The golfing yips: developing understanding and demonstrating effectiveness of a coaching intervention for a distressing and disabling fine motor skill dysfunction

Morrison, Gordon (2025). The golfing yips: developing understanding and demonstrating effectiveness of a coaching intervention for a distressing and disabling fine motor skill dysfunction. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Is there a better way of understanding and treating the golf chipping yips? This appears to be a distressing and common problem experienced by golfers across all skill levels, one that has yet to have an effective treatment. Current approaches to studying the yips in golf have focused mainly on putting, resulting in limited knowledge of the problem in chipping. Although sharing some movement similarities to putting, chipping has potentially critical differences (e.g., the lie of the ball is more variable; the shot is played with a club with a different design). These differences mean that the chipping yips is possibly best addressed as a separate phenomenon to the putting yips and so warrants specific formulation and investigation. This tailoring would help to develop an intervention that would be suitable for delivery by golf coaches, assuming that the problem is common.
This thesis is comprised of four studies to achieve the specific aims. Study one was two phased: phase one was descriptive and consisted of an online purposive survey of golfers who self-labelled themselves as yips affected (n=417), investigating the experience and nature (i.e., chipping, putting, or full swing) of the problem. The results gave a breakdown of the ratios of these participants experiencing putting, chipping, and full swing yips. Putting had the highest percentage (67%) but it was found that 51% reported being chipping yips-affected golfers, indicating that this is a problem for many golfers. Phase two of study one took an in-depth, qualitative approach via semi-structured interviews with n=10 chipping yips-affected golfers. The results suggested a conceptual model that could develop our understanding of the chipping yips. Study two triangulated the subjective reports from study one with objective 3D movement analysis, and a chipping performance assessment. A controlled comparison of (n=9) yips-affected golfers with (n=7) non-yips golfers was carried out. This indicated statistically significant differences between the yips and non-yips groups in three areas (arm and club angle at address and impact, mid hands position at impact). The chipping assessment performance data showed that yips affected players had significantly lower movement and ball-striking quality than the non-yips group. Study three again used 3D movement analysis, this time as a dependent variable to study the effect of dual tasking, a promising intervention, on the (n=9) performers from study two with the chipping yips. Specifically, during the intervention a secondary task was performed concurrently as they played a chip shot. The 3D movement analysis results indicated a statistically significant change in mid hands position at impact and evidence of shot performance improvement for seven individuals, although these data were not significant overall. To seek a stronger effect through a refined psychological intervention, study four built on the previous studies by evaluating a revised attentional control manipulation, delivered through golf coaching. This refined intervention developed the dual-task approach (becoming personalised and combining psychological and motor performance aspects of chipping) and integrated it within an extensive pre-performance routine. Within an n=1 multiple baseline research design, this revised, and more comprehensive intervention was found to be more effective in improving movement quality, shot accuracy, and psychological aspects related to the chipping. In conclusion, based on a conceptual and methodological literature review, this thesis has proposed an improved theoretical understanding on the golf chipping yips, tested, and developed by building a conceptual model of the performers’ subjective experience and the more objective movement characteristics analysis. The thesis then utilised complementary investigative methodologies to test the improved theoretical understanding empirically. Findings indicated that the proposed conceptual model withstood testing satisfactorily, and that it also demonstrated some potential benefits of an inexpensive, transferable intervention that, in principle, could be delivered by golf coaches and so enhance the amelioration of this distressing and common condition.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):