The first tee to penetrate the ground was the "Perfectum" tee, for which a British patent was granted in 1892 to Percy Ellis. It comprised a rubber circle with a metal spike that was pushed into the ground. A variation of this, the "Victor" tee, with a cup-shaped rubber top connected to a ground spike was patented by PM Matthews of Scotland in 1897. The first United States patent for a golf tee was issued to the Glaswegian David Dalziel on 8th September 1896. The patent was for a rubber tee with a flat base and slightly concave top, in combination with an artificial ground surface. On 12th December 1899, an American dentist, Dr George F Grant was the first American to patent a tee that he had invented in 1898. It was a peg with a rubber top and was pushed into the ground, and is very close to the modern tee, but it did not have a concave head.

www.scottishgolfhistory.org