Dr. Ed Updegraff visits TOTS

Dr. Ed Updegraff, arguably the best amateur golfer to ever set foot on a golf course in the state of Arizona, showed up at Udall Park last week to watch a Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball game.

Updegraff, a well-known urologist, is 87 years old and, of course, has been retired from his practice for quite a while now. According to his friend and golfing partner, Billy Heiny, who incidentally is 80 years young himself and pitches and catches for the Tucson Old Timers baseball team, the doctor is still swinging the golf club with authority.

"Ed is still out there shooting his age," Heiny said.

Updegraff was practically unbeatable in the 1950s. He won the state amateur in 1952, 1955, 1961 and 1969 and followed those accomplishments with a state senior amateur title in 1993 at Green Valley's Canoa Hills. Billy Heiny, who takes the links occasionally when he's not on the baseball field, still gives Updegraff a hard time about a round of golf they played together back in the 60s.

Heiny, who had a dental practice in the same building with Updegraff years ago, tells a golf tale about the time he shot a 71 at the Tucson Country Club to edge his friend by a stroke. "I always bring that one up," says Heiny, jokingly.