Sergio and The Players

Brandel Chamblee of the Golf Channel was talking about how Sergio Garcia, the defending champion of this weekend's tournament, The Players, has lost the joy of playing golf. He observed that Garcia seems to take his close losses, especially in the Majors, too much to heart. He said Sergio has forgotten that he's playing a game that he loves, and he should go out and have fun again.

Then, he mentioned a sports psychology statistic that I thought you might find helpful when thinking about your golf game. He said it takes eleven positive thoughts to overcome one negative thought. So, for every bad shot that you can't forget, you have to have eleven positive shots that you can recall.

From now on, I'll have to discipline myself to remember only my positive shots on any given hole, as I go through my pre-shot routine.

To watch The Players this weekend, here's the t.v. schedule, which starts on Thursday. By the way, do you wonder why The Players is often referred to as the "Fifth Major"? It isn't an official Major (like the Masters, the U.S. Open, the Open, and the PGA Championship) because it's not considered an official event on the European Tour, while the other four are considered as such.