For me I need some movement/trigger and not waiting too long. Years ago I had trouble just hitting an iron. I went for a lesson and the pro had me set up with a 5 iron (which I could not hit off the deck at all) and he rolled balls to me. I consistently flushed towering draws one after the other. He looked at me and said “you’re just getting ball bound, but when I make you react then you swing perfectly like you would playing baseball”. I realized that for every shot I had to find a way to set up and go. It reminds me of learning to be a good free throw shooter playing basketball as a kid. I needed to step up, bounce the ball a couple of times and go. It was like a 1-piece motion and the ball would swish. My best golf shots are like that no matter if it’s full swing, pitch or putt.
Very interesting. What do you use as your movement set up these days on iron shots and putts
Start here:
Iron shots it’s a waggle or 2 sort of like Dufner. For putts I take a last look at the hole and then go, but I have been playing around with rocking my feet a bit. I’m still working on the putting and I feel like I may need a bit more motion or a better trigger before making the stroke.
(Opens thread…closes thread)
No worries, I think the evidence is pretty conclusive by now that the yips aren’t contagious …probably…almost definitely, probably, most likely not contagious …maybe.
Let’s see…first I went left hand low, and that worked for several years. Then I went back to conventional. That was good for another year. Now I’m arm-lock putting. That seems to be the best.
Whenever this discussion comes up I just tell people to look at pro golfers. They are equally mystified by putting and often make changes quite often. Putting is just that hard!
Tiger is famous for exactly 1 putter (plus some Nikes that don’t really get named), but check out his club wall:
Guaranteed he’s hit a bunch of putts with every single one of those putters, searching for “something”, but they still never saw tournament greens.
That’s a lot of clubs (putters especially). Can I get a one day pass to select whatever I want?
Pretty sure that’s the wall near the indoor putting lab. He also has a full club workshop with more stuff.
Get opposite-handed 7iron & putter. Guaranteed!
I’ll keep preaching. Putt while looking at the hole…that will cure the yips (in my opinion)…no technical thoughts, just feeling the hole. “Instinct Putting” - Eric Alpenfels
Did this ever get resolved?
I don’t have any great advice outside of focus on tempo and don’t worry about the ball… it should be in the way of your stroke, and not something you are trying to hit.
Another one i like is your trigger is “it is OK to miss”
Unconscious spot putting routine helps a ton imo
Pick a spot… roll it over the spot… it is ok to miss
The yips are the body flinching and anticipating the hit
If you google george gankas putting you can watch him talk about the “ok to miss” trigger
I was really struggling with my putting a while back and I’m not quite sure I had the yips, but I was probably well on my way. I had found something using Left Hand Low for say 15 ft and in and a regular grip for longer putts (LHL on New England public greens is hard to get the ball to the hole), but that cure didn’t last. The pro told me to pick one grip and then practice pushing the ball to the hole or a target. Initially I found pushing the ball really difficult as I just wanted to pull the putter back and hit the ball, but I kept doing it and it really helped me. It helps take away my urge to hit the ball and to make a smoother stroke. If I don’t use the drill (and some others) regularly though the old tendencies start to come back.
I pray, then practice drills, see a minister or clergy person, pray some more! Then go to the course practice, pray and hope!
If you want to stop the yips, stop yipping
-Dustin Johnson
The Congregation of Hit-n-Hope. Amen, brethren!