Chipping yips

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VernonS

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To anyone that can offer advice...i am giving my short game until December...if not improved i give up golf. Been playing since i was 8...cant chip at all. Bought the books, got the videos and been to the pros. Have tried chipping with all irons but keep chunking it..even with a putting stroke....it is in the hands...practice swing fine but once over the ball the right hand has a mind of its on..uncontrollable to the point of debilitating...seem also to uncongrollably dip at the last moment causing the chunk....now putt from far out but if i have a bunker between me and the green...well i shudder at the mere thought of it...desperate as hell...pse help
 
Tempo tempo tempo......the secret to chipping. I've had exactly the same issue for the last 3 years and I'm slowly getting my game back. A nice even tempo back and through, just let the club pick up the ball as you swing through rather than at the ball.

I feel your pain but keep at it. Everytime you hit a good one it's a little bit more confidence in the bank.
 
I've had it for the last 20 years.
I went from 4 to 14 handicap.
It comes and goes with me, the more I play the easier it becomes.
Occasionally I have a round when it is perfect and I think I have cracked it.
I stopped playing competitively a couple of years ago but it has made no difference.
Last game I had I played beautifully on the par 5's and the unreachable par 4's just to hit chunks all over the place.
Also thinking of quitting as it is so frustrating.
Tempo and swinging through the ball is the answer but as OP the says something in whats left of my brain takes over.
 
Hunka Turf said:
Thought about a chipper? A guy I played with the other week used one to great effect. Its practically un-chunkable and will at least give you a bump and run option.
Click to expand...

A hybrid will do similar but then the OP has bunkers etc to go over. It's def a problem most of us have to be consistent.

@op take all the technical stuff out your head, stand up naturally to the chip and make sure you don't decelerate and 'see the club hit the ball'......... You'll be pleasantly surprised:thup:
 
Saw this recommended on golfwrx the other day as a really simple method.

[video=youtube_share;cOOwv3tWV9g]http://youtu.be/cOOwv3tWV9g[/video]
 
Tried to add this as well but one video limit per post :o


I use either a putting type stroke or hinge and hold depending on distance to reasonably good effect.


[video=youtube_share;q4DevROGzXM]http://youtu.be/q4DevROGzXM[/video]
 
VernonS said:
Sad to say i have and chunk that as well...going back is fine..wheels come off ondownswing...wrist or no wrist action
Click to expand...

one of the seniors I played against last week had this very badly, apparently - I say apparently because his chipping was superb......until we realised he chipped left handed, effectively using his backswing, and a 'chipper'.

he was so good he would use it from 30 yds out on a parkland course! he also chipped in on the 17th to go one up :(

he putts with a belly putter right handed, and he is a classic 'yips' individual

I'm not a fan of chippers, but in this case having a dedicated club and finding your own personal solution makes huge sense - reversing the hands being just one more step in that process.
 
I dont like chipping with a putting stroke, irons are designed different to a putter and this stroke has many potential problems as the timing has to be so precise.

For me the best way to chip is to ensure you don't break down the left wrist, keep the right wrist cupped and the left flat right through the putt. Set the loft you need at address then maintain it right through the shot, you will need to se a little pivot with this method.

[video=youtube;oM5l-WIyu8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM5l-WIyu8A[/video]
 
I feel your pain and have suffered the same. I gave up the game about 6 years ago as a result of this very same problem. I did the same as you, I read the books, got the lessons, practiced like there was no tomorrow and nothing worked. I would stand over the ball, nice back swing and then anything could happen. I have missed the ball before with nothing more than a 2 foot back swing. I was an 8hcp when this hit me and it was just absurd because, as a stronger iron player, I had a better chance from 150 yards than from 15.

Now, I am back playing the game. It was not better from the go, so a break did not fix it. I started back looking at some pieces on 'chipping with bounce' which was a totally new idea for me - I started hitting the ball a bit better. Over the last little while I have somewhat dropped this method and returned to the old with the feeling that the left wrist is critical. As it turns out, I am a 'flipper' (it was the chipping with bounce thing which led me to realise this) with my full swing so this led me to apply the same thoughts to the short swing. This is what I really want to do with a chip and it is a disaster. OK, I have had lessons which had me hold the wrist but it still left the right hand free to make a bit of a stab, something made so much worse by trying to keep the wrists tight! Anyhow, what I am now doing is making sure the left wrist leads but it needs to be connected to the right hand and the shoulders and hands have to be relaxed. If the shoulders are tight then the hands feel like they have nowhere to go. It almost feels although I need to just let them turn (even if this is contrary to many teachings). My progress has been reasonable. I am far from confident but this means that I chip with the least lofted club possible to give plenty of scope for error. Over time I am finding that I am gradually feeling more confident with the more lofted clubs and have now returned to trying to get up and down from the edge of the green rather than just praying i get it anywhere on the green!

Of course your mileage will vary and all I can truly do is appreciate your troubles. I hope that you find some thought or feeling which gets you hitting a few better chips with which you can build a new foundation.
 
proper set up means its hard to mess up chipping.

[video=youtube;S2ueDwu2cXk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2ueDwu2cXk[/video]

in this video, he cant help himself saying how easy this really is. if you are struggling then you cant really have the ball too far back.

ball back (you cant have it too far back)
hands ahead (keep them ahead through the stroke)
weight on left side ( you cant lean too far towards the hole)


the simple chip and run is just that, simple. you must stick to these principles and you cant go far wrong. its not a hard swing.
 
Try hitting a load with just one hand on the club. You'll be surprised at how many you hit and hit well. You'll then be able to transfer that positive stroke to a two handed one.
 
Chipping/pitching.
I have always been pretty deadly around the green it is specific shots that give me the heeby geebys.
A 30 yard chip/pitch to a green, dead flat, no hazards in between.
Or a 20 yard chip over a bunker off a tight lie.

I think a lot of my problems stem from playing nearly all of my early golf on links courses. Perhaps using bump and runs too much.
Nearly all of the great exponents of pitching/chipping seem to have started off on parkland courses.
 
Guys,

This is not about technique - though there may be a touch of that in the condition.

This condition is about the almost complete inability to hit a chip in the first place! Or if contact is made it'just as likely to end up same distance over the other side of the green - and not staright over either. It's a terrible thing to watch!

Anybody who has observed someone with the yips will appreciate the pain; anyone who has not has no understanding of what it is/why it might happen.

I've known 2 guys who have had this - both also had putting yips! 1 a hacker who overcame it by using the claw grip that overcame his putting woes. Another an ex Touring Pro who grafted and lurched between technique and mind work. Eventually overcame it but still has the occasional glitch - he qualified for last year's Senior Open but had to be helped by a Doctor on the 36th hole!

For a casual player, I'd suggest you just play with a relaxed attitude to it. If you start to feel it happen, just pick up rather than go into panic mode. Technique does help, but I'm sure you've tried that.

Good Luck
 
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