Yips

Yips, or The yips is an expression describing an apparently baseless sudden loss of ability in one of a number of different sports.

Professional or leading amateur sportsmen affected by the Yips sometimes recover their ability, sometimes compensate by changing technique, or may be forced to abandon their sport at the highest level.

In golf

In golf, the yips is a movement disorder known to interfere with putting. The term yips is said to have been popularized by Tommy Armour — a golf champion and later golf teacher — to explain the difficulties that led him to abandon tournament play. In describing the yips, golfers have used terms such as twitches, staggers, jitters and jerks.

The yips affects between one-quarter and one-half of all mature golfers. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that 33 percent to 48 percent of all serious golfers have experienced the yips. Golfers who have played for more than 25 years appear to be most prone to the condition. Golfers seriously afflicted by the yips include Bernhard Langer, Ben Hogan, Harry Vardon, and Sam Snead, whose late-career putting was "painful to watch" according to fellow pro golfer Ben Crenshaw .

Although the exact cause of the yips has yet to be determined, one possibility is that, in some golfers, the condition may result from biochemical changes in the brain that accompany aging. Excessive use of the involved muscles and intense demands of coordination and concentration may make the problem worse. Focal dystonia is mentioned as another possibility for the real cause of yips.

The yips are most commonly associated with putting, and renowned golf coach Hank Haney has written a book specific to the subject in his 2007 “Fix the Yips Forever”. He is best known as the current coach of world number one player Tiger Woods. Haney goes on to explain in his book that the yips are not restricted to putting but are also a common, although often undiagnosed, problem amongst advanced players resulting in chipping yips and full swing yips.

In cricket

In cricket, the yips applies mostly to bowlers and seems predominantly to affect left-arm spinners. The affliction seems to involve bowlers having trouble releasing the ball at the end of their action. A notable recent example of this was Keith Medlycott, who was forced to abandon the sport, having reached the England squad. Another player, Gavin Hamilton, having played a Test as an all-rounder, largely abandoned his right-arm medium pace bowling, following the yips. He did not make another Test appearance, but has enjoyed a One Day International career for Scotland, predominantly as a specialist batsman.

In other sports

The yips also affects other sports, including Australian rules football (Nick Riewoldt, a StKilda AFL player also suffers from the kicking yips.), baseball (Mike Pelfrey) and Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher (Steve Blass) who was sent down to the minors to rid himself of the yips, i., e., "Steve Blass Disease" diagnosis is applied to talented players who inexplicably and permanently seem to lose their ability, basketball (Chuck Hayes' free throw shot) and tennis (Guillermo Coria and Elena Dementieva are examples). In darts the yips are known as dartitis, with five-time world champion Eric Bristow as the best example.

In popular culture

In 2007, the yips were a major part of the plot line of an episode of How I Met Your Mother, a CBS comedy. The episode was titled "The Yips," and uses the yips as a metaphor for the character Barney's sudden difficulties in hitting on women.

The yips were featured in 2009 on an episode of Psych, a comedy on USA Network. The episode, "Shawn Gets the Yips," shows the main character, Shawn, in need of a sports psychologist because he apparently suffers from the yips.

The 4th episode of the Psychology anime K%C5%ABch%C5%AB Buranko involves a patient suffering the Yips.

In Season 5 Episode 1 of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry discovers that the doctor performing surgery on his father has the yips during a game of golf.

Translation

The word "Yips" occurs as such in the following languages: English, German, French.

Translation in Japanese: イップス.