Putting yips?

Region3 said:
The

I've never heard of the Mayo clinic but - and call me cynical - do they offer treatment for the yips in return for money?

Can you link to a scientific report about the yips by anyone who doesn't profit from people believing in them?
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Look up yips in Wikipedia, where there are several links. Even at club level, I have come across quite a few senior players who have the yips. One of my close friends has them to the extent that if he is playing for money, his opponent(s) won't concede even one foot putts because it is known that he is quite likely to miss them!
 
I was getting yips with the chips lately until I changed where I held the club. Seems to have sorted it out.
 
delc said:
Have you looked at a Champions or European Seniors Tour event recently Homer? About 30% of the players use long putters or non standard putting grips, which suggests that they have had putting problems. The Mayo Clinic study into yips suggested that up to 50% of players will develop them if they play for long enough!
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Complete misnomer. You can't suggest that the only reason people using non standard grips or long putters is the yips. Much much much more likely they tried something different, found it more effective then stuck with it.

For someone who it is mentioned that you used to be a scientist, you don't have throw some unscientific conclusions around.
 
Strange that there are so many 'yips deniers' on here! They're not catching or anything (unlike the shanks). I think you actually have to have them to understand what a big problem they are, when the object of the game is to hole a small ball into a not much bigger hole. David Feherty's description of putting with a live snake (with reference to Ernie Els) was about right, so maybe a bit of sympathy would be in order?
 
CheltenhamHacker said:
Complete misnomer. You can't suggest that the only reason people using non standard grips or long putters is the yips. Much much much more likely they tried something different, found it more effective then stuck with it.

For someone who it is mentioned that you used to be a scientist, you don't have throw some unscientific conclusions around.
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I think you would have to be pretty desperate before moving to a long putter, so there is unlikely to be another explanation other than the twitches or yips. Over-size grips are another possible cure, and they seem to be pretty fashionable right now! Even Phil Mickelson is using one after a short spell using the claw grip. :mmm:
 
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delc said:
I think you would have to be pretty desperate before moving to a long putter, so there is unlikely to be another explanation other than the twitches or yips. Over-size grips are another possible cure, and they seem to be pretty fashionable right now! Even Phil Mickelson is using one after a short spell using the claw grip. :mmm:
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“I hate when people think that the belly putter is a crutch for us to putt with. For me it’s just a better way to putt. I always considered myself a good putter before I had a belly putter" - Keegan Bradley
 
delc said:
I think you would have to be pretty desperate before moving to a long putter, so there is unlikely to be another explanation other than the twitches or yips. Over-size grips are another possible cure, and they seem to be pretty fashionable right now! Even Phil Mickelson is using one after a short spell using the claw grip. :mmm:
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so Phil must a sure thing for the yips, he changes putter every few months, changing grip and grip method on equal duration too.

Poor fella !
 
What the hell are putting yips, after reading this I am starting to believe that is what I was suffering from, even though I had never actually thought about it. Anything inside 3 foot was miss-able, sometimes I would stab at it and leave it short, other times it felt like I had a hosepipe for a shaft the way the head was wobbling everywhere. Then there's the times when I would break my wrists and slap the ball with an open face, or when I would then release my hands and hit it with a closed face.

I got a brand new putter and fortunately never looked back and since then my putting has been a real strong point.

So was I suffering from the yips, or just a loss of confidence in my putting, that a new toy managed to overcome.
 
I was a horrendous putter for a couple of years in the mid/late 80's. Was it the yips? Don't know, don't care. I spent hours on the putting green working on technique, and I went from 40+ putts a round to less than 30.

I've only ever seen one case of the yips at club level. A 2 handicapper that started with the shanks. This put pressure on his putting. In the space of 10 years he went from 2 h'cap to 14. In truth, he should have had a h'cap review rather than just going up 0.1 - he was shooting mid 90's pretty much every round.

That said, I've seen plenty of very bad putters, who've had a different stroke for virtually every putt. There's low handicappers with lousy swings, who are fantastic putters, and I've seen high handicappers with great swings, who are lousy putters.

Players with yips are as rare as hen's teeth. Most dodgy putters are dodgy because they haven't put the time in finding the right putter, the right stroke and then grooving it.
 
Hobbit said:
Players with yips are as rare as hen's teeth. Most dodgy putters are dodgy because they haven't put the time in finding the right putter, the right stroke and then grooving it.
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I come across quite a few senior golfers who have yippy putting strokes. Interestingly this never seems to affect golfers who took up the game later in life, normally only the ones like myself who have played it from an early age. It's long term exposure to golf that seems to bring them on. Maybe there's only so many three-and-half foot putts in you!
 
delc said:
I come across quite a few senior golfers who have yippy putting strokes. Interestingly this never seems to affect golfers who took up the game later in life, normally only the ones like myself who have played it from an early age. It's long term exposure to golf that seems to bring them on. Maybe there's only so many three-and-half foot putts in you!
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Ok ill ask once again in the hope you finally answer

Delc - why have you felt the need to start this thread and debate ( well not sure about that ) once again when you have started the same thread numerous times and there is no new material or new evidence to back up your "theories"
 
I have a mate who had the yips .....I had to see it to believe it. A 2 foot putt would and up 10 ft passed. He tried lots of different putters and grips. The only thing that worked....putting left handed. He is now deadly on the greens, has a super smooth stroke and plays off 2.7.

Worryingly it's now starting to effect his chipping so he is trialling chipping holding the club in one hand.
 
Hey Del, let me start by saying that I have every sympathy in the world for the fact that you developed the yips. I admire the way you fought through it and appear to be winning...

BUT, I'm not sure that attempting to label every putting fault as "the yips" is entirely fair. I was a fairly good putter 12 months ago. It's how I got my handicap down despite having a fairly shoddy swing. Since missing 6 months due to injury, my putting stroke has deserted me. Simple putts become slight pushes/pulls. It's costing me 4-6 shots per round at the moment. However, it is not "the yips". It's just a poor grip, coupled with a tentative backswing.

In my opinion, you are doing yourself, and everyone else who has genuinely suffered on the greens a disservice by trying to widen the scope of the problem. Take some time to be proud of the fact you beat them instead of lessening the achievement...
 
Junior said:
I have a mate who had the yips .....I had to see it to believe it. A 2 foot putt would and up 10 ft passed. He tried lots of different putters and grips. The only thing that worked....putting left handed. He is now deadly on the greens, has a super smooth stroke and plays off 2.7.

Worryingly it's now starting to effect his chipping so he is trialling chipping holding the club in one hand.
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I also had a right handed friend (unfortunately now deceased) who ended up putting left handed after running out of options the normal way round. He had been through conventional, left hand below right and a broom handle putter before changing over. His left-handed putting was pretty good. My chipping is actually better left-handed than right (I am reasonably ambidextrous and used to bat left-handed at cricket), but I have never seriously used this in anger, as carrying a left handed club would mean throwing out a right-handed one. This is quite useful because I can turn my wedge over and chip out of trouble left-handed if up against an tree or other obstruction.
 
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delc said:
I also had a right handed friend (unfortunately now deceased) who ended up putting left handed after running out of options the normal way round. He had been through conventional, left hand below right and a broom handle putter before changing over. His left-handed putting was pretty good. My chipping is actually better left-handed than right (I am reasonably ambidextrous and used to bat left-handed at cricket), but I have never seriously used this in anger, as carrying a left handed club would mean throwing out a right-handed one. This is quite useful because I can turn my wedge over and chip out of trouble left-handed if up against an tree or other obstruction.
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http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?72520-Curing-the-yips!

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?62927-The-yips!

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?62929-The-importance-of-putter-fitting

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?71858-Putting-Rant!
 
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