Some people think The Yips are incurable. Maybe they are right, but for some people there are some worthwhile things to try. Most of the references to The Yips refer to putting, but you can also get The Yips for other parts of the game like chipping, pitching, and the full swing. Recently I saw on the Golf Channel's show on the 2006 PGA, Henrik Stenson had the full swing yips and to cure them he closed his eyes and trusted his swing mechanics. I personally have the Pitching Yips, whenever I take the club back all I can think of is I hope I don't chunk it, shank it, or skull it, and of course that brings my probability of success down to 1 out of 4, not very good odds.

Then I tried Henriks's suggestion first on putting, and it worked great because there is little chance of a mechanical error on a putt. By trusting my stroke, the visual distraction was eliminated, making it easier to follow thru straight toward my target every time. Then I tried it on pitches, by starting my backswing with my eyes open and then closing them. To my surprise, by trusting my stroke with my eyes closed, I hit several pitches perfectly. However, the next day, brimming with confidence, I tried this again and whiffed the ball completely. Shocking disappointment, thinking I am so screwed, thinking nothing will ever work. I think it may have been due to lack of trust in executing the swing without looking. Some time later, I found another mental tactic that seems to work, and that is from the movie Caddyshack, BE THE BALL, in other words, just stare at the ball while swinging without being distracted by swing thoughts.

The lesson here is to think about how the stroke should feel with your eyes closed, and then execute that stroke with eyes closed and feeling the same feel as before, and not quit too soon, keep concentrating all the way until the follow thru is completed. This takes total concentration, which you cannot afford to lose, so if you cannot maintain this level of concentration then this method may not be for you.