Diagnosing and measuring the yips in golf putting: A kinematic description of the involuntary movement component that is the yips.

Abstract

The yips is an involuntary movement disrupting the smooth motion of the golf putting stroke. The study's aim was to provide an objective measurement of the yips by identifying and quantifying the kinematic parameters of the involuntary movement component. Additionally, muscle activity of the forearm was compared between yips-affected and unaffected putts. The study uses a within-subject design, which allows the comparison of yipsaffected putts with unaffected putts within the same participant. Six yips-affected and 6 unaffected experienced golfers performed 90 putts each alternating between both hands, the right hand only, and the left hand only. The putts were performed on an artificial indoor green and alternated between putts with ball and putts without ball. The putting motion was captured using a 12-camera VICON system. Additionally, muscle activity of forearm flexor and extensor groups was measured on both arms. It was found that the yips were provoked 100% reliably when putting the ball with the dominant hand only. The yips largely disappeared when there was no ball. Moreover, kinematic analyses show that a higher maximal rotation velocity and a larger number of directional changes in the affected wrist's rotation clearly distinguished the yips-affected from unaffected putts. The EMG results revealed no significant differences between yips-affected and unaffected putts. Overall the results show that putting the ball with the dominant hand only reliably provokes the yips that can be measured by the wrist's rate of rotation and the number of the rotation's directional changes.

Preliminary Evidence for the Treatment of Performance Blocks in Sport: The Efficacy of EMDR With Graded Exposure

“…Treatment for performance blocks has largely composed of cognitive behavioral techniques and/or technical modifications to the affected skills such as visualization, self-talk, changing hand grip on the golf club, eliminating a specific rotation from a dive (Philippen, Legler, Land, Schuetz, & Schack, 2014). If performance blocks are indeed psychologically centered, somewhat subconscious, and associated with significant life events, it is essential to explore treatment methods that purposefully target these factors.…”

Perception of yips among professional Japanese golfers: perspectives from a network modelled approach

“…First, any overload, strain or fatigue in the affected muscle groups would be countered using short ‘days-off’ from the training schedule. Second, this would favor relearning distance control and shot adjustments as a form of sensory retraining that is suggested to limit yips 4 , 5 , 13 . At this stage, golfers are recommended to have a close engagement with a professional coach and a medical practitioner to help monitor any worsening of symptoms that may affect grip strength, joint mechanics, or muscle co-contractions.…”

Analysis of Lower-hand Wrist Flexion and Twist of the Mallet Head in a Croquet Shot

“…Many international level players twist their mallet in the backswing, however the majority of these players have noted the difficulty of recovering their accuracy during a "bad patch" of play. This includes incidences of the "yips", firmly established in golf [3] and also an affliction of many croquet players. Further, beginner and club level players who do not have a straight swing struggle to develop the ability to consistently hit a croquet ball in the desired direction.…”