Opinion & Analysis
The Yips: “Once you’ve had em, you’ve got em…”
Many viewers of Tiger’s return (including his former coach, Hank Haney) observed his difficulty with a few “sticky” chips around the greens at the 2017 Hero World Challenge — it should be noted that other players did also have a similar problem dealing with the tight lies around the Albany greens, most notably Hideki Matsuyama. But Woods, who has had more consistent issues in the last few years, stubbed the ground behind the golf ball on a number of shots this week, and half-skulled a few others while trying to avoid the same result. We can pass it off as “rust,” but we have seen it from him before. So let’s talk about it for a bit.
The “yips,” as they are known, are one of the most frustrating problems that plague golfers, particularly professional golfers. The physical causes of the yips are well known; this is not some esoteric information known only to great players and coaches. We all know the physical reasons, but the yips are not simply a physical problem. In fact, the physical might be a small part of the problem. The biggest part is the mental.
Everyone reading this has yipped a chip, and we all know that the very next time that shot presents itself we are thinking about the yip. It’s difficult (if not impossible) to dismiss that last shot from the mind. And if it happens more than once, or more than few times, it might be permanently on one’s mind. That’s a huge problem if you play the game for a living. Brandel Chamblee, with whom I have publicly disagreed in the past, has a theory on this. He believes no great player has ever really gotten over the condition. I can’t say if that’s true or not, but it may be.
It’s been said, (I have read that Sam Snead might have said it first, but who knows where these things ever really come from) about the yips: “Once you’ve had ’em, you’ve got ’em.” How’s that for a scary thought? Who knows if it’s true, but one thing I do know is this; golf always seems to go for the jugular!
It seems as though every time I have ever stubbed a chip shot, very soon, if not the very next hole, I have to hit another chip from a tight lie. If I’ve just missed a short putt, very soon, if not the next hole, it also seems like I’ll knock it 5 feet past the hole. And what am I thinking about? You guessed it, the last missed short putt. So no amount of mental discipline seems to overcome these evil thoughts.
Hitting the ground behind the ball on a short shot is caused by one or any combinations of the following:
- The leading edge of the wedge sticking in the ground
- An early release with a closing face
- Swaying off the ball
- A path that is too inside-out (too far from the inside)
But as I noted, every tour player and coach KNOWS this all too well. The same player who once chipped in from behind the 16th green at Augusta with a Green Jacket on the line yipped some sticky chips last week. To me, that is not rust or a mechanical problem; it’s a mental one. I would like some professional psychologist or mind-discipline expert to chime in to advise all of us on how to overcome this problem. It’s easy enough to say: “Forget about it, stay present, play the shot at hand only.” But that seems almost impossible, or at the very least, difficult to do. “Don’t think about yipping this shot” is almost a sure fire way to do just that. It’s a vicious cycle.
If it’s on Tiger’s mind, the rest of us are in big trouble. Let’s hope Chamblee is wrong, but I have to wonder. Remember the down time in golf far exceeds any other game. We are on the golf course 4+ hours, and in the act of swinging a club a total of only about two minutes. The rest of the time is thinking about swinging the club, and the outcomes. And unfortunately what we usually think about is the WORST shot we have hit in a situation, not the best. And when that shot is a short, chip from a tight-lie, well, that’s when the yips resurface.
The mechanical is correctable, but the mental is long-lasting.
Editor’s Note: “Once you’ve had em, you’ve got em” is attributed to Henry Longhurst (h/t @peterkessler)
Aronimink is not a storied club, but when Donald Ross himself proclaimed it to be as good as he can design and build, one had to take notice. Jay Sigel was the pre-eminent male amateur golfer from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He might have called any number of Philadelphia clubs home, but he chose Aronimink. It served him well. Gary Player won a PGA Championship here in 1962, and was followed by the 1993 winner … nobody. Aronimink gave that event away to Inverness, for reasons of which it is certainly not proud. So be it. We had to wait sixty-four years for the PGA to return to Newtown Square, but here we are. Aronimink has been neo-restored by Gil Hanse and team, to return Ross features with an eye toward defense against the dark arts, errrr, high-tech equipment.
Day one saw Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau dig big holes, to the tune of plus-four and plus-six, respectively. Since the first-round lead will be minus-three at worst, many shots will need to be made up for the power couple to reach contention. By nightfall, seven golfers held the day-one lead at three-under par 67. Shots and sticks caught our attention, and we are proud to present Five Things We Learned on Tech Thursday at the 2026 PGA Championship. Thanks to InsideTourGolfer, Today’s Golfer, and GolfWRX for initial equipment research.
First, meet Min Woo Lee
Min Woo Lee, aka Dr. Chipinski, has once again thrust himself into the conversation of Can he, will he, when will he? Lee has so much talent, wins not nearly as often as we believe that he should, and has no major near-misses (much less titles) on his wiki. The young Aussie is getting older and wiser, but is he able to avoid the scarring that holds the older and wiser back from breaking through? Philadelphia offers another opportunity. Min Woo signed for five birdies and two bogeys on day one, and grabbed a share of the opening-day lead at Aronimink. Winners transcend history and the moment, and Lee will need that sort of ascent to lift the Wannamaker on Sunday.
Second, meet Aldrich Potgeiter
The young South African golfer can rip driver with the best of them. Aronimink tips out at nearly 7400 yards, but beyond the fairway bunkers that ensnare only the mortals, Potgeiter can take his chances with wedge from the rough. On Thursday, he spent plenty of time in the spinach. Like Popeye, he used his muscles to gouge and thrash and dig his way out. Six birdies against three bogeys on the card brought AP in a three deep.
Third, meet Martin Kaymer
Not a major event takes place without a where’s he been throwback moment. We know that Martin Kaymer left the PGA and DP World tours for LIV golf, but the two-time (US Open and PGA) major winner has a lifetime exemption into at least one major event, and he seizes the opportunity each May. Kaymer joined the six-seven brigade with four birdies and a solitary bogey on day one. Kaymer was never a long hitter, and the years are kind to no golfer. The German champion will need to uncork every bottle of guile and strategy in his cabinet to remain in contention. For today, though, he occupies a rung on the ladder of Tour Tech.
Fourth, meet Scottie Scheffler
Let’s see, he’s the defending champion at the PGA, and he found his way back to the top tier with five birdies against two bogeys. To be a favorite and then play up to that stature and expectation is quite difficult. Just ask Rory, Bryson, and some of the other pre-tournament heartthrobs. Scheffler’s game is complete, and to knock him off the OWGR #1 pedestal, one needs to defeat him at the majors. Aronimink is the sort of course that fits Scheffler’s game. Better yet, it unfits the game of many of his challengers. Don’t expect Scheffler to go away anytime soon. Come Sunday, he’ll be around.
Fifth, meet Stephan Jaeger
Clocking in for the unheralded players shift are Ryo Hisatsune and Stephan Jaeger. Hisatsune logged seven birdies on day one, but gave most of them back with four bogeys. Still, he’s tied at the top for a time. Jaeger pitched five birdies against two bogeys, including a run of three consecutive, from holes four through six. Odds are that one of the two will hang around through 36 holes. Odds also suggest that both will be gone by Saturday evening. Still, the PGA Championship has historically been the major most likely to be won by an under-known. Both Hisatsune and Jaeger feature on that list, so good luck, lads!
On this episode of the Club Junkie Podcast, I head to the Titleist Performance Institute for a full driver fitting with the new Titleist GTS lineup. We dive into the fitting process, talk about what made the biggest difference in performance, and break down how the different GTS heads and shaft combinations compare on the launch monitor. If you are thinking about a new driver setup for this season, there is a lot to take away from this one.
I also get into Brooks Koepka and the gear setup he brought to the PGA Championship, including the putters that caught my eye during the week. There are some interesting equipment trends showing up at the highest level right now and we break down what stands out.
To wrap things up, I talk about reshafting a few wedges, what I learned during the process, and swapping an adaptor onto a new shaft for another build project in the shop. A gear packed episode from start to finish for anyone who loves golf equipment and club building.
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Excited for this week’s WITB as we get to add the new Titleist GTS woods to the bag! I was fit at Titleist’s TPI facility in Oceanside California a few weeks ago and my new clubs just showed up. I am also adding a cool set of irons that I built last year some wild custom wedges into a new golf bag. Speaking of the bag I have a new Ghost Anyday Black Ops stand bag that I will be using on my Motocaddy Remote M7 electric cart.
Driver: Titleist GTS3 (11 degrees @ 10.25)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 6s
3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD CQ-7s
5-wood: Titleist GTS (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
9-wood: Titleist GT1 (24 degress)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Red 7s
Irons: Bettinardi CB24 (5-PW)
Shafts: KBS C-Taper Lite 110 stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (50-09 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (56-12 SB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Wedge: TaylorMade MG5 (60-08 LB)
Shaft: Mitsubishi MMT 125 Stiff
Putter: Dan Carraher ZT Proto
Ball: Callaway Chrome Tour
Bag: Ghost Anyday Black Ops Stand Bag
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Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here. Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX 3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)...
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Happy Golfer
Dec 11, 2017 at 11:16 am
One way to cure the Yips is the practice more! And this is the BEST way to improve your short game right here – PerfectShotGolfLoft.com . Anyone who practices with the Golf Loft will see short game improvement after only a couple days, worked for me and it can work for you too!
DrRob1963
Dec 8, 2017 at 4:10 am
My wife really helped her chipping with one of those Callaway Xact 37* Chipper clubs. Maybe Tiger needs one of them. The Missus will let him borrow hers if he wants to try it out!
Ken Parker
Dec 6, 2017 at 5:38 pm
Hi,
I’ve had the FULL SWING YIPS for over 4 years, every club in the bag, every takeaway was a yip including putter.
I’m not cured, but I worked out a pre-shot routine that now enables me to hit the ball yip-free and have been able to get my handicap to between 1.9 to 4.9, best I ever did before was 4-7 hcp.
EVERY SWING NOW FEELS LIKE MY PRACTICE SWING.
I have an explanation of how I created a pre-shot routine that works but as it’s detailed, will elaborate further if requested.
Billy Bondaruk
Dec 6, 2017 at 1:39 pm
I was once involved with the study on the ups and the doctor told us all about how much information our eyes pick up or take in to our brain Yep’s can be directly related to a car accident in fact there was a woman once came out of a coma she was broadsided going through a red light and when she came out of the coma she told the doctors that she could describe the gentleman that hit her she gave a direct description all the way down to his beard on rim glasses yellow polkadot tie she could perhaps one and a half seconds to see him because he had her going 45 to 50 miles an hour The Siri is the Bentley having missed show it to a 3 foot pod or flub the chip out of the nest egg Or tight lie…. your eyes see the movement of the club coming towards the ball and the mind jumps in and sends messages thru proprioceptor‘s to your forearms and hands ….The yips are real and I agree with you that they are 99% mental having been a teaching Pro for many years and played at tour levels…. 2006 PGA teacher of the year northern California I have discovered some ways to free your golf game of the yips…. What I’ve come up with is you have to find a way to use your bigger muscles your body and body rotation to hit these delicate shots but I don’t think that type of movement will ever create the fantastic shots we have experienced Tiger woods hit with the feel of his hands and arms… the technique I speak of will only get you through a round of golf without feeling completely terrible about yourself
Ian Harris
Dec 6, 2017 at 11:43 am
Disagree 100%. The yips are not mental they are physical. Focal dystonia.
Christopher Smith
Dec 6, 2017 at 11:34 am
Dennis,
Nice piece, thank you for bringing this important (and highly misunderstood issue) to readers’ view. To your point, vital – like with all in this day and age of info overload by ‘supposed’ experts (let us all “consider the sources,” please) – to better educate ourselves on the topic:
– Important to note that in fact there are different TYPES of yips. Some more physical, some more psychological; but then again – the mind/body are ONE, after all. Indeed, eventually they have a taste of both. Peruse this re Andre Drummond, and his foul-shooting yips – and how he addressed them: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/21332122/nba-andre-drummond-dramatic-free-throw-improvement-driven-back-basics-approach?ex_cid=espnapi_public
– YES – ask a TRUE expert. I have had the privilege of working and learning from both Dr. Debbie Crews (multiple studies on the yips at the Mayo Clinic) and Dr. Christian Marquardt (creator of the SAM PuttLab – and the individual who helped Hank Haney with his driver yips back in the day…). You want legit info on the realities, causes and ‘treatments’ of the yips, as opposed to the wandering guesses of the talking heads on the broadcasts? Ask these two, among others.
– Pure technique-wise, thank you for bringing up the dangers of the leading edge of the club contacting the ground first. It’s why there is an inverted sole on wedges (bounce), to facilitate the trailing edge striking the ground first. If that trailing edge strikes the grass or ground first, it continues to move forward – instead of sticking/stubbing or digging. Ball back, hands ahead/shaft leaning forward (especially on an uphill lie, like we saw with most gross miss-hits in Albany) and handle-dragging thru impact is a fantastic recipe for miss-hits and yes, eventual yips. Suggestion? practice your short shots off an actual putting green, without taking a divot, while still getting the ball up in the air. It’s what Seve and many of his modern-day disciples did/do.
Best,
CS
– “Forget about it, stay present, play the shot at hand only.” But that seems almost impossible, or at the very least, difficult to do.
Amen, brother! No, it doesn’t work, does it now? At least, not for very long. This is the preferred ‘shtick’ offered by traditional sports psychologists, who deal only with the CONSCIOUS mind. Unfortunately for the yipper – the issue (like with the motor program that is any golf swing) resides primarily in the UNCONSCIOUS part of the mind/brain/body system. So, this advice, in addition to being temporary – does not address the CAUSE of the yipping issue. Yet another golfing band-aid…
Jack Nash
Dec 6, 2017 at 11:00 am
Of course he has the Chyps. Watch how Fowler chipped compared to Woods. Woods could easily solve part of the problem by adding a bit more bounce on his wedge.
justin case
Dec 6, 2017 at 10:58 am
This article and others are a little off. First, the lies were not *tight*, they were into the grain. Grainy bermuda is no fun to attempt pitches to firm, fast greens.
Secondly, I played over 15 PGA tour events in 89-93. While an excellent chipper, my weakness was pitching the golf ball and limited my playing success at the higher level. I later developed full-on pitch yips. After working on some various pressure points of my grip, I now have command of even the toughest pitches. It makes golf so much more fun. Tiger, and anybody else, can figure this stuff out and I think he will.
Jarlaxle
Dec 5, 2017 at 11:38 am
Matt Kuchar’s caddie had an excellent take on this, called the chipping conditions this week the hardest he has ever seen in over 20 years on tour. Every article I’ve seen starts with the same premise… “Everyone else had trouble… but Tiger had more than most so something is wrong”.
The guy is coming off of back surgery and has had a golf club in his hands for maybe about 10 weeks. This was his first tournament back, playing in the hardest possible conditions imaginable… of course he’s going to hit some turds.
Why don’t we give him a few months of pain free practice/playing and a few tournaments under more typical playing conditions before we conclude that he has an incurable case of the yips.
JM
Dec 5, 2017 at 6:50 am
Dennis Clark,
Let me first say that your articles are well done. I have to disagree with this one though. Sure he hit a few poor chips, from what I saw this doen’t qualify as the yips. After all, how many people who have the chipping yips chip it off the green to tap in range? I think chipping it off of the green is the last thought that enters a players mind if they have the chipping yips.
I feel he fixed the majority of any chipping issues a few years ago. After he had all the issues in Phoenix, he purposely made his appearance around the chipping green at the Masters hitting various chips, pitches, and flops, all while the Golf Channel’s Live From was being filmed. They all marveled how much better it was.
I’m not saying it was as good as he once was around the greens but I think maybe yips is a little harsh.
RBImGuy
Dec 5, 2017 at 6:15 am
This is the Sean Foley failed teachings showing up in Tigers game
Nat
Dec 5, 2017 at 1:24 am
Tiger’s skulled chip shots are due to his over-developed arms and popeye forearms from all those muscle building curls. He’s lost his ‘touch’ that he had when he was normal and not all juiced up on hgh and protein shakes.
All that pumping iron is the root cause of his messed up swing. Now that he’s aging and starting to look like his father with a paunch, he’s going to get fat as his muscles turn to lard, and before our very eyes…. believe it….
Ian Harris
Dec 6, 2017 at 11:44 am
Really???????
Acemandrake
Dec 4, 2017 at 6:43 pm
Be decisive & content with your shot choice.
Don’t decelerate!
Hawkeye77
Dec 4, 2017 at 5:42 pm
Watched quite a bit of the coverage, didn’t see the multiple “half skulled” chips that are being suggested, but maybe there were. Saw a couple sticky ones for sure and wonder about his technique given he doesn’t seem to “release” and be as bounce friendly as some others – is there a technique issue? Foley sure seemed to change his chipping technique to making the leading edge more of an issue.