Yips...
I don't know if I have blogged this before, but I golf. In fact, I've golfed for more years than many of my readers have been alive. I play very seriously and have always played competitively - in school, in college, in tourneys.
Today I ran across this article about the yips being a physical condition. I laughed all the way through it.
Every golfer gets the yips. It happens to the duffer. It sometimes even happens to Tiger. The yips happen. They aren't due to a "muscular" thing. They aren't like leg cramps. Golf yips are from nerves (or lack thereof), plain and simple. Yipping equates to choking.
Golf is a mental game. After you master the mechanics (assuming you are physically coordinated enough to do that), it is all about pyschology. Of course, there are always little ways to improve your game - adjustments to your stance, your grip, your weight shift. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the basic decent enough coordinated swing. After that, winning and losing is in the head, not your hands. You can psych out your competition, or yourself. Golfing is less about conquering your opponent and more about conquering your own self doubts and the terrain of the golf course. If you can force your opponent to have self doubt in the process, so much the better.
A yip happens when you have a two foot putt to win, or to get your best ever score, or to not totally suck this weekend. During your putt you have a flicker of self-doubt. You let up on the putter head speed. YIP!
Of course there are suckers out there who take comfort in someone telling them that yips aren't their fault. It was a muscle spasm. It was a "condition". They are the same suckers that think spending 500 bucks for a driver will make them hit like Tiger. I don't think so, Scooter.
Today I ran across this article about the yips being a physical condition. I laughed all the way through it.
Every golfer gets the yips. It happens to the duffer. It sometimes even happens to Tiger. The yips happen. They aren't due to a "muscular" thing. They aren't like leg cramps. Golf yips are from nerves (or lack thereof), plain and simple. Yipping equates to choking.
Golf is a mental game. After you master the mechanics (assuming you are physically coordinated enough to do that), it is all about pyschology. Of course, there are always little ways to improve your game - adjustments to your stance, your grip, your weight shift. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the basic decent enough coordinated swing. After that, winning and losing is in the head, not your hands. You can psych out your competition, or yourself. Golfing is less about conquering your opponent and more about conquering your own self doubts and the terrain of the golf course. If you can force your opponent to have self doubt in the process, so much the better.
A yip happens when you have a two foot putt to win, or to get your best ever score, or to not totally suck this weekend. During your putt you have a flicker of self-doubt. You let up on the putter head speed. YIP!
Of course there are suckers out there who take comfort in someone telling them that yips aren't their fault. It was a muscle spasm. It was a "condition". They are the same suckers that think spending 500 bucks for a driver will make them hit like Tiger. I don't think so, Scooter.
1 Comments:
I'm sure I've had the Yips before, but don't really notice them that much.
I'm catching some golfitis on Friday and me and a buddy from work are going to go and play 18. First 18 holes I've played in almost 2 years. I used to play quite a bit. Going to try and get some more rounds in this summer. Perhaps some new clubs that don't have slick grips and are fitted for me!
Sorry I haven't posted lately. For some reason the News Reader wasn't picking the site up. Works at home, but not at work. Very strange.
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