The yips can break a golfer mentally, which leads to giving up golf altogether.
Imagine, for a couple of months you are playing some of your best golf of your life and it all unraveled a few weeks later. An effortless swing turns into a mechanical forced stroke. What was once easy now seems scary.
The memories of past successes are overtaken by thoughts of inaccuracy, missed opportunities, inability to make easy shots, lack of enjoyment and failure.
The yips don’t just affect your performance during a round of golf, the yips have long-lasting mental effects after you leave the golf course.
Rarely does a golfer let go of a round dominated by the yips after they leave the golf course. Thoughts about the yips will pervade their mind in the clubhouse, during the drive home and many hours afterward.
The yips elicit intense negative emotions for a prolonged period of time. This is why the yips have such a stronghold on your mind and it seems impossible to overcome.
The yips have beleaguered PGA golfer Brendon Todd for over a year. Todd considered retirement a year ago before winning back-to-back Tour events; the 2019 Bermuda Championship (-24) and 2019 Mayakoba Golf Classic (-20).
Before rebounding from the yips, Todd missed 37 of 41 cuts on the PGA Tour and had difficulty breaking 80 for a round.
Todd, who had last won a PGA Tour event at the 2014 Byron Nelson Classic, started the year ranked No. 2006 in the world and was hitting the ball out of bounds on a regular basis.
Todd admitted to battling full-swing yips which decimated his play in tournaments.
TODD: “I had the full-swing yips. I was hitting 4- and 5-irons out of bounds, 3-woods out of bounds. You’re frustrated because you work hard and you lose a ball on the fourth hole and you go, ‘Oh my, god, why is this happening again?’”
Todd acknowledged the connection between the physical and mental parts of the yips.
TODD: “It starts physical, then it becomes mental, and you got to put both pieces back together, which is easier said than done. Then (the swing) comes back physically and then mentally, and I’m back being the player I was.”
Though Todd believes overcoming the yips is a matter of fixing your swing first, rebounding from the yips requires that you overcome fear and over control first.
Golfers who are stuck in the yips cycle overthink and over-analyze. Rather than trusting their swing, these golfers over control and guide their swing.
The solution is not about changing your instructor or getting new equipment. If you do not deal with over-thinking and over-analyzing, the yips will continue to have a stronghold on your game.
Winning Out over the Yips:
Yes, the yips may start with a bad round of putting, chipping, or ball striking, but it becomes mental very quickly when you are afraid to repeat a bad outing.
First, you have to identify and overcome your specific sources of fear. Most of the time, it's about embarrassment or not playing to your potential.
The next step is to get back to swinging freely and not over-controlling or overthinking what the club is doing. You can't gain confidence until you learn to swing the club freely.
And understand that the yips are not all or none: you have it or you don't. No, the yips can come and go during a round of golf.
By PGTAA member Dr. Patrick Cohn
Scotty Cameron Introduces New Phantom X 12.5 Putter
Low-Bend Shaft Setup with New SightLine Configuration Adds Tour-inspired Option to High-Tech Mallet Family – in Right- and Left-Handed Models
FAIRHAVEN, Mass. (Dec. 3, 2019) – Scotty Cameron has added a new model to the 2019 Phantom X family – the Phantom X 12.5 – to meet the needs of players seeking a stable mallet with more toe flow and a new alignment option. A left-handed Phantom X 12.5 model also joins the lineup.
Available beginning Dec. 12 in North American golf shops and on Feb. 14, 2020, worldwide, Phantom X 12.5 joins a cohesive Phantom X family that now includes 10 modern mallet designs built around five different head styles. Phantom X 12.5 provides golfers with a new setup option – featuring a low-bend shaft configuration and a tour-inspired single milled sight line – built around the family’s flagship model, the high-MOI Phantom X 12.
Like every putter in the lineup, the Phantom X 12.5 incorporates Scotty’s tour-inspired, multi-material construction methodology of combining 303 stainless steel and 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum for increased MOI, optimal weight distribution, forgiveness, improved sound, and responsive feedback.
QUOTING MASTER PUTTER MAKER SCOTTY CAMERON
“Every time we introduce a new putter line, I receive requests from tour players and dedicated golfers for additional setups and configurations. Phantom X 12.5 is the result of some of those requests. I added the low-bend shaft for extra toe flow and also designed a new alignment option by milling a single sightline down the center painted black for a very clean look from address. It really sets up nicely. Adding this new model also gave me the opportunity to make a left-handed version designed so everyone can take advantage of the performance benefits of the Phantom X 12.5.”
PHANTOM X 12.5 PERFORMANCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• LOW-BEND SHAFT CONFIGURATION: The Phantom X 12.5 has a stepless steel shaft with one shaft of offset and a single “low-bend” designed to aim directly down the target line and promote an arc path for more toe flow in the putting stroke.
• TOUR-INSPIRED ALIGNMENT: Addressing requests from tour players and dedicated golfers alike, Scotty added a continuous, single-center sightline milled from the leading edge to the back of the flange – painted gloss black – offering a new alignment feature for the Phantom X line.
• LEFT-HANDED MODEL: Adding a new configuration to the family, the Phantom X 12.5 is also available for left-handed players.
• MULTI-MATERIAL HEAD WITH SOLID FACE TECHNOLOGY: The Phantom X 12.5 mallet is constructed with a standard-milled, 6061 aircraft aluminum face anodized black that extends back and through the flange area surrounded by heavier 303 stainless steel wings for high-MOI and stability.
PHANTOM X WEIGHTING & GRIP
New Phantom X 12.5 putters feature the line’s advanced stability weighting with two, customizable stainless steel heel-toe weights and stepless steel shafts, as well as the Pistolero Plus grip in cement gray with gloss black paint fill.
FINISH & GRAPHICS
The Phantom X 12.5 model’s aircraft-grade aluminum components have been anodized black in a misted finish that helps to reduce sun glare. The stainless steel putter head components have also been misted for a radiant yet glare resistant appearance. The single milled sight line, painted gloss black, provides a subtle tone-on-tone visual alignment guide.
AVAILABILITY
Scotty Cameron Phantom X 12.5 putters will be available in North America on December 12, 2019, and worldwide on February 14, 2020, through Titleist authorized golf shops. MAP $429.
ON THE WEB
www.scottycameron.com
Attention all PGTAA members.
Club Champion is looking for...
Club Champion, the #1 premium club fitter, builder and retailer of golf clubs is looking to hire new club fitters. Five years ago, they only had eight retail locations. After establishing proof of concept, rapid expansion has led to 70 locations currently open and another 20 to 25 that will open in 2020.
The massive expansion has created a need to drastically expand its legion of fitters. But it’s also a tremendous opportunity for people in the industry and those individuals looking to enter the business of golf with the fastest-growing company in the golf world.
Club Champion is eager to find people who love golf, love equipment, are into technology and have some sales experience. “Though we prefer people that have the experience, we are willing to train motivated individuals who want to learn and are coachable, those looking to take a career-motivated path,” states Director of Recruiting and Human Resources Amanda Bosley.
From the financial perspective, “There are opportunities for upward mobility and in addition to their salaries, fitters receive additional sales incentives,” CEO Joe Lee reveals. “There are opportunities across the nation as well as flexibility for relocation, especially with the overall growth and expansion of Club Champion,” Lee adds.
For more information on employment at Club Champion call 888-340-7820 or visit clubchampiongolf.com/careers. Amanda can be emailed directly at amanda@clubchampiongolf.com. Please give them your PGTAA membership number.
PHOTO GALLERY
