Understanding the Yips in Golf
Written By: Simon Taylor
Have you ever heard of the yips? If you're a golfer, chances are you've heard a playing partner, friend, or competitor mention the dreaded word. But do you know what the yips really are or why they happen?
Yips are defined as involuntary spasms and muscle contractions and are believed to start due to mental and potentially physical factors. They commonly arise from anxiety, overthinking, and a negative emotional association with a particular movement or skill.
The Pressure of the Moment
Let's consider a situation: you are standing over a three-foot putt for par. Your friends are all waiting for you to hit the putt. You know, statistically, you should make the putt. But you're nervous. You consciously or unconsciously feel pressure to make the putt from yourself and your friends.
What kind of thoughts are running through your head over the putt? Do you think those help or hinder your chances of making it?
An Example Under Pressure: Ernie Els
Let's look at an example of what might happen under this kind of pressure on a short putt.
That is Ernie Els, a Hall of Fame golfer. Six-putting from within three feet. Most golfers have actually dealt with the yips in some regard.
Real-Life Experiences With the Yips
Last weekend, I was golfing with my dad and a friend. Both of them are good golfers who can shoot in the 80s. But both struggle with forms of the yips—my friend off the tee, and my dad chipping.
My Dad's Chipping Yips
For my dad, the yips have been a constant in his golf game for over 10 years. He can get around the golf course well, but he completely changes when it comes to chipping. He takes his practice stroke and looks comfortable, then when he gets over the ball and takes his stroke, his wrists take over, and one variety of mishit happens.
My Friend's Driver Yips
For my friend, this is a more recent issue. At one point, he was a consistent 70s golfer. Now, he is more likely to shoot in the 90s, which is all due to his driving.
Scottie Scheffler, the best golfer in the world, said that during college, all of his teammates struggled with the driver yips at some point during their four years.
For my friend and others, the yips can be a passing issue. But what if, like my dad, the yips don't go away—how do you take action to reduce their impact?
Strategies to Manage the Yips
1. Focus on Your Breathing
The first thing I would recommend is to focus on your breathing. When we get nervous, our breathing pattern gets altered. Golf is unique in that it is not a reactionary game, so we can actually take time to correct our breathing.
Before hitting a shot, as you are preparing, focus on your breathing. Try using the 4–6 breath method: inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 6 seconds. This is not a cure-all, but it will help to create some semblance of calmness before your shot.
2. Explore Your Self-Talk
What are you telling yourself before the shot? From speaking to people with the yips, I have heard some very negative, obvious self-talk and more subtle negativity. "Don't miss this shot" or "I feel nervous over this shot" can either be reframed or stopped.
Try to focus on positive trigger cues—"Pick your spot", "Smooth tempo", or "I'm excited" are all more positive thoughts that you can try to use.
3. Develop a Pre-Shot Routine
What is your pre-shot routine like? As I stated before, golf has a lot of downtime. A lot of time to lose focus or beat ourselves up.
While we work to remove the negative self-talk during downtime, we should also have a trigger to know that we are only focusing on the shot. For me, it's putting my glove on or taking it off. Once I do that, I know to start my pre-shot routine.
It doesn't have to be a long routine. Once I put my glove on, I stand behind the ball, pick my spot, brush the ground a few times, step into it, and hit it. This fast routine helps me keep my mind on the task. But for others, it can be more deliberate and slow. Find what works for you.
4. Consider Changing Equipment
Other, more short-term results could come from changing the club that you use. For me, this was the solution to my putting yips. I had such bad nerves with short putts using my old putter, but once I changed it, my game settled and got back to normal.
Professional Help and Mental Training
There is also the use of psychological skills and training. At The Mental Game, if you are struggling with your yips, we want to help.
Some skills that we use to help clients are:
Mindfulness
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Please reach out to our team to learn more!
Simon Taylor
MSc. Performance Psychology
