In 2016, winner of 4 Majors and 300 top ten finishes,world famous golfer Ernie Els took six putts to get the ball in the hole at the Masters.
What was his problem? He had a bout of the Yips.
The yips is a golfing term that is usually but not always part of a putting problem whereby any golfer, pro or amateur can have the profoundly disturbing experience of finding the putter being “unconsciously wrenched from it’s intended path” and colliding with the ball in a completely different direction to the one intended.
However it’s not just golfers who can suffer from this experience but snooker players, musicians, darts and bowls players are just a few of the professionals and amateurs who can suddenly find all the delicately honed practice they have done becoming completely unstuck when they attempt to execute that important movement they have been practicing for a lifetime.
Scottish golfer Tommy Armour described the yips as “a brain spasm that impairs the short game” although once a player starts to experience this it is not unusual for it to take root in other parts of their game as well. Even Tiger Woods went through a rough patch with what appeared to be this issue with his short game chipping at one time.So what is going on? Well there are various theories and all I think, have some truth in them.
1/ The brain in effect sends a contradictory message to the body like a “short” across an electrical connection.
2/ That it is caused by anxiety.
3/ It is a form of “Focal Dystonia” a neurological condition that causes involuntary muscular contractions.
As a hypnotherapist it is important for me to look at all the possible reasons and circumstances that are causing the issue but at the end of the day everyone is different. Working on the yips with golfers, bowlers, rifle competitors and snooker players etc. my aim is to find each individual’s unique problem whether a misfire in the “electrical system”, a lack of confidence and/or the remnants of some past experience that has lodged itself in the nervous system. And even all three.
Using a powerful range of trance based tools such as Hypnosis, Emotional Freedom Technique, NLP and EMDR, has given me marvelous and empowering tools that have helped so many clients find the way forward with this issue while still fine tuning this work to an individual’s internal thinking and experience of themselves. And that’s when the changes take place. If you would like to know more please visit my website rogerfoxwell.co.uk Sessions are available online, by phone, and at my office in Glasgow, Scotland
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