Monday, April 9, 2012

Yips

How do you define the yips?

The yips is a term used by golfers to describe an involuntary movement — a twist, a jerk or a shake — that usually happens when putting, although some people will describe it when doing other activities like chipping.

What makes you think there's more to this than golfers choking at a crucial moment?

There are a number of people who have a neurological illness called dystonia, which can cause cramps or pulling in the fingers or wrist while doing a specific task. It's known to occur in writers and musicians — in many cases the only time that they have a problem is when they are trying to perform a task related to their writing or music. In between they are completely normal.

We're trying to determine if there are some golfers who have a golfer's cramp that would be equitable to writer's or musician's cramps.

 

http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-five-questions-golf-yips-20120407,0,1483249.story