This article has been republished by permission.
Ever since the game was first played in the Scottish Highlands, yips have plagued countless golfers by throwing off their putt or chip. The bane of sports psychologists everywhere, yips cause nervous tremors, jitters, and shakes throughout the body. For a sport as reliant on fine motor activity as golf, yips can ruin even the most advanced golfer’s game.
If you spend a lot of time on the greens, chances are you have at least met someone who has been negatively affected by the chipping yips. According to some experts, yipping is an inevitable side effect of spending a lot of time under repetitive stress. Sports such as golf and baseball require lots of repetitive movements which cause the joints and nerves in the body to wear down.
Biomechanics are complicated. Unfortunately, we cannot provide tips or tricks for properly dialing in your chipping form or swing to help prevent yips. But, luckily for you, we can provide some helpful remedies for treating the yips and alleviating your symptoms before they turn into a debilitating ailment.
Are you ready to find out how to get rid of yips and restore your golf game to its former glory? In this article, our experts go over the top remedies for yips, some tips for preventing yips from setting in, and some advice to help keep yips at bay in the future. With these tips in mind, you can rest assured knowing that the dreaded yips will never throw off your performance.
What Are Yips?
The term “yips” was first coined by the Scottish golfer Tommy Armour, who used it to describe what he assumed to be a mental condition that threw off his putting. However, yips now encompasses much more than simply short game impairment, and it can even refer to more sports than golf alone, including basketball, darts, and baseball.
Although the word yipping is most commonly used to refer to a missed putt due to shaking or nervous twitching, a yip can affect any part of one’s performance during a round of golf. Whether you are teeing off or tapping in a birdie, if your shot is thrown off by uncontrollable shaking or tremors, then you may be suffering from yips.
The yips is a condition known to both veterans and novices alike and can affect everything from the putting stroke to the chip shot, as well as mental toughness. For instance, newcomers to the greens who have not yet gotten used to the pressures of a high-intensity course might come down with a severe acute case of the yips. However, even PGA Tour pros like Ben Hogan have had to walk away from the game due to the yips too.
Is There a Cure for the Yips?
Sadly, there is no bona fide way of curing the yips. Instead, there are only treatments available. However, in most cases, these treatment methods are extremely effective in reducing the severity of yips symptoms.
If you talk to old-school golfers, they might mention substances like rosehip oil or omega-3 fatty acids for helping deal with the yips while on the putting green. But, the sad truth is that these so-called remedies are hardly anything more than placebo. (In other words, they don’t do anything to fix the condition.)
For those of you with a bad case of the yips, there is still cause for optimism. This is because there are treatment methods available that have been shown to help thousands of players get their game back to normal—without pharmaceuticals or woo-woo quackery.
Yips and Anxiety
Yipping is a complex phenomenon that affects both the body and mind. However, at its heart, it is a product of anxiety that manifests during one’s round of golf. Therefore, the problem is situated mostly in the mind. Luckily, there are methods for combating performance anxiety so that it doesn’t have to ruin your short game any longer.
If you want to alleviate your anxiety, there are several approaches you can take to reducing your symptoms and getting your game back on track. In each case, they are designed to get you “out of your head” and to allow your subconscious mind to take over. In other words, they are all intended to help get rid of negative self-talk and self-doubt.
Try any of the following tactics for taking control of your performance anxiety and reigning in your conscious mind:
- Breathe in a controlled manner, counting each breath
- Focus on the ball and not the fine-tuning of your shot
- Loosen up by releasing the tension in your body before shooting
- Distract your mind by thinking of something unrelated when lining up your shot
CBD for Anxiety?
Unfortunately, not everyone benefits from a meditation-based treatment of the yips. In some cases, the yips is completely resistant to conscious efforts to release the mind and allow the subconscious to take over. Therefore, in severe cases, it can be helpful to try medicinal substances like cannabidiol, also known as CBD.
In the medical community, CBD is regarded as one of the leading treatments for anxiety disorders. Since the yips is an anxiety-related condition, it makes sense why so many golfers have found relief by using CBD-infused products for treating yips.
Getting Rid of Yips with CBD
If you are serious about treating the yips and getting over the slump that it has put you in, we recommend checking out CBD products for quickly treating the worst yips symptoms. The benefit of using CBD is that it is all-natural, safe, legal, and completely free of THC, which means it cannot get you buzzed or high.
For those new to CBD, we suggest checking out Sunday Scaries Original CBD Gummies for a convenient, great-tasting snack. These chewies are infused with vitamins D3 and B12 for added health benefits and they ship free to all 50 US states. For those who prefer vegan or vegetarian options, the Sunday Scaries Vegan AF CBD Gummies provide a cruelty-free option.
Not a fan of gummies? No worries, Sunday Scaries also offers a CBD Tincture product for easy dosing in the form of droplets. This tasteless, oil-based mixture provides instant relief with all the same benefits as the Sunday Scaries gummies.
