You can make the stroke perfectly in the bathroom, on the practice green, and over a ball you are not going to hit. Put a real four-footer in front of it and your hands do something you did not instruct. The yips are one of the few golf problems that is genuinely involuntary, and treating them as a confidence issue is why most attempts to fix them fail.
What the yips actually are
A yip is a sudden involuntary movement, most often a jerk, twitch or freeze in the hands or forearms, that occurs during a fine motor task the person has performed many thousands of times. Golf is the most famous case, but the same phenomenon appears in musicians, surgeons and dart players.
Two things drive it, and most golfers have some of both.
A neurological component. Repeated, highly practised fine motor movements can develop a fault in the motor pattern itself, sometimes described as a task-specific movement disorder. This is why a yip can persist in a completely relaxed practice setting with nothing at stake.
A psychological component. Anxiety amplifies whatever is there, which is why yips are worse over short putts that matter and often disappear over long putts and on the practice green.
Is it the yips, or is it technique?
Worth establishing, because the fixes are completely different and most golfers who think they have the yips have a mechanical fault instead.
| Sign | Points to the yips | Points to technique |
|---|---|---|
| When it happens | Short putts that matter, rarely long ones | All distances, fairly evenly |
| What it feels like | A jerk or freeze you did not initiate | A stroke you made that was poor |
| Practice green | Often fine with nothing at stake | Same problem as on the course |
| Pattern of misses | Erratic, sometimes wildly | Consistent, usually one side |
| Response to drills | Little or no change over weeks | Improves steadily |
A consistent miss to one side is an aim problem, and it belongs in putting stance and setup. Erratic misses on short putts that vanish in practice are the yips.
Fix one: change the grip
The most effective and least drastic intervention. The yip usually lives in the trail hand, which in a conventional grip is the dominant one controlling the small muscles. Taking that control away frequently removes the symptom outright.
Cross-handed, or left hand low. The lead hand goes below the trail hand on the grip. This flattens the lead wrist and makes the trail hand a passenger. It is the most common fix among tour players and the one to try first.
The claw. The lead hand grips normally at the top and the trail hand holds the grip lightly between thumb and fingers, like holding a pen. The trail hand can steady the putter but can no longer flick it.
Arm lock. The grip is pressed against the lead forearm, which removes wrist hinge almost entirely.
Expect any of these to feel absurd for the first two weeks and to putt worse before it putts better. That is the price of breaking a pattern, and abandoning a change after three rounds is why golfers cycle through all of them without fixing anything. Give one six weeks.
Fix two: change the putter
Changing the tool changes the motor pattern, which is the same principle as changing the grip and often works when a grip change alone does not.
- A heavier head slows the stroke and makes a twitch harder to produce, because there is more mass resisting a sudden movement.
- A counterbalanced or heavier grip shifts the balance point up the shaft and quietens the hands.
- A longer putter, broomstick or arm-lock style, removes wrist action almost entirely. Anchoring the club to your body is not allowed under the Rules of Golf, but holding a long putter without anchoring it is entirely legal and is what most players who use one now do.
The Rules of Golf position on anchoring is the detail to get right if you go long, since the club or gripping hand must not be held against the body.
Fix three: change what you are thinking about
The psychological layer is real even though it is not the whole story, and two interventions have reasonable support.
Look at the hole, not the ball. Make the stroke while looking at the target rather than the ball. This shifts attention outward, which reduces the conscious monitoring of the hands that feeds a yip. It also tends to improve pace. Try it from three to six feet.
Count or hum through the stroke. Occupying the verbal part of your attention with something neutral stops it supervising the movement. It sounds unserious and it has a genuine basis: yips are strongly associated with over-monitoring a motion that should be automatic.
Neither is a cure on its own. Both work better stacked on a grip or equipment change than used alone.
What a realistic outcome looks like
Be clear-eyed about this. Some golfers lose the yips completely and permanently after a grip change. Some manage them for the rest of their playing lives with an adaptation that works. A smaller number find no intervention holds and end up putting cross-handed with a long putter while looking at the hole, which is fine if it gets the ball in.
What almost nobody does is grind them away with conventional practice.
If the underlying problem is anxiety rather than a movement fault, the routine work in the golf mental game is the better starting point, and the pressure drills in how to make short putts are the right progression once the stroke itself is stable.
Key takeaways
- The yips are an involuntary movement, not a lack of nerve. Trying harder makes them worse.
- They usually appear on short putts that matter and vanish on long putts and in practice.
- Erratic misses point to the yips. A consistent miss to one side is an aim problem instead.
- Changing the grip is the first and most effective fix. Cross-handed removes the trail hand's control.
- Changing the putter works on the same principle. More head weight resists a sudden movement.
- Give any change six weeks. It will putt worse before it putts better, and that is the pattern breaking.
- Looking at the hole while stroking reduces the conscious monitoring that feeds a yip.
Common questions
What are the yips in golf?
A sudden involuntary movement, usually a jerk, twitch or freeze in the hands or wrists, that happens during the stroke. It is a recognised phenomenon that also affects musicians and surgeons, and it is distinct from simply putting badly under pressure.
Are the yips physical or mental?
Both, in varying proportions. There is a neurological component, a fault in a highly practised motor pattern, which is why yips can appear with nothing at stake. Anxiety then amplifies whatever is there. Treating it as purely mental is why most attempted fixes fail.
How do I cure the putting yips?
By changing the movement rather than reinforcing it. Switch to a cross-handed or claw grip so the trail hand loses control, or change to a heavier or longer putter. Give whichever you choose at least six weeks, because it will feel worse before it works.
Does putting cross-handed fix the yips?
For many golfers, yes. Putting left hand low flattens the lead wrist and makes the trail hand a passenger, which removes the hand most yips originate in. It is the most common fix among professionals and the first one to try.
Can I use a long putter to fix the yips?
Yes, and it is legal as long as you do not anchor it. Under the Rules of Golf the club and your gripping hand must not be held against your body, but holding a broomstick or arm-lock putter freely is permitted and is what players who use them now do.
Why do I only yip short putts?
Because short putts combine two things: a small, highly controlled movement and a strong expectation of holing it. Longer putts require a bigger motion with less precision and carry no expectation, so the conscious monitoring that triggers the flinch is not present.
Will practising more fix the yips?
No, and it usually makes them worse. Repeating the yipped stroke reinforces the faulty motor pattern. Practice only helps once you have changed the movement, and then it is the new pattern you are grooving rather than the old one.
Should I look at the hole when putting with the yips?
It is worth trying, particularly from three to six feet. Looking at the target moves your attention outward and stops you supervising your hands, which is what feeds the flinch. Distance control usually improves at once and start line settles over a few sessions.
Do the yips ever go away completely?
Sometimes. Some golfers lose them permanently after a grip change, and others manage them for good with an adaptation that works. Both count as solved. What does not work is waiting for them to fade while continuing to putt the same way.
Are the chipping yips the same thing?
The same phenomenon in a different shot, and they respond to the same logic: change the movement rather than intensify it. For chipping that usually means a different club and a running shot, which is covered in how to stop chunking chips, since many chipping yips start as a mechanical chunk that became a fear.
Tom Ashworth
Tom Ashworth is a PGA Professional who has taught golf since 2012, working mainly with beginners and mid-handicappers at club level in Surrey. He reviews the instruction guides on Learn Golf for technical accuracy before they publish.
Most of his teaching is with players in their first three years of the game, and most arrive having been told too much: six swing thoughts collected from videos, half of them contradicting each other. His approach is to check the grip and the alignment before touching the swing, on the basis that most bad ball flight is decided at address.