Beat the Chipping Yips

By Lawrence Bredenkamp

I have a friend, Alan, who has been battling for years to beat the chipping yips. It's sad to watch Alan when he is next to the green because he is such a talented golfer but his entire body just freezes when he has to chip. Alan is a very talented golfer and plays off a 7. So if he could beat the chipping yips he would be deadly.

He knows the exact day, the exact hole and the very shot that gave him his chipping yips back in August 1998.

Alan's chipping yips are so bad that playing in an Ambrose type format the other day we based our decisions on which ball to play dependant on whether he would have to chip.

The particular format for this competition was as follows:

Each team comprised three players. All three players teed off and the best drive was selected. Once a player's drive had been selected he took no further part in the hole and his two partners played from then on.

Every player had to have at least three of his drives selected during the round.

All in all a fairly simple format but there are 6 par threes on our course, four par fours and four par fives where the regulation approach shots are usually short iron shots - and not full shots at that. This meant there were no less than 14 holes where we needed to avoid having Alan chip.
It proved to be quite a problem on the day.

Yipping in chipping (as in putting) is very much in the mind. It is an uncontrollable release of chemicals through the cranial system that makes someone like Alan freeze as soon as he has to chip. The science of cranial fluids is a complicated subject but it is worth noting that negative emotions (in Alan's case I suspect a subconscious flash back to that day and that shot) cause adverse chemical secretions that hinder your performance. I won't try and explain it here but think of it in terms of the gas in your vehicle - you don't need to know the composition of it - you simply need to know that it works.

The best way to beat the chipping yips is to understand what you are trying to do and with a little bit of practice coupled with the correct coaching you can beat the chipping yips. Essentially erase that memory through continued success. Delete the tape that lurks below the surface and is triggered into "play" mode as soon as a chip shot is faced.

Watching amateur golfers I often suspect we all have a small amount of the chipping yips in us. It's amusing (sometimes) to watch normally confident golfer's entire demeanour change because they suddenly have to play a shot that requires touch. How many times do you take out a putter, for safety sake, when a chip is the correct shot?

If you really want to beat the chipping yips you need to understand the basic chip shot and the correct way to execute it. Once you know what you are supposed to do and then learn how to execute the shot the anxiety of the result is removed.

It is this anxiety that makes Alan freeze, an uncontrollable and irrational fear that what he dreads most will repeat itself every time he chips. Unfortunately that is exactly the result he gets 99% of the time.

If Alan could learn to beat the chipping yips we could do quite well in next years Holden Open competition and make up the point two of a shot that knocked us into third place in a competition where only the winner and runner-up advance through to the regional stage with all expenses paid.

Don't suffer any longer with the chipping yips when you don't have to. In 99% of cases the yips can be overcome, it does take a bit of practice and application but it is not impossible. Do yourself a favor and go to Play The Lie and get the help that allow you to beat the chipping yips for ever.

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