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Great article so unlike most on the golf channel. It did have the usual knuckle head comments afterward lead by a guy named walkthecourse ("If I had his talent with my brains I could have been a contender" or something close. If you had a brain you would not make such stupid comments). However it had a great comment from Eddie's son.

Good for Eddie and his son. A relationship like that is more valuable than a championship.

cool article.  i'm not sure if i had ever heard of him before.  i think it's really interesting to read about how life/golf was back then and even earlier.  i'm sure there are still a lot of places that are the same now, but i would guess not as many.

Very Interesting article....Sounds like Golf might have been a different game along before TW had EP played versus partied 1?

Thanks for the link, pistolpete.  I vaguely recall Eddie Pearce as a player, but never understood how much talent he had and how poorly that translated to success.  Sounds as if he has made peace with himself outside golf and for that he deserves congratulations.  Particularly when you his the comment by Eddie Pearce, Jr.

Happiness defined in another way-- his way.  'Enjoyed the read.  Thank you.

What do you think are his chances of getting on Feherty/Maltby or any TV specials. . . hopefully with some clips?

I would see a movie about him.

I remember Eddie Pearce, as he was of my generation. I would disagree with the author that it would be " too casual to dismiss it as another quaint tale of wasted talent." He was exactly that. There were many guys like Pearce who made a mark early as juniors or anateurs but couldn't deliver it on the PGA Tour. I know many examples of guys like this who didn't have the temperament, mentality, work ethic or let chicks. booze and/or drugs get in the way of their discipline.  Pearce was, like it or not, just another

talented guy who who became an alcoholic and pissed it away. Nothing to glorify. Guys like John Jacobs had similar trajectories.

It makes for interesting reading but nothing all that unusual. And I say this as a clinical and sport psychologist whose been in the game over 50 years and played in junior golf with a number of guys who later would go on to make it on the tour.

Second rate country club pro shops, municipal courses, and driving ranges throughout the land are littered with the remains of the Eddie Pearces who never made the most of their talent..

I agree with you golfdoc. There is no end to the tales of unfulfilled potential in life and clearly, Mr. Pearce squandered his golfing talents if indeed his true life calling was to play this game professionally. You correctly point out that the path to professional success in golf and other sports requires disciplined attention to the business at hand. Clearly, Eddie did not have that drive and discipline. Perhaps a stronger fathering relationship with disciplined guidance, strong values, and an appreciation for work  earlier on in his life would have made a difference. But he didn't have that experience and so easily indulged in behavior that was self destructive. Alcoholism is a nasty disease. I think it a sign of the times that Eddie and others behavior, drinking all night and then playing competitive golf, was viewed by peers and friends as acceptable. "There goes Eddie!..What are you going to do?"  This would have been a better story if his professional peers had exercised  the courage to intervene instead of watching his self inflicted debauchery.

What made Eddie stop drinking? I don't think any of us will know the answer but he did stop hitting a bottom somewhere and deciding there had to be a happier way to live. And as his son stated in the comments following the article, he is a good, loving, caring, supportive Dad.

I am glad for him he has found some peace in his life and lives happily and fully with family and love!  That, in the end, is all anyone can hope for in this life..

I read that on GC.com yesterday and was a excellent read. None of us like to see potential like his taken for granted, but he's at peace with it.