Quick answer: The putting yips feel like a flinch, stop, jab or hit at the ball, as if the putter moves on its own. Dr. Cohn explains that the putting yips are fear driven and lead to over control and a lack of freedom.
What Are The Putting Yips?
In this short video, Dr. Cohn explains the putting yips.
You learn the cause of the yips and some of the wrong ideas about the yips in putting.
Golfers ask Dr. Cohn questions about the putting yips, chipping yips and full-swing yips.
Do you feel as if the club moves itself like you have not control over the putter?
Golfers describe the yips as a flinching, stopping, jabbing or hitting motion at the ball.
The yips are mental and have nothing to do with your putter or technique.
The putting yips are fear driven, which leads to over control and a lack of freedom.
Looking for the general definition? Read What Are the Yips in Golf? Meaning, Symptoms and Types. Ready to fix them? See How to Get Rid of the Yips.
Watch the video now:
How the Putting Yips Develop
Golf and putting is not fun if you think you have the yips. The yips have driven more good golfers to give up the game than any other golfing challenge.
When players label themselves as having the putting yips, they think they have an incurable disease.
Putting confidence declines and the fear of missing putts makes matters worse. Players who suffer from the fear of missing don’t like to putt.
The more they putt, the worse it gets, until it’s intolerable. This leads golfers to believe they have an affliction that they must learn to play with.
It Is Extremely Hard for Change to Occur
The putting yips start with poor results and missing short putts. Players then progress to the fear of missing putts, which intensifies the fear of putting.
Players begin to feel like it’s a physical condition; they believe that it can be corrected with a change in technique or practice habits. But the golfing yips come from the golfer’s inability to gain neuromuscular control due to poor attentional focus, over control or anxiety.
Intense anxiety or fear does not allow the golfer to control his stroke and putt smoothly. The player freezes and can’t draw the putter back from the ball and initiate the putting stroke.
He wants to move the club back, but his hands and arms are in a vise. It’s like a deer that freezes in the middle of the road by the fear of an approaching car. Another form of the yips occurs when the player tenses up at impact and feels like he or she is stabbing at the ball.
The Putting Yips Are Not Uncontrollable; They Are Curable.
Several PGA touring professionals, such as Bernhard Langer, who suffered from the yips have learned to putt with freedom again. But you have to stop labeling yourself as having a physical “illness” that causes you to jab at your putts.
You must understand that the physical symptoms of the yips come from a poor mental game.
You can overcome the putting yips with the right mindset and type of practice. Download my free anti-yips putting drills to help you get started.
Related Golf Psychology Articles:
- Where Do the Driver Yips Come From?
- How to Stop the Yips Cycle Before it Starts
- Can Golfers Overcome the Yips?
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Frequently Asked Questions About the Putting Yips
What are the putting yips?
Golfers describe the putting yips as a flinching, stopping, jabbing or hitting motion at the ball. It can feel as if the club moves itself and you have no control over the putter. Golfers also ask Dr. Cohn about the chipping yips and full-swing yips.
What do the putting yips feel like?
The putting yips feel like a flinch, stop, jab or hit at the ball, as if the putter moves on its own. For the general definition and the common symptoms, read What Are the Golf Yips? Meaning, Symptoms, and Types.
What causes the putting yips?
Dr. Cohn explains that the putting yips are fear driven, which leads to over control and a lack of freedom. In the video he also covers some of the wrong ideas golfers have about the yips in putting.
Is the putter or technique the problem?
Dr. Cohn says the yips are mental and have nothing to do with your putter or technique. That is why a new putter or a technical change usually brings only temporary relief.
How can I get help with the putting yips?
Dr. Cohn’s team offers one-on-one mental coaching for the putting yips by video call or phone from anywhere in the world, including a free 15-minute session to see if coaching is a fit. Learn more about putting yips coaching.
More Yips Articles and Podcasts
- Breaking The Yips Cycle Success Story
- Simplify Your Putting: Stop Making It Too Complex
- Meet Dr. Patrick Cohn and the Peak Performance Sports coaching team
By far the worst golf affliction suffered by a player is the yips. I have had them for numerous spells and have played golf for over 60 years and more than 50 years competitively. At 71 I am still single digit , but have to admit when going thru a siege it is torture. Many great players have been unable to conquer them completely….Hogan, Snead, Miller to name a few.. I have found various techniques to temporarily solve the dilemma and have to continually think of different solutions …sometimes daily or weekly. My most recent technique has been…..concentrating on hitting the ball with the toe half of the blade on all putts under 10 feet.
FOR NOW it takes my mind off the result. Tomorrow I may have to think of something else. My experience has told me that the yips are more likely to happen to the more motivated golfer and one who has played a great deal of competitive golf. The shorter the putt the more severe the problem.