Yips

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Under Yip is meant especially for golfers occurring sudden involuntary, jerky muscle spasms , particularly in Putten occur. Movement analyzes in golfers affected by Yips have shown that the Yips manifest themselves through an involuntary rotation of the wrist of the dominant hand around the point where the ball hits. Electromyographic studies have shown higher muscle activity of the affected forearm in Yips-affected putts compared to Yips-free putts.

Very good amateur golfers ( handicap below 12) and professionals are particularly affected . But there are also reports from beginners about the yips when putting. According to a 2014 prevalence estimate, 22.4% of 1,366 golfers surveyed are affected in Germany. The proportion of those affected increases to 45.2% if only golfers with a handicap below 10 and female golfers with a handicap below 12 are included. So it seems like the yips are related to increasing golfing ability. This assumption is supported by previous US studies.

Once affected by Yips, they do not have to occur constantly - the stress during competition does not seem to trigger the disease directly, but it does at least make it worse. However, some studies also report affected golfers who experience the yips with every putt. For professional golfers, the disease can mean the end of their careers. Golfers affected by Yips report high emotional stress from the movement disorder. Other sports in which the phenomenon can be observed are bowling , darts and snooker .

The cause of Yips has not yet been fully clarified. Initially, motor disorders caused by " stage fright " were assumed to be the cause. The cause of the Yips is now believed to be on a continuum between two poles. On the one hand, a psychological phenomenon known as choking under pressure is suspected. On the other hand, one suspects focal dystonia (similar to a musician's or writer's cramp ) as the cause. More recent assumptions assume that the Yips symptoms are a dysfunctional consequence for the outcome of the action from an interference between cognitive (conscious) and coordinatively automated (unconscious) factors.

The treatment is difficult due to the lack of clear causes and ranges from mental training with relaxation, visualization, positive thinking and drug treatments to what is currently probably the most effective solution: changing the putting movement (for example with the help of a longer putter ) to use the shoulder muscles more.

The three-time major winner Tommy Armor is considered to be the one who coined the name "Yips". Because of the complaints, he ended his professional career at the age of 41. Other prominent golfers who have been plagued by Yips for at least part of their careers include Sam Snead , Arnold Palmer , Tom Watson and Tony Jacklin . Bernhard Langer's career was almost ended several times by the Yips. In 1988, for example, he needed five strokes from a meter away in the fourth round of the British Open at hole 17 to get the ball into the hole. By switching to the so-called broomstick putter with a long shaft, he got the complaints under control.

A similar phenomenon is the so-called target panic , formerly called gold fever , in archery . The archer perceives his bow as unusually heavy to draw out and can hardly draw it out to the anchor point and thus releases a very unclean shot. Or it blocks at a certain point of the extension like on an insurmountable wall and does not reach its extension length , but remains at this "wall" - it does not get a shot at all. Or it is impossible for him to pull out to anchor without releasing the arrow beforehand - a miss occurs.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Moritz Fischer: Motor organization and dystonic disorders in a short golf game. The "Yips" phenomenon . Dissertation. Munich 2007, p. 1. (PDF)
  2. ↑ a b P. B. Philippen, A. Legler, W. Land, C. Schuetz, T. Schack: Diagnosing and measuring the yips in golf putting: A kinematic description of the involuntary component that is the yips. In: Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology. 3, 2014, pp. 149–162.
  3. ↑ CM Stinear, JP Coxon, MK Fleming, VK Lim, H. Prapavessis, WD Byblow: The yips in golf: Multimodal evidence for two subtypes. In: Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 38, 2006, pp. 1980-1989. PMID 17095933 .
  4. ↑ MK Klämpfl, PB Philippen, BH Lobinger: Self-report vs. kinematic screening test: prevalence, demographics, and sports biography of yips-affected golfers. In: Journal of Sports Sciences. 2014. doi: 10.1080 / 02640414.2014.961026 .
  5. ↑ AM Smith, SA Malo, ER Laskowski, M. Sabick et al: A multidisciplinary study of the yips phenomenon in golf: An exploratory analysis. In: Sports Medicine. 30, 2000, pp. 423-437. PMID 11132124 .
  6. ↑ a b P. B. Philippen, BH Lobinger: Understanding yips in golf: Thoughts, feelings, and focus of attention in yips-affected golfers. In: The Sport Psychologist. 26, 2012, pp. 325-340. ( Archive link ( Memento from November 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive )).
  7. ^ Moritz Fischer: Motor organization and dystonic disorders in a short golf game. The "Yips" phenomenon. Dissertation. Munich 2007, pp. 74f. (PDF)
  8. ↑ AM Smith, CH Adler, D. Crews, RE Wharen, ER Laskowski et al .: The yips in golf: A continuum between a focal dystonia and choking. In: Sports Medicine. 33, 2003, pp. 13-31. PMID 12477375 .
  9. ^ PB Philippen: Errors in skilled complex actions: Psychological, biomechanical, and neurophysiological assessments of the yips in golf putting. University Library, Bielefeld 2012. ( pub.uni-bielefeld.de )
  10. ^ G. Kleffmann, T. Lötz: Golf. The book. Süddeutsche Zeitung Edition, 2009, pp. 91–92.
  11. ↑ Between the ears . In: Der Spiegel . No. 34 , 1988, pp. 149-152 ( online - August 22, 1988 ).