Golf Explained: What are the yips and is there a cure?

It’s the ‘Y’ word that no golfer can bring themselves to say aloud.

The ‘yips’.

Reckoned to impact between 25% and 50% of all avid golfers, the condition has afflicted professionals and amateurs alike for generations.

But what exactly are the yips, can they be cured, and who are some of the most notable sufferers?

What are the yips?

In layman’s terms, the yips is a movement disorder that most commonly impacts a player’s ability to putt but which has been known to affect their chipping and, in some cases, their full swing.

 The yips typically take the form of twiches, staggers, jitters and / or jerks and are reckoned to have affected between 25% and 50% of all adult golfers.

In 2004, researchers at the Mayo Clinic – a non-profit American academic health centre – found that 33% to 48% of all serious golfers have experienced the yips at some point in their playing careers, with golfers who have played for more than 25 years seemingly most prone to the condition.

What causes the yips?

Although the exact cause has never been determined, one theory is that the yips are caused by biochemical changes in the brain linked to aging. Focal dystonia, a neurological condition that affects a muscle or group of muscles in a specific part of the body during specific activities, has also been suggested as a cause.

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Are the yips exclusive to golfers?

Not at all. Many cricketers, baseball players and snooker players have also been afflicted by the condition.

Following his loss to Mark Williams at the 2010 UK Championship, seven-time world snooker champion Stephen Hendry revealed that he had been suffering from them for a decade, impacting his ability to cue through the ball.

Gymnasts have also been known to suffer from a variation of the yips, called the ‘twisties’. US gymnast Simone Biles famously suffered from them during the most recent Olympic Games in Tokyo, causing her to withdraw after the women’s team all-around final.

Which golfers have suffered from the yips?

It’s a pretty exhaustive list but here are five of the most high-profile…

Bernhard Langer

The German first developed the yips when he was just 18-years-old and has previously admitted it got so bad that he contemplated quitting golf altogether. “At one point I was yipping so badly that I four-putted from three feet and actually hit the ball twice,” he said. “Those were extremely difficult times.” Switching to a broom-handled putter proved to be his salvation.

Mark O’Meara