Outwit the Yips

By Donn Levine

"The ideas are simple and easy to apply. I will continue to use the concepts on my game and share them with my students. I'm looking forward to quieting the 'gremlins' that have not allowed me to play this great game." Mick Soli, PGA Teaching Professional and Former PGA Tour Player

"The putting and short game both improved for me; the tempo verbalization, the mechanics change and doing some of the 'PVC'." Jerry Yang, Co-Founder, Yahoo

You’re probably looking at this book because you have the yips. You’ve said to yourself, ‘I hope I don’t yip it.’ Then everything becomes a blur as the demons enter the picture. The hands jerk and shake, breaking loose from their intended path and the ball caroms off at a funny angle.

A practical guide to physical and mental techniques to overcome short game yips, the book focuses on low-risk swing mechanics and overcoming mental interference. It includes ideas and photos of grip, set up, and swing modifications to reduce the risk of yipped putts, chips and pitch shots. Take this book onto the practice area. You’ll do things you’ve never tried before, such as chanting during the stroke, switching sides, the 3 finger curl, and trail-hand only chip shots.

Outwit the Yips: Proven Tips to Free your Golf Mind is written in a personal and frank style by Donn Levine, in close cooperation with Michael McTeigue, former Northern California PGA Teacher of the Year, and Ashvin Sangoram, MD, PhD. For over 40 years, Donn has explored methods to ‘Outwit the Yips’ and enjoy quality golf. This richly illustrated book will improve your mechanics and thinking on the course and help you enjoy golf again.

"I had looked for technical fixes to my chipping and putting problems for more than a decade. Your approach to looking at this from the ‘tricking the mind’ perspective is so refreshing." Hans Krueger, Founding Partner, MetaDesign and Futuredraft

"While warming up before a round last year, I overheard a golfer complaining about his chipping and pitching yips. Within ten minutes, Donn had him hitting beautiful, yip-free shots." Jay Levine, Chicago TV journalist

• Language: English
• Publisher: Donn Levine
• Release date: May 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311385154

Donn Levine

Donn Levine is a financial advisor in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has coached junior golf for 15 years and is currently in his 4th year as head golf coach at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, CA. A former Stanford University Men's Golf Club Champion, he still plays to a 3.9 handicap. Donn is married to Sara Sherman-Levine, a family nurse practitioner at Stanford. They have 2 children and 2 grandchildren, all with beautiful golf swings.

Book preview

Outwit the Yips

Proven Tips to Free your Golf Mind

Donn Levine

Outwit the Yips

© 2016 by Donn Levine

Smashwords Edition

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever with the written permission of the author.

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 9781311385154

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. My Case History

Chapter 2. An Introduction to the Yips

History and More Recent Discussions

Definitions

How Prevalent are the Yips?

Chapter 3. Our Aim and Approach

Chapter 4. Low Risk Short Game Mechanics

Four Key Questions

Basic Anti-Yip Stroke Mechanics

Chapter 5. Tackling Mental Interference

Golf and Neuroscience

Verbalization

Visualization

Chapter 6. Techniques for Overcoming the Yips

Putting

Experiment with New Techniques

Modifying your Equipment

Short Putts

Long Lag Putts

Chipping - Stacking the Odds in your Favor

Low Risk Mechanics in Chipping

Short Chips from Just Off the Green

Longer Chips

Chips from Tight Lies

Chips from Heavy Lies

Chips from Downhill, Uphill and Sidehill Lies

Trail Hand Only and Lead Hand Low Chips

Pitching

Pitching from Tight Lies

Pitches from Heavy Lies

High Pitches Over a Bunker

Know Your Distances

Chapter 7. Solidifying Your Progress

Shake Off a Bad Start

Keep a Success Log

Change your Self-Talk Permanently

Breathing and Yoga

Strategy

Warm-Up and My Velcro Routine

Chapter 8. ‘Trick the Mind’ Summary

Chapter 9. Test Cases and Testimonials

Appendices

Appendix 1 - Anchor Rule Change

Appendix 2 - Research on the Yips

Appendix 3 - 'Tricking the Mind' and 'Brain'

Appendix 4 - The Yips: Golf Channel Discussions

Bibliography

Postscript

About the Author

List of Figures

Figure 1: Switch Sides

Figure 2: Curl Fingers into Palm

Figure 3: Cupping the Forward Wrist

Figure 4: ‘Y’ Facing Target

Figure 5: Traditional Method

Figure 6: Create Sweeping Motion

Figure 7: Sweeping Motion

Figure 8: Club under Armpits

Figure 9: The Pendulum Stroke

Figure 10: Keep the ‘Y’

Figure 11: Shoulders Don’t Rock

Figure 12: ‘Y’ Position Not Maintained

Figure 13: Practice Swing

Figure 14: Ball in way of Clubhead

Figure 15: Look at Hole

Figure 16: Look Away

Figure 17: Connecting Elbow and Buckle

Figure 18: Focus - Elbow to Belt Buckle

Figure 19: Rubber Band Technique

Figure 20: Chant GRIP

Figure 21: Chant TO

Figure 22: Chant HIP

Figure 23: Get in the Groove

Figure 24: Less Airtime - Maximum Roll

Figure 25: Plan - Best Shot Decision

Figure 26: Visualize Shot

Figure 27: Commit to Stroke

Figure 28: Focus away from the ball

Figure 29: Hole 18 at Pasatiempo

Figure 30: Left-Handed Putt

Figure 31: Pinkie Overlaps

Figure 32: Trail Pinkie Pressure

Figure 33: Trail Shoulder Swing

Figure 34: Langer Grip - Clamp Lead Forearm

Figure 35: Levine Grip - Conventional Lead Hand

Figure 36: Levine Grip - Pinch Handle

Figure 37: Levine Grip - Clasp Trail Wrist

Figure 38: Levine Grip - Palm Open

Figure 39: Levine Grip - Conventional Trail Hand

Figure 40: Langer Grip - Mid Length Putter

Figure 41: Curl Grip - Lead Hand Low

Figure 42: Curl Grip - Pinch the Grip

Figure 43: 3 Finger Curl Grip

Figure 44: Claw / Saw Grip

Figure 45: Fingers Straddle Handle

Figure 46: Grip - Putting and Chipping

Figure 47: Levine Grip - 2 Finger Claw

Figure 48: 4 Finger Claw Grip

Figure 49: Long Putter - Side Saddle

Figure 50: Long Putter - Forearm Anchor Point

Figure 51: Sink all 9

Figure 52: Improve Distance Control

Figure 53: Vary Practice Chips

Figure 54: Weight on Lead Foot

Figure 55: Pause at Top

Figure 56: Upper Body Swing

Figure 57: Bunker Shot

Figure 58: Head Rotation - Tee Position No.1

Figure 59: Head Rotation - Tee Position No.2

Figure 60: Conventional Lead Hand Position

Figure 61: Last Resort - Switch Sides

Figure 62: Keep ‘Y’ Intact - Switch Sides

Figure 63: Upper Body Rotation

Figure 64: Square Club Face

Figure 65: Continue Rotation

Figure 66: Rotate Hips

Figure 67: More Club Bounce

Figure 68: Open Stance

Figure 69: Upright Shaft

Figure 70: Putting - Toe Shot

Figure 71: Putting - Back of Mallet

Figure 72: Pasatiempo - Approach Short

Figure 73: Upright Shaft, Swing Trail Shoulder

Figure 74: Heel of Club off the Ground

Figure 75: Chipping - Hands Close to Body

Figure 76: Chipping - Fuller Swing from Rough

Figure 77: Chipping - Bunker Shot

Figure 78: Chipping - Swing Along Slope

Figure 79: Chipping - Swing into Slope

Figure 80: One-Handed Shot

Figure 81: Trail Hand Pitching Grip

Figure 82: Pitching over Bunker

Figure 83: Know Your Distances

Figure 84: Pasatiempo - Left Fairway Approach

Figure 85: Pasatiempo - Right Fairway Approach

Figure 86: Pasatiempo - Uphill Green Approach

Figure 87: Pasatiempo - Tiered Green Approach

Figure 88: Velcro Routine

Figure 89: One-Legged Chip Shot

List of Tables

Table 1: Try Different Combinations of Methods

Table 2: Different Clubs for Different Distances

Foreword

This is a brave book to write. It takes courage to own up publicly to having the yips. It’s a generous book. Its aim is to help you by offering a fascinating variety of tips and techniques to enjoy yip-free golf. It’s also a timely book, with Rule 14-1b, prohibiting the anchoring of the long putter, having taken effect on January 1, 2016.

Most golfers get affected at an older age. Donn Levine, however, began experiencing the yips while playing in college at age 19. For over 40 years, he has found a variety of methods to Outwit the Yips and enjoy quality golf to a standard good enough to win the Stanford University Golf Club Championship in 2007.

With encouragement from friends, he finally decided to tell the estimated 8 million sufferers in the United States how they, too, can rid themselves of this awful affliction and start enjoying our great game again.

This book isn’t a detailed analysis of the research, nor a glorification of the golfing horrors the yips have inflicted on the great and not-so-great of the game. If you’re reading this book, you know what the yips are and how mentally painful they can be. You may well know a friend who has given up the game, not because of their long-game, but because the tap-ins whacked 10-feet past and the fresh-air chips from just off the green had become too much to endure.

This is a practical guide to physical and mental techniques to overcome the yips, tried and tested on the fairways of California. It’s meant for you to have in your bag as you go to the practice ground and in your head when you’re on the course. It doesn’t promise to lower your score, but the following techniques can help transform your next round from one of torment and terror to one of relaxation and fun. Give this book a try and, please, don’t give up this beautiful but infuriating game.

Michael McTeigue

1995 NoCal PGA Teacher of the Year

Acknowledgements

Many people have helped me to create this book.

Firstly, an incredible amount of thanks goes to Michael McTeigue, without whose guidance and patience this book would not have been possible. An avid player and former PGA teaching professional, Mike wrote his wonderful book The Keys to the Effortless Golf Swing 30 years ago. It is still a very popular book. His most recent book is Bulletproof Putting in Five Easy Lessons: The Streamlined System for Weekend Golfers. Other PGA professionals have helped me on my golfing journey and are referenced in this book: thanks to Ben Alexander, Matt Flenniken, and Josh Zander.

Many thanks also to Dr. Ashvin Sangoram, MD, PhD for his contributions to this book on golf and neuroscience. A practicing neonatologist and avid golfer, Dr. Sangoram has applied his fundamental expertise in neuroscience to his own golf practice, GoaloGolf, and has created a golf improvement approach based on a cohesive set of neuroscientific practice principles. As a volunteer assistant coach to the Stanford golf team, Dr. Sangoram has brought these principles to the team to improve performance.

Of course, I am forever grateful to the many players afflicted with the yips, who were willing to work with me to develop and test my methods.

I am indebted to Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, CA for providing me access to their world famous golf course. Having such beautiful holes as a backdrop for the photographs, added a quality that would have been hard