{"id":2668,"date":"2005-05-22T11:06:05","date_gmt":"2005-05-22T11:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports_psychology_blog\/?p=2668"},"modified":"2025-06-16T05:43:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T09:43:30","slug":"six-mental-game-steps-for-beating-the-chipping-yips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksports.com\/sports-psychology-blog\/six-mental-game-steps-for-beating-the-chipping-yips\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Mental Game Steps for Beating the Chipping Yips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are the yips caused by a mental or physical problem<\/strong>? The debate is still ongoing and the answer depends on if you are a mental game coach or a swing instructor. Occasionally, I will have students that seek me out because they have what they think are the chipping yips. Similar to the putting yips, but with a different club obviously, the chipping yips occur when a play perceives as if he is stabbing or jerking at the ball upon impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some players describe it as an uncontrollable stab at the ball, beyond conscious intervention such as an automatic response that they have no control over. However one describes the yips, it still a menace for some unlucky golfers and can be very embarrassing at the least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last weekend at the New Orleans PGA Tour event, you saw a Tour Pro using a cross handed grip with his chipping clubs because he had the yips. So even the best players in the world can get the chipping yips and it is not a phenomenon exclusive only to senior players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some instructors, such as Hank Haney say that the chipping yips<\/strong> are caused more by poor technique than a poor mindset. By changing your grip, such as how you grip the putter (to take out the wrist in putting), golfers can cure the putting yips Haney confesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a different take on the yips and in this case, the chipping yips<\/strong>. I think the yips start with fear\u2014fear of hitting a bad shot, fear of being embarrassed, or any other fear you can imagine. The fear causes more golfers to try too hard to make a good stroke or at the very least over control the stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My philosophy is that trying too hard and over control lead to a feeling of jerking the hands or club at impact. I have had success with students on trying to be less conscious of the stroke and more feel oriented. Sure, good technique is very important in all phases of the game, but no matter how good your form is, fear and over control will get in the way of the most technically sound stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/span>Here are six tips getting beyond the chipping yips:<\/span><\/h2>
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