Preround Anxiety And The Yips
Do you worry about your golf game before you even step onto the first tee?
That’s the story from Jerry who wrote in to say the following…
“Dr. Cohn, I get very quick for some reason and lose all natural ability to hit the golf ball. I cannot slow it down. Lately, I have lost my ability to clear my mind and get target orientated. My last several rounds have been complete disasters. My golfing friends don’t even recognize the golf that I am playing. I am so lost I feel like I have the yips with my golf course presence, just stepping on the first tee is a struggle. Any thoughts?”
Obviously, golf is no longer fun for Jerry because of his anxiety about playing poorly or not playing up to his ability he shows on the driving range.
The first step is to uncover your fear of failure about golf…
Golf was a game you loved to play for many reasons, now it’s filled with fear and anxiety.
Golfers Have Fear for Many Reasons Including:
- Not playing up to one’s potential
- Fear of shooting a high score
- Fear of embarrassment
- Fear of not meeting others’ expectations
- Worrying about not being accepted into a golfing group
Your swing doesn’t just disappear when you step on the golf course. The fear changes how you approach the game.
In the yips cycle I’ve detailed in the past, when the fear hits, the common response is to go to over control of the golf swing.
“Be careful and make a good swing” sounds right to you, but kills your ability to make a free swing, one you’ve grooved into your motor memory system.
If you can’t clear your mind, you are over thinking the golf swing, which is similar response to the fear and anxiety.
Sometimes you can “feel the fear and do it anyway.” That means get used to letting your swing rip even when you feel uncomfortable.
As I’ve said in previous tips, you have to do two things to free up the swing:
- Uncover and overcome the ultimate source of your fear, and
- Free up your swing by understanding how to trust it again.
Both of these work hand in hand because you will gain confidence when you can swing the club freely without over control.
When confidence builds, so does motivation to overcome your demons.
Fearlessness, freedom, and confidence are the mental keys to unlocking your golf swing from the grips of the yips…
Get all my mental strategies for freeing up your game—from tension to the yips—by following this link:
Discover how to break the yips cycle!
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- Performance Anxiety And Putting Yips
- Where Do the Driver Yips Come From?
- How to Stop the Yips Cycle Before it Starts
Overcome The Yips and Enjoy Golf Again!
Breaking The Yips Cycle Video and Workbook program is ideal for any amateur, collegiate, junior, and tour professional golfer who wants to break out of the putting, chipping, or pitching yips.
Golf coaches and instructors would also be wise to teach “Breaking The Yips Cycle” principles to their players who struggle with tension in their swing or the full-blown yips. This program is perfect for any golfer who wants to improve performance by swinging freely again!