The Putting Yips In Golf: NOT A Death Sentence

Every golfer wants to be on the top of their game at all times. There’s nothing like walking off of the course, heading into the clubhouse and opening a beer having just won the around against your business associates, buddies or even your husband.

This is one of the things that makes sports so rewarding, and makes the game of golf so satisfying.

It is also exactly why losing your game can be one of the most devastating things in the world, especially for a passionate golfer. Once you have lost your game, you can feel like you might never get it back.

Going from shooting low 80s to high 90s can seem like a regression of 10 years of progress, and the yips can be the assailant behind all of these problems.

The golf yips can be known as twitches, stutters, staggers or jerks, and are anything but conducive to low rounds. This distraction from your game is caused by past trauma, likely on the greens, the tees or the fairways, and can be difficult to eradicate.

If your yips find your missing putts, unable to think on the course, or without the ability to move, you may have attempted to get rid of them. But the most common cures tried for the yips are often done the wrong way, by changing mechanics or altering the fundamentals of your game.

Michelle Wie lost her game after early hype, Tiger Woods after some personal problems and John Daly after two majors and some poor decisions. Trauma in all of their lives brought them to a point where they could no longer perform the kind of golf swing that used to perfect.

The yips are not known only for being in golf – many prominent baseball players have also suffered from them – but they have been the biggest distraction for golfers by far. Greats like Bernhard Langer and Tom Watson have suffered from the yips, and only through professional coaches, instructors and psychologists have they be able to rid their games of this horrifying problem.

You, however, can have access to the same information and the same methods as the professionals, and remove your yips just as easily as they can.

The golfing yips can railroad your love of the game if you do not address them soon enough, but you must know how to go about it. Some may tell you to try to pick up a different club, or change your swing plane to rid yourself of the problem, but this is the wrong way of addressing it. This method is likely using a lawnmower to get rid of your weed problem. While the weeds may be gone on the surface, they will still be waiting underneath.

You need to attack the weeds at the roots, and follow the correct methods to kill the problem entirely. You can be back to playing your game as you know it in no time.