Golf book by Eddie Merrins with Mike Purkey. Published by Atria Books (Simon & Schuster). $22 list price. Available at bookstores or online. The book and many of Merrins’ other instructional materials are available at www.eddiemerrins.com.
I admit, I’m biased: A simple golf tip he gave me at a party last year eliminated the slice that nobody else could cure and has shaved four strokes off of my index. But I’m hardly the first person to sing the praises of the legendary Eddie Merrins, head pro at Bel-Air Country Club since the Kennedy administration, former PGA Tour player, former UCLA golf coach and celebrated instructor. Merrins has played with and taught sports icons and Hollywood celebrities alike, from Arnold Palmer and Dean Martin to Jason Gore and Hugh Grant. His latest book intersperses pearls of golfing wisdom with reflections on an eventful career,name dropping and tip dropping at its best. Merrins’ buddy, the great Byron Nelson, wrote the forward to this book shortly before his death in September. Merrins relates how he arranged the first meeting between Jack Nicklaus and then-high schooler Tiger Woods. And if his simple instruction to “swing the handle” doesn’t make you a better golfer, something else in this gem-rich book surely will.
,Rick Reiff
