How to beat the yips: clench your left fist

[Andy808]

Golfers who suffer from the yips should clench their left fist while preparing to take an important shot because it will help them perform under pressure, according to a new study.
Tense situations like a putt on the 18th green can cause even professional athletes to "choke" because the additional pressure makes them over-think actions which should be second nature.

But squeezing a soft ball or making a fist with your left hand could help combat this danger by increasing the activity of the right hemisphere of the brain and allowing muscle memory to take over.

The technique could also help footballers taking penalty kicks, badminton players serving for the match or martial arts fighters trying to execute complex and well-rehearsed techniques, scientists said.

It could even help reduce the risk of falls among older people by preventing them from focusing too much while walking or climbing stairs and improving their balance, they added.

Writing in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, experts from the Technical University of Munich explained that when we practice movements thousands of times, they become automatic and require little conscious thought.

Concentrating too hard on a golf swing or penalty kick can make you focus too much on each stage of the action and make it disjointed, rather than simply relying on their well-rehearsed muscle memory.
Shifting the balance of brain activity away from the left side, which governs conscious movement, and towards the right, which is key to automated behaviour, could therefore reduce the likelihood of choking under pressure.
This can be done by clenching the left hand because each of our arms is connected exclusively to the opposite side of the brain, the researchers explained.
The researchers tested their theory on groups of semi-professional football players, taekwondo experts and experienced badminton players.
The participants performed simple actions from their sport such as penalties, kicking routines and serves in a practice session, and then under pressure from a watching crowd or while being filmed.
When put under pressure, half of the players were told to squeeze a small ball in their left hand before taking part, in order to boost their motor control, while the others used their right hand, which would activate the conscious movement centre of their brain.
In each sport, the players who used their right hand were significantly more likely to choke under pressure, while those who used their left either performed the same or better than in the pressure-free environment.
The same findings should apply to other sports involving skilled motor actions, such as golf, but not sports reliant on strength or stamina like weightlifting or marathon running, the experts explained.
However, the player must be sufficiently experienced to benefit from the technique, because novices will not have a sufficiently honed motor action to rely on, they added.
Dr Juergen Beckmann, who led the study, said: "Athletes usually perform better when they trust their bodies rather than thinking too much about their own actions or what their coaches told them during practice.
"While it may seem counterintuitive, consciously trying to keep one's balance is likely to produce imbalance, as was seen in some sub-par performances by gymnasts during the Olympics in London."
The Telegraph

Problem solved!

 

[North Mimms]

How do you clench your left fist while holding a putter?

 

[Swinger]

Not a fan of messing around with grip pressure. I find that adding tension can be very destructive to any part of the swing especially the grip.

Not for me but maybe you could do something with your left foot to have a similar effect!!

 

[Andy808]

Not a fan of messing around with grip pressure. I find that adding tension can be very destructive to any part of the swing especially the grip.

Not for me but maybe you could do something with your left foot to have a similar effect!!

How on earth do you grip your putter with your foot?

I was being sarcastic with my comment.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I find raising my left eyebrow does the trick.

 

[One Planer]

How do you clench your left fist while holding a putter?

That's what they belly putter was invented for :thup:

 

[duncan mackie]

Not a fan of messing around with grip pressure. I find that adding tension can be very destructive to any part of the swing especially the grip.

I don't think you read the article............

the suggestion is to squeeze a ball with the right hand prior to performing the task - not during!

for putting this might mean having a little ball in the right pocket....maybe care needed?

 

[Andy808]

I don't think you read the article............

the suggestion is to squeeze a ball with the right hand prior to performing the task - not during!

for putting this might mean having a little ball in the right pocket....maybe care needed?

Would certainly make you concentrate if you got the wrong one!

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

If I ever get to that stage I'll just take up tennis.

 

[North Mimms]

I don't think you read the article............

the suggestion is to squeeze a ball with the right hand prior to performing the task - not during!

for putting this might mean having a little ball in the right pocket....maybe care needed?

Left Hand! Left Hand!

Ah- I remember that you are left handed....

 

[Andy808]

Left Hand! Left Hand!

Ah- I remember that you are left handed....

It doesn't matter if your left or right handed as you are stimulating the right side of the brain.

 

[duncan mackie]

Left Hand! Left Hand!

Ah- I remember that you are left handed....

Classic case of automatically translating what shouldn't be translated!

As Andy say's left hand squeezing (something) to stimulate right half of brain into controlling the actions of both hands when putting........

....... or just get a V easy