Discovering if You Have The Yips
How do you know you have the yips or if you have a stroke problem?
When you have the yips, you:
- Can put freely on the practice green but not on the course.
- You can make 20 putts in a row from 3 feet during practice, but not in competition.
- You have a smooth stroke in practice, but it get jerky on the course.
When the stroke is causing the misses:
- You can’t make 20 three-footers in a row in practice.
- You can’t start the ball on line.
- You can’t consistently launch the ball down your target line on the course.
The yips are caused by fear of missing or yipping again and how that will affect your score or what others might think about your game.
I’m not an expert in stroke mechanics, but if you can’t start the ball online consistently in your practice, that indicates you may have a technical problem.
But it’s really clear when you have the yips…
You feel like an alien has taken over your stroke. You feel like you have not control over the tremors or the hands flipping at the ball.
In the yips cycle, over control leads to tension, which causes jerky movements in your putting stroke.
It may feel like you are out of control of your stroke, but it’s really about over control – too much input from the brain due to anxiety.
Mental Game Tip for Breaking The Yips Cycle:
You want to uncover the fear that is leading to the over control.
Are you worried about not performing up to your ability? Or are you worried about embarrassment and how it looks to others?
One way to reduce the muscular tension in your arms is to use breathing…
Breath all the say out before you stroke it. But its a little bit of a Band Aid because it does not address the fear.
At the same time, it can help you focus in the moment instead of worrying about missing.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- Bad Thoughts in The Middle of Your Putting Stroke
- One Golfer’s Solution to The Putting Yips…
- How to Stop the Yips Cycle Before it Starts
Anti-Yips Putting Drills
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