If you see Little River resident Walt Graves driving down the road on the Grand Strand, you'll know it. Graves and his wife, Beth, have traded in their car for a Ford Transit Connect minivan, and the sides and back of the vehicle are emblazoned with advertisements and promotions for his invention: Double Duty, The Divot Repair Putter. "It just gives us a lot more exposure," Graves said Tuesday, when he parked his minivan inside the Myrtle Beach Convention Center for the second day of the 17th annual Carolinas PGA Merchandise Show. The display features a huge depiction of the putter head, a pin and ball, the words 'Double Duty', a number and the Web site www.divotrepairputter.com. "I can't run those red lights anymore and say it wasn't me," Beth joked.
Graves is also trying other things to make people aware of the putter. It has a Facebook page, and he has purchased advertising in magazines through Nationwide Publishing Group in the areas of Atlanta, Austin, Boca Raton, San Diego, Nashville, Philadelphia, Richmond and Tuscon. The putter has a ball mark repair tool attached to the back of the head, and clubmaker Al Cloyd of North Myrtle Beach helped Graves configure the final plan for the putter regarding things such as shaft angles and putter loft.
