Tom Tatum

Tom

Tatum seemed destined to be a golfer far beyond the days he was named Tucson’s high school golfer of the year while at Palo Verde High School in 1971.
His father, Roy Tatum, was the University of Arizona’s golf coach. When Tom became a Wildcat golfer a year after high school, he won his third-ever college event, the Wildcat Invitational at Oro Valley Country Club.
It was almost predictable that Tatum would make a living in golf.
When he was a teenager, he would spend most summer days at the Randolph Golf Complex, playing 36 holes a day, a morning round with someone like Tucson City champ Armen Dirtadian, and an afternoon round with another Tucson City Champ, Larry Pagel.
By 1977, Tatum played in what is today called the PGA Qualifying Tour, completing 108 holes with rounds of 67 and 71 to earn the right to play on the 1978 PGA Tour. In those days, it meant a golfer played in a Monday qualifying tournament, at which the top six or eight finishers would earn a place in that week’s PGA Tour Event. Tatum joined future U.S. Open champion Curtis Strange as one of the survivors.
In 1978, Tatum entered 14 of those Monday qualifiers; amazingly, he qualified for 10 PGA Tour events.
But even after playing golf at its highest level, Tatum believed his career was not in playing golf, but in teaching it. He returned to Tucson and became one of the most well-known faces in the history of Tucson golf.
He was, in order, an assistant pro at Santa Rita Golf Club, Oro Valley Country Club, Skyline Country Club, Canoa Hills Golf Course, El Rio Golf Course, Randolph Golf Course, Fred Enke Golf Course and Silverbell Golf Course.
After a suitable break-in period, Tatum became the head pro/general manager at El Rio, Randolph, Silverbell and Fred Enke.
He washed golf carts, sold golf balls, cooked hamburgers, operated 120-person tournaments and did whatever was necessary to keep golf booming in Southern Arizona. He became known mostly for his success as a teaching pro. During the prime of his career from 1990-2010, he gave an averaged of about 30-35 lessons a week, to every conceivable level of golfer
Along the way he maintained his on-course success. He was the PGA Southwest Chapter (Arizona, Nevada) Player of the Year in 1985, 1986 and 1991, and the Senior Player of the Year in 2004 and 2005. In 2019, Tatum was honored by receiving the PGA Distinguished Service Award.