Talk:Yips

Yips is a movement disorder long known to interfere with putting, the "yips" affect between one-fourth and one-half of all mature golfers (Smith et al., 2000). 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.

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 posibility for the real cause of yips.

And the yips phenomenon may not be limited to golfers. Similar neurological and anxiety-like conditions affect other athletes, musicians, health care workers — such as dentists — and more.

This may explain why a baseball player suddenly throws wildly on once-easy throws, a musician's fingers become stiff and unresponsive during a performance, or a writer has trouble writing longhand.

Also affects other sports, mainly cricket and tennis. Guillermo Coria, tennis player from argentina, who was number 3 in the world, appears to suffer yips in his service.

The term yips is said to have been popularized by Tommy Armour — a golf champion, 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.

In Popular Culture?

I dunno if this should even be in the article but... it was referenced in How I Met Your Mother.

tinlv7 [Please copy a response here] 06:09, 15 July 2009 (UTC)