If you ever played Poppy Hills GC or just been around the facility for lunch or to take in the forest views prior to 2018, chances are you saw Fred Walker.
Walker, who died recently at the age of 97, was the builder and fixer of all things inside and outside the Poppy Hills and NCGA facilities for 21 years until his retirement in 2018. Prior to his arrival in the Del Monte Forest, Walker had been a marketing manager for a division of Masonite Corporation.
Just prior to his retirement, we celebrated Fred’s career at Poppy Hills and NCGA by featuring him in NCGA Golf Magazine. The following is a Q&A session we did with Fred in 2018, just prior to the course hosting the 2018 U.S. Girls’ Championship.
Q: How excited are you that Poppy Hills is hosting a USGA Championship?
Walker: I’m absolutely excited. Girls’ golf is really growing. I’ll definitely be taking some time off to watch. You can bet on it.
Q: What do you love about your job?
Walker: I love everything about it, especially working on cabinets. Also the people. It all keeps me young.
Q: What’s your favorite golf memory?
Walker: Making my eighth hole-in-one on the (141-yard, par-3) 15th here at Poppy Hills (from the two Poppy tees). I was playing with Art and Denny Hoeft. I hit driver….just kidding. I hit 6-iron.
Q: What’s the newspaper article you carry in your wallet?
Walker: Oh…. It’s an Associated Press story on Derrick Walker that says he averaged 25.2 points per game playing for (Division II) University of Wisconsin-Superior. At the time, Derrick Walker was the fourth leading scorer in the country. It’s me. You see…my birth name is Frederick, but my nickname was Derrick. No one in my family had named the next generation after my Uncle Derrick, so I picked it up as nickname. I’m very proud of the article.
How good was Walker at basketball? He was named All-Conference in 1952-53 and today is in the Wisconsin-Superior Athletic Hall of Fame.
Thank you Fred! We'll miss you!
In lieu of flowers, the family would love donations to be made in memory of Fred to Peace
of Mind Dog Rescue, PO Box 51554, Pacific Grove, CA 93950 or at POMDR.org.