The Golfing Brain: Getting a Grip on the Yips: Myths, Causes, and Cures

By James H. Grubbs

Getting a Grip on the Yips is the third book in The Golfing Brain series by James H. Grubbs. There is no dearth of books, articles, online posts, and podcasts about the affliction known as “the yips.” You’d think that by now we’d know their cause. But no. Theories abound, but a definitive explanation has, up to now, been lacking.

The author, a psychiatrist and lifelong competitive golfer, has been personally acquainted with the yips several times. He’s known many other golfers plagued by the yips, including one of the most famous yippers, professional golf instructor Hank Haney.

Over the years, Dr. Grubbs has read extensively on the subject, talked to countless fellow golfers and several golf gurus about the yips, and has even helped golfers overcome them. Yet, after all that, a clear understanding of the cause of the yips eluded him and the entire golfing world.

Determined to discover the cause of the yips, Dr. Grubbs reviewed existing theories about the malady and the evidence supporting them. He examined myths and misconceptions about the yips. He also delved into current neurological research about how the brain plans and executes movement.

This book is the result of his quest. In it, he defines the yips and describes a definitive cause of them, not only as they appear in golf but also in any activity that depends on repetitive movement, such as baseball, darts, cricket, and playing musical instruments. He explains why some remedies for the yips have been at least partially effective and suggests new (and more effective) ways of curing the yips. He even confirms his theory by causing the yips in a few brave subjects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: May 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9781977275356

James H. Grubbs

James H. Grubbs is a child psychiatrist based in Austin, Texas. A competitive golfer, he has spent more than twenty-five years helping other golfers—amateur and professional, young and old—decrease their scores and increase their enjoyment of the game. 

Book preview

The Golfing Brain

Getting a Grip on the Yips: Myths, Causes, and Cures

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2024 James H. Grubbs

v3.0

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CONTENTS

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1: Origin Story

Chapter 2: Myths and Misconceptions

Chapter 3: The Search for the Cause

Medical and Psychological Researchers

The Golf Gurus

Dave Pelz

Hank Haney

Other Theorists

The Golfing Brain Hypothesis

Control of Movement in Golf

The Kinematic Sequence in Golf

Kinematic Sequences in Human Development

Throwing and Catching

Moving a Ball with a Stick

A Functional Definition of the Yips

The Unconscious Pre-movement Routine

Proprioception

Visual Perception

Intermodal Integration

The Conscious Pre-movement Routine

The Causes of the Yips

Cause 1 Making New Movements from Old Ones

Cause 2 Errors in the Intermodal Planning of Movement

Cause 3 Intrusion of Anxiety

The Mystery of Yip Specificity

Events

The Birth of the Yips

Creating the Yips

Chapter 4: The Cures

Category One: Do Something Different

Category Two: Fix the Mechanics

Category Three: Disconnect Your Eyes from Your Strokes

Category Four: Distract Focused Attention

Category Five: Disable the Task-Focused Circuit

Category Six: Exaggerate Proprioceptive Planning

Which Remedy to Choose?

Appendix A

The Task-Positive Network (TPN)

The Default-Mode Network (DMN)

The Finger-tapping Exercise

Appendix B

Putting Blind: Testing Your Putting Proprioceptors

References

PREFACE

Getting a Grip on the Yips is the third book in The Golfing Brain series. There is no dearth of books, articles, online posts, and podcasts about the affliction known as the yips. So why add yet another voice to the crowded conversation? Simply put, curiosity and exasperation. For a long time, I’ve wondered what causes the yips. You’d think that by now we’d know the answer. But no. Theories abound, but a definitive explanation has so far eluded us.

Having played golf all of my life¹, I’ve been personally acquainted with the yips several times and have overcome them. I’ve known many other golfers plagued by the yips, including one of the most famous yippers, Hank Haney. Over the years, I’ve read extensively on the subject, talked to countless fellow golfers and several golf gurus about the yips, and have even helped golfers overcome them. But, after all that, I still didn’t know what caused the yips in the first place.

In my quest for the cause, I reviewed existing theories about the yips and the evidence that supports the theories. I considered the myths and misconceptions about them. I also delved into current neurological research about how the brain plans and executes movement.

This book is the result of my quest. In it, I present new theories about the cause of the yips. I also explain why some remedies for the yips have been at least partially effective, and I suggest new (and more effective) ways of curing the yips, or at least mitigating the damage they can inflict on a round of golf and a golfer’s psyche.

For information about previous research on and speculation about the yips, I depended on several excellent secondary sources (in particular, articles in The New Yorker magazine), as well as a few primary sources (including Hank Haney’s 2006 book, Fix the Yips Forever). For information about specific brain functions and circuits, I consulted the primary sources listed in the References section.

Books don’t write themselves; authors need help to produce them. I’ve been fortunate to have excellent helpers, including my intrepid editor, Patricia Moynahan; an industrial strength photographer, Kirk Tuck; and the helpful folks at Outskirts Press. To