I cured my life-long chipping yips.

[TravAz]

I've had the chipping yips for at least 10-15 years, and I cannot overstate how bad it was. Dread would build in the backswing, and panic would hit as the club changed directions, and from there all bets were off - but the options were limited to laying sod over it or skulling it over the green. The more I cared about the shot, the worse it would get. I took lessons from highly regarded short game coaches. I would grind for hours at the short game area. I bought videos from renowned WRX Coaches that encouraged me to use the bounce. I was the first to buy every new "chipper" that came to market. Nothing worked. I was down to texas wedge most of the time or the most basic chip\bump-run with the smallest amount of club head travel possible.

 

Until... I cranked the trail hand over into an absurdly weak position. My short game grip is now a fairly neutral lead hand with the V pointing right to my chin. Then I crank the trail hand over as weak as it will go - for me the V of my trail hand points to my lead shoulder. This completely removed the "hit impulse" from my right hand. From this position, I can just turn the club back on plane with my shoulders and back through by turning the lead hip away, and viola! - really great contact. Fully in control of traj and spin now as well. I've been playing golf most of my life and have alot of vision, feel etc, I just wasn't able to execute it - now it has all been set free. 

 

In all of the years of searching for a cure, I never saw anyone suggest this and maybe this won't work for anyone else, but I had to share. I knew from the first ball I hit with this grip that it was the answer. I'm getting up\down pretty regularly now which is great because my ball striking has been suffering while I work on my full swing. 🙃

 

If you're struggling, it might be worth a swing or two 🤷‍♂️

 

 

[3eagles18]

Wish I had seen your post before playing today. Heading back to the club to try a few in the dark.

[azgreg]

On 11/29/2022 at 10:34 AM, TravAz said:

I've had the chipping yips for at least 10-15 years, and I cannot overstate how bad it was. Dread would build in the backswing, and panic would hit as the club changed directions, and from there all bets were off - but the options were limited to laying sod over it or skulling it over the green. The more I cared about the shot, the worse it would get. I took lessons from highly regarded short game coaches. I would grind for hours at the short game area. I bought videos from renowned WRX Coaches that encouraged me to use the bounce. I was the first to buy every new "chipper" that came to market. Nothing worked. I was down to texas wedge most of the time or the most basic chip\bump-run with the smallest amount of club head travel possible.

 

Until... I cranked the trail hand over into an absurdly weak position. My short game grip is now a fairly neutral lead hand with the V pointing right to my chin. Then I crank the trail hand over as weak as it will go - for me the V of my trail hand points to my lead shoulder. This completely removed the "hit impulse" from my right hand. From this position, I can just turn the club back on plane with my shoulders and back through by turning the lead hip away, and viola! - really great contact. Fully in control of traj and spin now as well. I've been playing golf most of my life and have alot of vision, feel etc, I just wasn't able to execute it - now it has all been set free. 

 

In all of the years of searching for a cure, I never saw anyone suggest this and maybe this won't work for anyone else, but I had to share. I knew from the first ball I hit with this grip that it was the answer. I'm getting up\down pretty regularly now which is great because my ball striking has been suffering while I work on my full swing. 🙃

 

If you're struggling, it might be worth a swing or two 🤷‍♂️

 

 

Not quite the same thing but your post reminded me of the butterfly grip.

 

[SEP1006]

Go CROSS-HANDED and use a putting stroke, no wrists action. So simple, predictable and repeatable. I almost quit because of the yips and one day saw VJ chipping this way. INSTANT CURE and still doing it 8 years after initially trying it.

[2bGood]

I guess you don't believe in the golf gods. This thread title will anger them. 

Edited December 1, 2022 by 2bGood

[Ghostwedge]

1 hour ago, azgreg said:

Not quite the same thing but your post reminded me of the butterfly grip.

 

This guys video's are gold.

[mantan]

I read the whole original post excitedly as that's me and my short game. Then I saw the payoff and was immediately disappointed.  But I know I'm gonna go out and try it myself just to see.

 

I'm similar to the OP. While I don't have the yips, my chipping is brutally bad and no matter how much I work at it, it's an absolute disaster.

 

I tried 'hitting it with the bounce'. I bought the videos from a well regarding instructor on here who I love. Have seen him for full swing work and bought many of his other videos. It's been a boon to my full swing, but I just can't figure out how to hit it with the bounce.

 

I've tried the 'hinge and hold'. (Even though that's not what it is..

 

I've tried the putting motion.

 

I tried Stan Utley's method.

 

I tried Pete Cowan after reading a thread on here bashing H&H.

 

None of it works. I'll inevitably blade chips over the green at least once a round. A good day chipping is consistently leaving 10-15 foot putts. It just kills my game for such a 'simple' shot.

 

 

[Socrates]

I don't know how many times I've said that and I was a liar - every time.

 

You know I'm going to try it out at least once, but not holding my breath.  I hope I'm wrong.

 

I've chipped cross-handed for years with varied success.  When the yips get really bad, that is my go to (besides putting from everywhere).

[hammersia]

Fairly sure this was Olazabal's method. I think it probably prevents the right elbow folding and keeps the club wide.

[BigEx44]

On 11/30/2022 at 11:14 PM, Ghostwedge said:

This guys video's are gold.

I love Julian Mellor's stuff.

I've been working with him a couple of years now.

He's improved my game immensely.

[Fairways_and_Greens]

I played with a guy that had a scratch level short game… playing right hand only. Full swing was with two hands. 30 yards and in up until the putter was one handed. He also had the two hand tips so he went one handed, and he was very good at it. 
 

very cool you found a method that works for you. Lots of ways to skin this cat. 

[KMeloney]

I'm using my trail arm like a piston. I don't think about swinging my arms back and down and through and trying to get all of that squared up perfectly. Instead, I'm taking the club back by bending the right arm, and shoving the club down and through the back of the ball by straightening the right arm. Add in the little amount of turn required, and the low point and face stay constant. It's been a real eye-opener.

 

...And to be clear, I'm using the bounce, so it's not a radical departure from most other effective methods. In fact, the action looks the same. It's just that I'm not thinking "swing back and swing through" -- I'm thinking about pulling the club back from the ball, and pushing it back down into the ball. The action feels like it's all from the trail arm, and not from the shoulders swinging the arms.

[TravAz]

1 hour ago, Fairways_and_Greens said:

I played with a guy that had a scratch level short game… playing right hand only. Full swing was with two hands. 30 yards and in up until the putter was one handed. He also had the two hand tips so he went one handed, and he was very good at it. 
 

very cool you found a method that works for you. Lots of ways to skin this cat. 

Funny you mention that. Played a “bucket list” round with some friends at tpc scottsdale this summer. By the back 9 I had given up 2 handed short game and went right hand only. Spectacular u/d’s on 16 for par, 17 for birdie and to 4ft on 18 (and missed the putt 🤬). It was a memorable finish especially with the shot of my life knocking it to 10feet on 15 and missing the eagle 😱

My “new” technique feels pretty “dead hands” - ala Jason Day maybe. When I go right hand only I am able to really flip the club under the ball i.e “strike the match” and hit insanely soft landing shots. 

[TravAz]

12 hours ago, mantan said:

I read the whole original post excitedly as that's me and my short game. Then I saw the payoff and was immediately disappointed.  But I know I'm gonna go out and try it myself just to see.

 

I'm similar to the OP. While I don't have the yips, my chipping is brutally bad and no matter how much I work at it, it's an absolute disaster.

 

I tried 'hitting it with the bounce'. I bought the videos from a well regarding instructor on here who I love. Have seen him for full swing work and bought many of his other videos. It's been a boon to my full swing, but I just can't figure out how to hit it with the bounce.

 

I've tried the 'hinge and hold'. (Even though that's not what it is..

 

I've tried the putting motion.

 

I tried Stan Utley's method.

 

I tried Pete Cowan after reading a thread on here bashing H&H.

 

None of it works. I'll inevitably blade chips over the green at least once a round. A good day chipping is consistently leaving 10-15 foot putts. It just kills my game for such a 'simple' shot.

 

 

Little confused about the “payoff” comment- did you try the grip? It is pretty much like the video that was posted. 
 

I’ll try to add a little more context:

- I play 2019 pm grind wedges which are a c-grind with 12* of bounce, and have them in 54, 58, and 64. I do open these up marginally at address to get them sitting on the bounce a little, and hit it with dead hands trying to “use the bounce “ ala Monte etc. When contact isn’t perfect, it flys a little shorter but rolls out more for almost the same result. 

- I think about swinging the club back by turning my shoulders and keeping the club “on plane” i.e not excessively inside or outside, but I do try to keep the clubhead “outside” of the hands the entire swing. 
 

- I spend a couple of hours a day on this most days. I don't practice any other part of my game currently because I want to kill these yips off permanently. I’ve gotten my shortgame “good enough” off of fairway lies. Now practice “trouble shots” almost exclusively. Removing the  hit impulse let me build trust from fairway lies and that gave me a base to work from with trouble shots. 

 

-  Mental game: When I had the yips I would want to hit my ball as quickly as possible, mostly while the rest of the group was distracted or not in danger from the mishit that was about to occur. 😂 The more time I took, the stupider I would feel when I chunked it. 

 

- I’ve built a routine now where I stand behind the ball and make swing motions trying to feel hitting to my spot with the right trajectory. Then I step near the ball and try to simulate the ground contact with the swing I just determined into a lie as similar as possible to the ball I need to hit. As soon as I execute a good practice swing I step into the ball and go immediately - trusting that I can repeat the motion I just made. This got me from leaving 15 footers to having more gimmies. I had alot of success with this routine in a very focused solo practice round and built alot of trust with it. Trust is a huge part of getting the yippy brain to stfu. 
 

- I’ve made a staggering amount of improvement in just a few weeks. My playing partners are like “wtf happened to you?” 🤷‍♂️We have all hit great short game shots at some point. Anyone who has played for a while probably has great internal feels - we just need to teach the brain that it doesn’t need to panic - for me it meant taking away the brain’s panic “outlet” which was the hit impulse. 
 

Good luck - and don’t give up! Go practice, and as soon as you mishit a ball, do a deep dive on why, and then figure out how to prevent your brain from letting that happen again. 

[Cwebb]

On 12/2/2022 at 2:57 AM, hammersia said:

Fairly sure this was Olazabal's method. I think it probably prevents the right elbow folding and keeps the club wide.

 

 Corey Pavin as well

[Stoox]

On 12/1/2022 at 10:43 PM, mantan said:

(...) I'm similar to the OP. While I don't have the yips, my chipping is brutally bad and no matter how much I work at it, it's an absolute disaster. (...) None of it works. I'll inevitably blade chips over the green at least once a round. A good day chipping is consistently leaving 10-15 foot putts. It just kills my game for such a 'simple' shot.

 

 

 

Have you tried using the claw grip? The way I have managed my case of the heebie jeebies around the greens with wedges is by going with the claw anything 30 yards and in, except for lob and flop shots where you have no green to work with (and need to take what amounts to a more extended or full swing anyway).

 

Try the claw and make sure your arms and body are synch'd up - you almost start back with the body before the club is set, even on 5 yard chips. The key is the fact that the trailing palm is not facing the target, but facing the player - that changes the feel of everything in the shot and enables confidence.

 

My $0.02.

[mantan]

On 12/2/2022 at 10:33 AM, TravAz said:

Little confused about the “payoff” comment- did you try the grip? It is pretty much like the video that was posted. 
 

I’ll try to add a little more context:

- I play 2019 pm grind wedges which are a c-grind with 12* of bounce, and have them in 54, 58, and 64. I do open these up marginally at address to get them sitting on the bounce a little, and hit it with dead hands trying to “use the bounce “ ala Monte etc. When contact isn’t perfect, it flys a little shorter but rolls out more for almost the same result. 

- I think about swinging the club back by turning my shoulders and keeping the club “on plane” i.e not excessively inside or outside, but I do try to keep the clubhead “outside” of the hands the entire swing. 
 

- I spend a couple of hours a day on this most days. I don't practice any other part of my game currently because I want to kill these yips off permanently. I’ve gotten my shortgame “good enough” off of fairway lies. Now practice “trouble shots” almost exclusively. Removing the  hit impulse let me build trust from fairway lies and that gave me a base to work from with trouble shots. 

 

-  Mental game: When I had the yips I would want to hit my ball as quickly as possible, mostly while the rest of the group was distracted or not in danger from the mishit that was about to occur. 😂 The more time I took, the stupider I would feel when I chunked it. 

 

- I’ve built a routine now where I stand behind the ball and make swing motions trying to feel hitting to my spot with the right trajectory. Then I step near the ball and try to simulate the ground contact with the swing I just determined into a lie as similar as possible to the ball I need to hit. As soon as I execute a good practice swing I step into the ball and go immediately - trusting that I can repeat the motion I just made. This got me from leaving 15 footers to having more gimmies. I had alot of success with this routine in a very focused solo practice round and built alot of trust with it. Trust is a huge part of getting the yippy brain to stfu. 
 

- I’ve made a staggering amount of improvement in just a few weeks. My playing partners are like “wtf happened to you?” 🤷‍♂️We have all hit great short game shots at some point. Anyone who has played for a while probably has great internal feels - we just need to teach the brain that it doesn’t need to panic - for me it meant taking away the brain’s panic “outlet” which was the hit impulse. 
 

Good luck - and don’t give up! Go practice, and as soon as you mishit a ball, do a deep dive on why, and then figure out how to prevent your brain from letting that happen again. 

 

I'm truly very happy it worked for you. I probably wasn't as careful with my words. I'd tried that and it worked for me, until it didn't.  And I never could get to work for me consistently like I did that first month. 😞

 

 

[mantan]

5 hours ago, Stoox said:

 

Have you tried using the claw grip? The way I have managed my case of the heebie jeebies around the greens with wedges is by going with the claw anything 30 yards and in, except for lob and flop shots where you have no green to work with (and need to take what amounts to a more extended or full swing anyway).

 

Try the claw and make sure your arms and body are synch'd up - you almost start back with the body before the club is set, even on 5 yard chips. The key is the fact that the trailing palm is not facing the target, but facing the player - that changes the feel of everything in the shot and enables confidence.

 

My $0.02.

 

Claw putting actually fixed me from the actual putting yips. My putting had gotten horrendous. So much so that even guys in my league felt sorry for me on the putting green. I tried everything before my instructor and some video work showed I was flinching my right hand at impact for some reason.

 

We switched to the claw grip 3 years ago and it was smooth sailing. Putting has become a strength of my game this year. But even if you're 'good' for an amateur, you can't convert enough 5-15 feet putts to make up for a crappy short game. If I could become an average chipper, my handicap would drop by 3 strokes.

[Socrates]

My instructor was on me for a long time about chipping/pitching with my right hand only.  This video is exactly what he was talking about.  For me it was figuring out how to get my left hand onto the club to make it work.  I eventually figured it out(key was to make the swing so much longer than I was doing it initially) and now it is so much better.  Not saying this is going to work for everyone, but it worked for me.

 

 

[podunker]

Awesome and good for you! I have also had some success with overlapping two or more fingers on my right hand over my left. (I'm right handed) Anything to help stop the flip instinct. I usually go with my Chipper, but on high lofted shots I can't. Hope it keeps working for you, and thanks for posting, it might help someone else. 

[Pepperturbo]

On 10/7/2023 at 1:04 PM, number 34 said:

I am 81 years of age.....golfing since age 14...12 handicap at best ...many games in 70 s.

Have chipping yips bad of and on  last few years.

My problem....left forearm jumps or releases or explodes toward the hole...legs collapse etc...UGLY.

Cure......RIGHT FOREARM ...Pretend 4 right forearms...Right Forearm presses toward lead forearm throughout.VIOLA the

Lead forearm reacts back instead of forward  .Too many words but simple to do.....See a lot of guys yipping with front arm " jump " 

Good on you... for staying with it.  So many people quit.

 

My 87 yr old uncle still plays.  I am in my early 70s and hope to reach your accomplishment. 👍

[mizunotpz]

For my studying a lot about chip and pitch was the solution to getting rid of the yips. Then someone told me dont be afraid of the ground, just slam the bounce into the ground was a great tip. As well as setting the wrists, getting the shaft sort of over plane rather than under plane. Jason Day method never really worked for me. I like Dan Grieves 3 releases. It gives me options. Some days release 1 works better than 2, and vice versa. Oh I forgot the most important part: PRACTISE! Like a lot. If you wonder if you actually using the bounce? Check for grass spots! Tells you also which part of the bounce youre using.

[Socrates]

I might add, I practiced medium length chips and pitches a lot before and ventured into short range stuff.  Even though I've been doing well, the occasional shot is bad.  Primarily when I don't take enough practice swings before I attempt the chip/pitch.  There is a reason why the Pro's take a lot of practice swings before they attempt a chip/pitch. 

[Nickb333]

On 11/29/2022 at 9:34 AM, TravAz said:

I've had the chipping yips for at least 10-15 years, and I cannot overstate how bad it was. Dread would build in the backswing, and panic would hit as the club changed directions, and from there all bets were off - but the options were limited to laying sod over it or skulling it over the green. The more I cared about the shot, the worse it would get. I took lessons from highly regarded short game coaches. I would grind for hours at the short game area. I bought videos from renowned WRX Coaches that encouraged me to use the bounce. I was the first to buy every new "chipper" that came to market. Nothing worked. I was down to texas wedge most of the time or the most basic chip\bump-run with the smallest amount of club head travel possible.

 

Until... I cranked the trail hand over into an absurdly weak position. My short game grip is now a fairly neutral lead hand with the V pointing right to my chin. Then I crank the trail hand over as weak as it will go - for me the V of my trail hand points to my lead shoulder. This completely removed the "hit impulse" from my right hand. From this position, I can just turn the club back on plane with my shoulders and back through by turning the lead hip away, and viola! - really great contact. Fully in control of traj and spin now as well. I've been playing golf most of my life and have alot of vision, feel etc, I just wasn't able to execute it - now it has all been set free. 

 

In all of the years of searching for a cure, I never saw anyone suggest this and maybe this won't work for anyone else, but I had to share. I knew from the first ball I hit with this grip that it was the answer. I'm getting up\down pretty regularly now which is great because my ball striking has been suffering while I work on my full swing. 🙃

 

If you're struggling, it might be worth a swing or two 🤷‍♂️

 

 

I was ready to quit golf because my chipping had deteriorated so much. Then I caught a comment by Sir Nick Faldo during a broadcast when he explained why a PGA competitor couldn’t chip. 
 

You can’t just take your hands back or up. The club will simply crash into the ground. 
 

Turn, turn. 
 

Sir Nick saved me from quitting golf with a two word lesson. Turn turn. 

[Long_Left]

I was going to start a new topic before searching and am glad I found this instead of starting a new thread, gives me a couple things to try.

 

Carded an 80 yesterday with 5 birdies... my chipping is an affront to the eyes. I stabbed the club into the ground at least 3 times yesterday and got to the point it hurt my iron play because the pressure was immense. 

[TaylorJHERING]

I noticed Phil does the same thing. When chipping his V points at his lead shoulder.  But during his normal swing its a stronger grip, pointing more towards the trail shoulder.  Going to try the weak trail hand tonight and see if it helps. I picked up the yips last year or so.  

[Obee]

On 12/2/2022 at 2:57 AM, hammersia said:

Fairly sure this was Olazabal's method. I think it probably prevents the right elbow folding and keeps the club wide.

 

It was also his method on his full swing. He had one of the weakest grips of an elite golfer ever.

[Foxx]

Glad you found something that works.

 

I fixed mine by using a putting swing. Head perfectly still over the ball. Dont move it until the ball is long gone. Swing with the shoulder rocking back and through. 

Take the lower body completely out of it.

 

This method works well with everything in the short game. Putting, chipping, bunkers.