Joe,
Why do you think Tiger Woods wants to change his swing from time to time?
Sid
Hello Sid,
Tiger is not the only one. Jack Nicklaus admitted to be always tinkering with his swing, and so did many others. We humans are easily fooled into thinking that once we are swinging good, we will always swing like that forever. We forget that a golf swing involves hundreds of different body muscles, all of which get stronger or weaker every day, and therefore your swing changes without you even realizing it. Therefore we all must get used to the idea that a golf swing is never permanent, you will always have to find ways to adjust. Many times you will hear of a golfer having to “manufacture” a swing in the middle of a tournament because his or her old swing was not working anymore. All our swings are a continuous works in progress, and those who understand how to make adjustments have a big advantage over those who insist on swinging only one way just because it used to work in the past. In other words, your swing thoughts may be the same, but your muscles are not behaving the same way as they did in the past.
Joe
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Joe, I heard psychologists and psychiatrists were studying The Yips. What have they found out?
Stosh
Hi Stosh,
I found this in “The Greatest Game Ever Played” by Mark Frost, which by the way is one of the best golf books ever written. The symptoms are categorized by psychologists and psychiatrists as specific expression of a diagnosable anxiety disorder. At their worst, the brain literally ceases to function, the ability to focus evaporates, inappropriate thoughts light up the mind like firecrackers, small-muscle motor control vanishes. For people who have never fallen into their grip, it is difficult to comprehend the unholy terror the yips inspire. Psyches crumble. Strong men weep. Some decide to give up the game rather than continue to face the furies that descend upon them. That’s just among amateurs, imagine what it’s like when you depend on making putts for a living.
Joe
Stosh
Hi Stosh,
I found this in “The Greatest Game Ever Played” by Mark Frost, which by the way is one of the best golf books ever written. The symptoms are categorized by psychologists and psychiatrists as specific expression of a diagnosable anxiety disorder. At their worst, the brain literally ceases to function, the ability to focus evaporates, inappropriate thoughts light up the mind like firecrackers, small-muscle motor control vanishes. For people who have never fallen into their grip, it is difficult to comprehend the unholy terror the yips inspire. Psyches crumble. Strong men weep. Some decide to give up the game rather than continue to face the furies that descend upon them. That’s just among amateurs, imagine what it’s like when you depend on making putts for a living.
Joe
