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Opie, your statement ""You don't honestly believe that the author of the golf tee book is making things up""…. is foolish. Many books and authors present fraudulent and construed information. Some of these authors print information that is researched haphazardly and sometimes not researched at all.  This is why reputable authors research and verify the content they use with Agencies that hold the fact-based and documented information. You consistently use the book The Singular History of the Golf Tee by Irwin R. Valenta, along with the website “Scottish Golf History” as a fact-based source. Looking at the website alone I find an abundance of erroneous and inaccurate information and patents. One just for example, is the U.S. patent of Mr. Dalziel in 1896. This patent, is claimed on the site as a “golf tee,” but in actuality is a device to be used in a game of Tennis and has no relation or bearing on the game of golf.  See patent #567,455 This is just one of the flagrant inaccuracies that are included in the links and information you have provided.  Another example of a site that has inaccurate information is Pat Ryan Golf timeline. It states that the Bloxsom & Douglas patent originated in 1899. Whether these “inaccuracies” are intentional or not, it is the lack of due diligence of the authors and originators that seems to be the issue.  Once corrected information has been verified and deemed accurate, upon the notification to the necessary parties, the erroneous information should be removed.  If it is not, then one is lead to believe that the misinformation by the author or originator is intentional. 

All of the U.S. patents can be verified through the U.S. Patent office website. However, you say that the UK office has patents that are unsearchable through their website. It seems very suspicious that all of the patents that are quoted in the book seem to be “unavailable” through the UK patent office website for verification. "