Can Sergio Gracia "Shake It Off?"

GolfFitPro · July 23, 2007

Judging from his comments after the round, it sounds like Sergio is very bitter about not winning the Open Championship on Sunday. He has dealt with a lot of pressure as the "best player not to win a major," and I wonder how he will deal with this devastating loss moving forward. Greg Norman and Phil Mickelson, among others, will tell you that it's pretty hard to bounce back from something like that.

Here is a quick story from Michael Anthony, Author of <a href="http://www.mentalkeys.com/cmd.php?af=339255">The Mental Keys to Improving Your Golf Game</a>

The Power of Shaking It Off

When things don't go your way during a round of golf, do you dwell on the negative or do you shake it off and keep on going? You will always be better off staying positive than letting old man golf with his amazing bag of tricks frustrate you and get you down.

Here is a story that I recently ran across that vividly illustrates the power of shaking it off until things go your way.

It's about a wise old mule and the moral of this story can help you stay positive until you overcome your challenges.

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who had a dry well on his farm. It was about thirty feet deep and totally useless since it had been dry for many years. One day his mule, which was very old, accidentally fell down the well.

Hearing strange noises coming from his well, the farmer looked down and saw his mule crying out. At first the farmer didn't know what to do because there was no way that he could lift the mule out of the well. Since his mule was very old and the well was dry, the farmer decided to fill the well with dirt. He figured the mule was going to die soon anyway and the dry well was a hazard.

So the farmer got his shovel and started to throw dirt down the well. When the dirt started falling on the mule's back, the mule knew that he was in deep trouble. So the mule started to shake off the dirt and step on it with his feet. Shovel after shovel the dirt kept on coming. But, the mule kept shaking it off and stepping on it.

After a long time of continuing to shake off the dirt and stepping on it, the wise old mule found himself at the top of the well and walked away. What a powerful story to remember when old man golf is doing his best to bury you in your frustrations.

You always have a choice about your attitude and emotions. You can be negative or you can smile and keep on shaking it off until you rise to the top like the wise old mule.

Michael Anthony's Unique Mental Training Program, <a href="http://www.mentalkeys.com/cmd.php?af=339255">The Mental Keys to Improving Your Golf Game</a>, Guarantees to Lower Your Score by Improving Your Mental Game.

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jcjr34 · July 25, 2007

You could kind of tell that he was going to lose the playoff after he missed the winning putt on 18 in regulation and just crouched there with shaking his head.

GolfFitPro · July 25, 2007

I think he probably let his past failures creep back into his head after he missed the putt on 18. All of his thoughts in the playoff were probably negative.

For Harrington it was the other way around, he was pumped he had another chance after his horrible 18th. His thoughts were positive in the playoff.

It's incredible to me how much of a mental game golf is.

scores · July 27, 2007

The comment he made about playing against more than the field: well he was right the only thing he doesn't know is (he is or himself is his biggest competitor:) when he gets out of his own way he may win lots of tournaments:

The kid can kill it and his short game is well under rated due to his putting problems which I think is in his head... He has missed it before he strokes the put!!!

When it becomes him and the hole he is trying to put it in he will win win!! if it never happens : he will be a Monty!

againstthegrain · July 27, 2007

I knew it was in his head when he showed up at The Scottish Open with the longer putter. Garcia is going to have to rebuild his putting game from scratch along w some mental coaching.

dcrabtree · July 27, 2007

Honestly, I think Sergio will be fine. Losing a major like that will put a bad taste in anyone's mouth, he obviously has the right to be disappointed. As long as he can put it behind him and focus on the positive things, such as playing stellar golf to even get a chance to win the British. Lets face it, he's had a good past few weeks and he is only 27. His time will come. I see him winning at least one major in his career. Golf is a very mental sport, and that, more than anything is what he needs to concentrate on.