Why Distractions Can Lead to Yips
The yips are shrouded in uncertainty. Throughout the golfing world, there are many questions about the yips: What are the yips? What causes the yips?
Are the yips permanent?
All this uncertainty surrounding the yips has a dramatic effect on the length of time the yips affect your game.
One golfer who participated in our Golf Yips Survey posed an interesting question regarding the yips:
“Is it really possible to overcome the yips and regain that part of my golf game that used to be my strength and helped me win a championship?”
Many golfers with the yips feel helpless, as if there is nothing you can do to rid yourself of the yips. So, instead of finding and implementing a strategy, you just wait for them to disappear.
Every time you set up for a shot, you are consumed with worry and fear. You try to will the ball towards the hole.
You feel your body tighten up and your mind switches back and forth from thinking about past shots where you yipped midway through your stroke and what might happen when you swing the club this time.
Your stroke feels so mechanical and forced. You find it nearly impossible to focus, and your mind is filled with negative thoughts about your inability to just swing the club.
Once again, you yip midway through your swing, causing the ball to travel in an unpredictable path.
For you, it’s not a matter of ‘if the yips will happen’ but…
‘When the Yips Will Happen’.
Let’s address your original concern: Is it really possible to overcome the yips?”
The answer is 100% YES!
The yips are a mental game challenge that, over time, causes overwhelming mental interference and block your ability to shoot low scores.
Outcome thinking doesn’t help the situation, such as, “What if I miss this putt?” and “This will be embarrassing.”
Other distractions include over coaching yourself through the entire swing.
These distractions cause you to over-focus on what is wrong, over-analyze your swing and over think each shot in some attempt to regain your swing. These failed attempts only serve to keep you stuck in the yips cycle.
To overcome the yips and regain your golf game, you need to change your approach to the shot or putt altogether.
First, you have to train yourself to focus on the process instead of the negative outcome.
Focusing is a mental skill that helps you overcome the gremlins. What you focus on is important for breaking free from the yips.
Tips to Overcome the Golf Yips
First, you have to stop searching for a physical fix that may not exist or is only a temporary solution. You have to embrace the fact that it’s a mental game issue to make progress.
Next, you have to train yourself to focus on the process and not the outcome.
Also, you want to get back to playing like a kid again: swinging or putting freely without over control.
Finally, you want to uncover the underlying fear and address this head on. The fear is often based on what others think about your game or not playing to your potential.
Related Golf Psychology Articles
- How to Overcome Anxiety Before Golfing
- How to Overcome Fear to Rid The Yips
- How To Overcome Perfectionism [Video]
Anti-Yips Putting Drills
Do you spend most of your practice time trapped by stroke or mechanics on the practice green? Are you unsure how to practice to help you overcome the putting yips?
With my exclusive drills to free up your putting, previously available to my personal coaching students, you can learn how to use your mind to help you improve your putting performance.
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