ABSTRACT
The ‘yips’ is a phenomenon in which there is a loss of fine motor skills, without apparent explanation, that can occur in a number of different sporting activities, including darts, cricket, snooker, baseball, rugby, tennis, archery, rifle shooting and particularly golf. A similar phenomenon occurs in musicians (violinists, guitarists, pianists, woodwind players) and in others performing specific activities, including telegraph operators, seamstresses, knitters, masons, painters, enamellers, cigarette makers or those with writer’s cramp. Athletes affected by the yips demonstrate an unexplained deterioration or loss of previous skills, and in golf, the yips most commonly involves putting, short putts in particular. Athletes affected by the yips may sometimes recover their ability, sometimes compensate by changing technique, or may be forced to abandon their sport often at a high level. Currently, science cannot completely explain why someone with a highly refined motor skill (putting) should lose that ability.
