Former Crows captain Taylor Walker on fatherhood, golf and a fresh start at West Lakes
Fatherhood, golf and a fresh start following his decision to step down as co-captain has Taylor Walker re-energised and ready to go ahead of the 2020 season.
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Fatherhood, the fairways and a fresh start at Adelaide has re-energised Taylor Walker who says his decision to stand down as co-captain was about timing for him and the club.
As the Crows returned to training on Friday after their Christmas break, a relaxed Walker who is nearing his 200th game remained adamant about pushing his case for a role further up the ground this season.
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But his immediate focus is on Sunday and making sure he gets his first tee shot away at his home deck, the Glenelg Golf Club, which is hosting the third Blitz Golf event.
Walker, who plays regularly with the Crouch brothers, Paul Seedsman and Tom Lynch, is off a handicap of 15 and opts for Callaways rather than TaylorMade’s, and may have to call on his set-shot goal kicking routine to help settle a few early nerves in the Pro-Am on Sunday.
“I hate when you’ve got the next group or a couple of groups standing behind you so I’ll be sh***ing myself,” Walker said.
“I need some more lessons to straighten me up, I started playing when I was a bit older so had bad habits but I’m getting there.
“But I like playing with good golfers, you can always get free tips.
“Golf is one of those things that a lot of boys get into because you can get out, get some anger out, turn your phone off, have a bit of fun and you can get away from the normal day to day stuff.”
The “day to day” stuff never became a chore for Walker last year but no matter how hard he or the Crows tried, things just weren’t happening for them.
A second consecutive season without finals led to a major change of personnel including some big-name players and coach Don Pyke who was replaced by Matthew Nicks.
Walker started the overhaul by announcing in September he was standing down as co-captain alongside Rory Sloane who is expected to go it alone in 2020.
“It was a transition period for me personally and a transition period for the club as well, so it was a mixture of things,” he said.
“I will still naturally try to lead in a manner that will help the group, whoever gets the ‘c’ next to their name will put their stamp on it but I’ll help out as much as I can.
“I don’t know if you call it mentoring but I like to help them (young players) out wherever I can.
“We have some good, experienced people around the place so we just help out as much as we can as an extension of the coaching group and try to fast track them.
“The group is quite young so we want to speed them up … we’ve still got a really good core group and injuries will challenge us a little bit but there will be some really good opportunities for kids to put on display why they got drafted.
“We might see a little bit of inconsistency throughout the year but I reckon our supporters are going to be really excited about some of the kids coming through.
“I’m really relaxed, we had three weeks over Christmas to spend time with family and friends and I’m looking forward to the year ahead.”
Walker’s Christmas break included his traditional ‘ham bake’ event at one of his mates’ place.
“You’ve got to have one of the old kettle Webers, that’s how you get an invite,” he said.
“We get a 10kg ham and it’s a competition to cook up the best crackle and we actually won this year so it’s a bit of fun.”
At 29, Walker says his pre-season has so far gone according to plan and his off the cuff remark about playing on the wing this year wasn’t a joke.
“I’ve done everything I’ve been prescribed,” he said.
“Obviously I am getting older so I don’t do the whole pre-season but everything that’s been prescribed to me I’ve been able to complete and I’m enjoying it.
“Nicksy has been awesome, the place is very different the boys are having good fun.
“I’ll try to get up the ground, I will pick that conversation up with Nicksy once we get back.”
The other major change in Walker’s life came in November when wife Ellie gave birth to their son Hugo.
“Love it,” Walker said of fatherhood.
“He’s starting to smile and give a couple of little giggles so seeing him grow has been awesome.
“Like everyone says, it puts everything into perspective, little things you don’t worry about and I know there will be a game when I don’t get a kick and will still get to come home and see the little man.”
Walker is in line to play his 200th game in Round 11 and has already thought about who he wants to run through the banner with.
“I’m looking forward to running out with him (Hugo) and I’d also like to take my two nephews out with me as well,” he said.
The field for Sunday’s Blitz Golf Adelaide will feature the likes of Peter Senior and Hannah Green and see men and women playing for the same prize pool of $150,000.
Spectators can walk the fairways without barriers and enjoy food trucks, pop-up bars and live music. Entry is free.