You have George to thank!

 

Anyone who has traversed a golf course from hacker to pro. Anyone who has stood in a tee box to drive the ball toward the green. You have George to thank! Who was George? He was the inventor of the wooden golf tee.

George Franklin Grant (1846-1910) was an accomplished individual. His dad, Tudor Grant, was a runaway slave who became an active abolitionist. “Having experienced the evils of slavery firsthand, he became an ardent abolitionist, smuggling slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad across Lake Ontario to Canada.” His dad’s spirit of independence and determination found its way into George’s life fabric.

George became the second African American graduate of Harvard Dental School. He was the first African-American faculty member of Harvard University. “He was a pioneering dentist, teacher, and inventor.” He was the inventor of dental prosthetics, especially as they related to patients living with cleft palate.

It was US patent No. 638,920 that has had the most wide range impact. This was the first patent for a wooden golf tee. Turns out George, along with all his other interests, was an avid golfer. “One aspect of the golf game frustrated him, however. He was unhappy with the imprecise, messy, and unsanitary process of teeing up the ball, which required pinching moist sand to fashion a coned-shaped tee.” So what did he do? He searched for a better method!

The impetus for the golf tee can be informative for all of us. When we come across something that frustrates us and impacts something we enjoy, we can do something about it. The something may not be an invention, but it can be an action.

Most would rather complain than act. Many would prefer to criticize rather then act. There is a tendency to bemoan, gripe, point to flaws, and place blame. Instead you need to find a better way.

George could have quit the game he loved tired of the current means of fashioning a tee. He decided to look at it differently and find a solution. A solution that benefited him and golfers for generations.

Next time you’re out on the golf course thank George. And the next time you find something not to your liking, think George…do something about it.