A multidisciplinary study of the 'yips' phenomenon in golf - An exploratory analysis

Background: The 'yips' is a psychoneuromuscular impediment affecting execut ion of the putting stroke in golf Yips symptoms of jerks, tremors and freez ing often occur during tournament golf and may cause performance problems. Yips-affected golfers add approximately 4.7 strokes to their scores for 18 holes of golf, and have more forearm electromyogram activity and higher com petitive anxiety than nonaffected golfers in both high and low anxiety putt ing conditions; The aetiology of the yips is not clear. Objective: To determine whether the yips is a neurological problem exacerba ted by anxiety, or whether the behaviour is initiated by anxiety and result s in a permanent neuromuscular impediment. Methods: In phase I, golf professionals assisted investigators in developin g a yips questionnaire that was sent to tournament players (< 12 handicap) to establish the prevalence and characteristics of the yips. Phase II measu red putting behaviour in scenarios that contribute to the yips response. Fo ur self-reported yips and 3 nonaffected golfers putted 3 scenarios using an uncorrected grip and a standard length putter Heart rate was superimposed on the videotape and the putter grip was instrumented with strain gauges to measure grip force. Electromyograms and relative putting performance were also measured. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 2630 tournament players, of whom 103 1 (39%) responded (986 men and 45 women). Of these, 541 (52%) perceived the y experienced the yips compared with 490 (48%) who did not. Yips-affected g olfers reported that the most troublesome putts were 3, 4 and 2 feet (0.9, 1.2 and 0.6 metres) from the hole. Fast, downhill, left-to-right breaking p utts and tournament play also elicited the yips response. Golfers affected by the yips had a faster mean heart rate, increased electromyogram activity patterns and exerted more grip force than nonaffected golfers and had a po orer putting performance. Conclusions: For <10 handicap male golfers and <12 handicap female golfers, the prevalence of the yips is between 32.5% and 47.7%, a high proportion o f serious golfers. This high prevalence suggests that medical practitioners need to understand the aetiology of the yips phenomenon so that interventi ons can be identified and tested for effectiveness in alleviating symptoms. Although previous investigators concluded that the yips isa neuromuscular impediment aggravated but not caused by anxiety, we believe the yips repres ents a continuum on which 'choking' (anxiety-related) and dystonia symptoms anchor the extremes. The aetiology may well be an interaction of psychoneu romuscular influences. Future research to test the effect of medications su ch as <beta>-blockers should assist in better identifying the contributions these factors make to the yips phenomenon.