Just a few weeks ago at the WM Phoenix Open, Nick Taylor reminded the golf world just how special he is in the moments when the pressure is at its highest. Needing two birdies in his last three holes to force a playoff, his next shot was from 167 yards that landed six feet from the hole, where he would get his birdie, followed by another birdie at No. 18 to force the playoff, and clinching his fourth victory on the PGA Tour with an 11-foot birdie on the second extra hole.
In terms of personalities on the tour, Taylor is soft spoken, humble and will happily talk about his family as easily as he does the game he loves. Much like the Canadian’s demeanor on the course, the contents of his gym bag are all about what’s necessary. He sat down with M&F to discuss his items, how his dietary choices have changed with fatherhood, and why getting the body moving after traveling is important.
Every player on tour has different needs. When is your approach when it comes to training?
A lot of my training is stability. I think if I leave a workout feeling better than when I started, that’s probably the main goal. A lot of stuff that I do focuses on the upper scaps (scapula), core, and then my legs. That was kind of what the emphasis was this off-season. At tournaments, there’s definitely that, but it’s also built in with a warmup to get the body moving, try to engage everything a little bit in the warmup, and then go to the range. The warmups are usually planks and dead bugs.
How much of your offseason work is dictated by what happened during the season?
First, we start with how my body felt during the year. I look at information with my trainer and maybe it’s an area that we need to improve in. If that involves getting stronger in that area, look at that. This year was the first time I’ve had a good chunk of time off — two to three months — to look at it. I’ve been with my trainer since I’ve been on tour. I got in contact with a trainer in Scottsdale (AZ)—Carson Kemp—where I spent most of the year. He did his assessment. A lot of it was core and upper scaps for me. For a while, I was pretty unstable. I might need to be adjusted or get a little more tissue work up there.
Getting stronger there has helped minimize that but also keep me stronger in those areas and that’s been a main emphasis. I see him a few times a week and that’s been a good addition.
As your career has progressed, how has your philiosphy on dieting evolved?
There’s been more emphasis on certain things and more awareness. What’s honestly helped — which is completely separate—is that my son has a peanut/sesame allergy. That has been a brand new learning curve for me and my wife with knowing what’s in foods, and what’s in the ingredients, and trying to get cleaner foods. I have my Athletic Greens every morning and I love it in coffee. Ever since my kids were born. I’ve gone to coffee a lot.
Now, it’s about having more awareness of protein, whole foods, how much sugar, and stuff. I could definitely improve my eating on course. I’ve never been a huge eater on the golf course during competition, but getting a better routine with electrolytes, and what gives me energy to get me through the round. I eat a lot of bananas and macro bars on the golf course. It’s now about finding stuff for me that’s going to keep my energy level where I want it to be.
With all the traveling, you have to get your cheat days here and there.
I love guacamole. I’m more of a fan of savory and salty. So, chips and guac, I could crush that for hours. Thai food is my favorite. With my son’s allergies, we’ve gone a long time without it because there are peanuts everywhere in Thai food. I used to be a Sour Patch Kid fan but I try to avoid that a little now.
What does recovery look like after a tournament?
With a lot of my tournaments, I have my physical therapist with me. So pre-round, post-round tissue work. A lot of it might be the daily routine stuff like flushing the body. It could be my neck is bothering me because I slept wrong last night and I’ll get that corrected. Travel days can take a lot out of you. So, there’s recovery there with drinking lots of fluids and staying on top of your sleep.
It’s also important to try to get movement in if you have time on the day you travel. Hopefully, nothing feels super awkward when you wake up the next morning but I’ll get a flush done or stretched and that makes a big difference for me.
Courtesy Nick Taylor
What’s in Nick Taylor’s Gear Bag?
Adidas Apparel
I love the Boost shoes. Those are my favorite shoes and I’ve probably had way too many pairs. I wear them to work out, but I love wearing them out, too. With the shoes, I always think that’s the first thing I look at—what kind of new color schemes they got, and what they’re going to do.
Buy adidas Men’s Performance Hat: $17.49 at Worldwide Golf
