How did the practice of using ropes on the course come to be?
an excerpt from Robert Sommers' book, "Golf Anecdotes"
Contrary to popular belief, roping golf courses came about not to give players more room but to discourage fans from scrambling for tees. The wooden-peg tee we know today was patented in 1922 by Dr. William Lowell, a dentist from Maplewood, New Jersey, and a member of the Plainfield Country Club. Dr. Lowell originally made his tees with gutta percha, but because it was too brittle he eventually switched to white birch. Lowell painted the tees green at first, but he changed to red after a time, hence the name "Reddy tees."
Lowell eventually persuaded Walter Hagen and the trick-shot artist Joe Kirkwood to use them. Playing at the Shennecossett Club, in Groton, Connecticut, Hagen and Kirkwood strutted around the course with bright red tees stuck behind their ears. They'd leave them behind on each tee, and kids would scramble, grabbing them for souvenirs. The kids becames so troublesome the club roped off both tees and greens to control the gallery.
In taking out his patent, Dr. Lowell had used his family lawyer rather than a patent attorney. Consequently, by 1926 more than 200 different brands were being marketed by competitors, and even though Dr. Lowell sued, his patent had been written so loosely he couldn't claim exclusive rights.
"Golf Anecdotes - From the Links of Scotland to Tiger Woods", by Robert Sommers, Oxford University Press, Copyright 1995
