There was a moment this summer when Sebastián García Rodríguez felt as if he had practically forgotten how to play golf. As you know, there are few athletes more dramatic in their analysis than golfers. In reality, it was just a way of speaking or thinking. What was very true, and he felt it, was that he wasn’t doing anything right: neither the drive, nor the irons, nor the short game, nor the putt. Nothing. He was lost, stuck in a hole, and experiencing a major crisis of confidence.
The Madrid native decided to close ranks with his lifelong coach, Pepín Rivero. They’ve been together for twenty years, no less. He asked for help. He was looking for a diagnosis and, above all, a remedy. Sebas had made some changes in 2024 with the aim of seeking more consistency. He had also made some modifications to his clubs. The intention was good, but the reality was that it wasn’t working. The first thing Rivero told him, with all his wealth of wisdom, was “let’s do what we’ve always done.” Reset. Go back to the origin. To what worked. Your usual swing, with your usual clubs. Oh, how often the same thing happens among professional golfers…
This happened shortly before the Acciona Open de España and the improvement didn’t take long to arrive. He went from missing five out of seven cuts to making two of the last four. Beyond the results, the game improved. He regained distance from the tee and felt looser, more himself. Of course, this isn’t like pressing a button and turning the page. That’s it, all the bad is behind, and now only the good comes. If only it were that simple. Doubts continue to arise, and you have to keep correcting and remembering from time to time.
In yesterday’s practice round playing the Hills course, just hours before starting the Final Stage, Sebas started quite discreetly. He wasn’t hitting the ball well. Concern. He shared the round with Joseba Torres, who is with his uncle José María Olazábal as caddie. Also in the group were Manuel Gil, Sebas’s manager and provisional caddie, and Pepín himself.
Waggle is an English expression used in golf to define those small gestures incorporated into the pre-shot routine to generate a feeling. The literal translation into Spanish is ‘meneo’. Well, that’s what Rivero told Sebas after those six holes yesterday. “Don’t overthink it, do a couple of waggles and hit the ball with confidence, nothing more.” The next three drives were extraordinary, to the point that Olazábal discreetly said to him: “they’re not just good, they’re perfect.”
The waggle in question is very simple. It’s about gripping the club as if it were a hockey stick, with both hands quite apart, and making a couple of swings in the air seeking width. Then he addresses the ball and hits it. Today he has done it on every tee, and it hasn’t gone badly at all. A round of 66 strokes on the Lakes course, with seven birdies, four of them between holes 4 and 8, and a solitary bogey. A great start in the Final Stage, although no one needs to explain to Sebas how long the road can be. Few have more experience than him. “Unfortunately,” he says with his usual sense of humour.
The waggle is the way. At least for now…
