Have you ever experienced the yips while golfing? It's a frustrating phenomenon that causes you to jump at the ball, fight it, and throw the club at it. In this video from our Golf Swing Tips series with Coach Mike, you learn a drill to help get rid of the yips.
Set Up
Use your most lofted wedge to start, no golf ball necessary at first. Next, get into your set up and keep your chest down over the ball.
Soft Arms
Then, take the club up and let it sit, allowing the arms and club to drop. While doing this, it's important to focus on softness and relaxation in your forearms and wrists. You don't want to have any tension as you drop the club to the ground.
Swing Motion
Once you feel comfortable with the process, you can add a little bit of motion. Let gravity drop and swing through a little bit. Then, drop back through and feel the wrist getting more involved.
Timing and Tempo
Next, count one, two, three, four, and five while rotating your chest through. This is a way to get your torso involved in the process.
Hit The Ball
Now that you've practiced without a ball, it's time to add it in. The goal is to hit the ball about ten yards onto the green, but don't worry too much about distance. Instead, focus on being relaxed and letting gravity take the club down. You should see a high, soft shot come out if you've done it successfully. It may take some time to get the hang of it, but the key is to focus on tempo, relaxation, and softness of the arms.
Conclusion
To sum it up, the process for getting rid of the yips involves relaxation in the arms, letting gravity take the club down, and adding rotation. It's important to understand that this is a difficult area of the game, but it's not impossible to overcome. With a little bit of practice and patience, you can get rid of the yips and start hitting some great wedge shots.
