tee" and the Power of Marketing

The story of the golf tee's rise to fame picks up again in 1921 with another dentist, Dr. William Lowell. He, too, came up with a design for a wooden tee, unaware of Dr. Grant's earlier patent. Lowell, however, was a savvy marketer.

He named his little wooden peg the "Reddy Tee," painted it a vibrant red to make it easy to find on the grass, and set out to make it an essential part of the game.

The masterstroke came in 1922. Lowell paid famed professional golfers Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood Sr. a large sum to use the Reddy Tee during a highly publicized exhibition tour across the country. As fans watched these superstars of the game ditch the sand mounds in favor of these slick, painted wooden pegs, the demand exploded. The marketing gimmick worked perfectly. Within a few short years, sales of the Reddy Tee skyrocketed into the millions, and sand tees were relegated to a historical footnote.

This finalized the transition that Dr. Grant started. The Reddy Tee made golf simpler, faster, and more consistent for the average player. The era of the mass-produced, disposable golf tee had begun.

Why This History Matters For Your Game

Understanding the evolution from sand mounds to plastic tees does more than satisfy historical curiosity - it can add a new layer of appreciation and even skill to your game.

As a coach, I always stress understanding not just the "how" but the "why" of what we do. The humble tee exists to give us the best possible chance of making a clean, ascending strike on the golf ball, especially with a driver. The golfers of old understood this intimately because they had to physically create that opportunity every single time.

We have the luxury of perfectly consistent tees. Now your responsibility is to use them correctly. The height you tee your ball has a direct impact on the shot:

• Driver: You want to tee the ball high, so that roughly half of the ball is above the crown of your driver head at address. This encourages the ideal upward angle of attack, maximizing launch and minimizing spin for more distance.
• Irons/Hybrids on Par 3s: Here, you want to tee it very low, just barely off the turf. The goal isn't to sweep it, it's to replicate a perfect fairway lie and strike down on the ball, just as you would from the grass.

The next time you’re at the range, try a little experiment. Find a patch of ground and try building a small mound of dirt or sand. Place a ball on it and take a swing. The focus, the finesse, and the patience it requires will give you a profound new respect for the simple tee in your pocket. You’ll become more mindful of your tee height and perhaps stand over your drives with a bit more gratitude for the inventors who made the game just a little bit easier for all of us.

Final Thoughts

So, the path to the unassuming tee we use today was a long one, starting with mounds of wet sand painstakingly shaped by hand and evolving through the brilliant but uncommercialized invention of Dr. George Franklin Grant. It took the marketing savvy of another dentist, William Lowell, to finally solidify the "Reddy Tee" as an indispensable tool, changing the rhythm and consistency of tee shots forever.

The progress from messy sand to a perfect peg was all about removing guesswork and adding consistency to the start of every hole. My passion is to help golfers bring that same level of confidence to the rest of their game. That’s why our approach with Caddie AI is to act as your modern tool for eliminating uncertainty on the course, offering on-demand strategies and analysis so you can play with a clear, simple plan for every single shot, no matter the situation.