In my book, my brother will always be the best “American Inventor.” That’s a new TV show created by Simon Cowell, who has made a few bucks on “American Idol.”
The winner of the inventor show, which airs Thursday nights on ABC, will get $1 million.
The prize should have gone to PuttBox.
Niki Desautels / The Herald
My brother, Terry Brayton, who lives on Camano Island, patented a slick way to learn how to line up golf putts. He tried out for the show a few months ago. They liked him and paid for his second trip to Los Angeles, but he didn’t make the final cut.
Seeing how a reality show is “built” was an eye-opener, Terry said.
“They goad you into being a ‘star,’ ” he said. “I saw how they could tape and edit anything into anything they wanted.”
He got to spend a half an hour with Brian from the third season of “The Apprentice,” the only guy who ever fired himself from Donald Trump’s reality program.
“(Brian) was portrayed as a real jerk on the show, when obviously he wasn’t,” Terry said. “The panel of judges really tried to urge me along and also tried to get me to argue with them.”
Judges were searching for mass-interest products with universal appeal, such as the George Foreman grill or Rubik’s cube.
Golfers are already discovering the beauty of PuttBox, which Brayton sells almost exclusively online. It’s about 6 feet long and 10 inches wide and folds in half for storage. It’s made for indoor use, with an arch in the middle. You can stand on either side and putt, and you don’t have to run and fetch the golf ball, because it stays inside the oak frame.
Execution is the average golfer’s failure, Terry said.
“PuttBox works by simply requiring that you hit putts dead on line for 12 to 18 inches,” he said. “If not dead on line, it won’t pass through the arch.”
An avid golfer, Brayton, 59, came up with his patented idea during a middle-of-the-night brainstorm.
“You can make immediate corrections,” he said. “Within a minute or two, everyone who uses PuttBox is able to hit a ball through the arch by making corrections to their stroke, then they are able to take the fix directly onto the course.”
Golf pro J.D. Cline, director of instruction at Bear Creek Country Club in Woodinville, is a believer.
“In my 30 years in golf, I have never run into a golf training aid that is as effective as the PuttBox,” he said. “It couples immediate feedback with the rare concept of having fun while practicing and grooving your putting stroke.”
Brayton’s retirement hasn’t centered on his workbench. The former Bellevue firefighter is also my hero, as big brothers should be. He lives next door to my parents and watches over them like a doting hawk. His mother-in-law lives in a suite in the rambler he built.
He does enjoy getting off the compound that we call Camp Elderly.
“I’ve golfed for 40 years,” he said. “When I retired seven years ago, I didn’t shoot many rounds in the 80s. Now I’m often in the low 70s. It’s the PuttBox, I swear.”
For anyone who has seen “American Inventor” on TV, you’ll be tickled to know my brother met the four celebrity judges. Presenting his invention was exciting, he said. As far as the competition, he liked another competitor’s leather motorcycle jacket with brake lights and turn signals mounted on the back shoulders.
He said he knew he was up against it, because his expertise is in design, not sales. He can demonstrate his product to golfers, but the panel was looking for CEO material. The show panel includes Peter Jones from England, who built a $500 million business empire; Doug Hall, an inventor, author and radio host; Ed Evangelista, a New York executive creative director; and Mary Lou Quinlan, founder and CEO of a major marketing company.
During my brother’s interview in Los Angeles, Jones came around the table and tried PuttBox.
“It works,” Jones said “There’s no question it works.”
My family has watched “American Inventor,” and we all find it kind of creepy. I don’t think it will be a big hit for Simon Cowell.
As for my favorite inventor, he’s got a couple of other creative irons in the fire. His next projects might not make great TV, but they are all winners.
Just like my brother.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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