when ‘choking’ in sport can go next level

Legendary 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus once stated golf was “90% mental and 10% physical”.

That’s because unlike most other ball sports, a golfer spends most of the time thinking about their game instead of actually playing it: the contact time a player has with the ball is minuscule compared to the time spent planning the next shot, or frustratedly replaying a previous wonky hit.

This can take a toll on even the best players – who can forget Greg Norman’s 1996 US Masters collapse, considered one of the worst chokes in the history of sport?

But there can be times when these wobbles go next level: the yips.

Let’s unpack this rare, fascinating and occasionally devastating disorder, which can affect athletes in sports such as golf, tennis, archery, baseball, softball and darts.

What are the yips?

The yips is a movement disorder that involves involuntary muscle spasms that disrupt the normal execution of mostly small muscle movements, such as finger and hand movements.

It is likely a result of bad injuries, training these small muscle groups too much, and/or worrying excessively about an upcoming performance.

In that respect, it is largely a mental issue, but the causes can be physical, psychological, or both.

Athletes with the yips can struggle to hit a ball with another object (such as in golf or tennis) or accurately throw a ball or object toward a target (such as darts or baseball).

It is unclear how many athletes are affected by the yips, but some studies in golf (the most frequently yips-affected sport) estimate between 17% and even up to 50% of serious golfers have endured this problem.

Although more research is needed, golfers are probably more at risk due to a combination of the small motor movements that occur during a golf swing and the sport’s intense mental pressures.

There are different causes

Three causes can trigger the yips: something physical (a past injury), something psychological (anxiety experienced when performing the task), or combined (such as a previous traumatic sporting event like failing under pressure in an important moment).

Yips always involve involuntary muscle spasms: jerking and “freezing” of body parts crucial to perform a skill.

Athletes may experience these physical ailments with or without being nervous.

It’s not just ‘choking’

The yips is a term often used inaccurately by media and fans to explain why athletes miss an AFL set shot or a short putt in golf.

This is incorrect – the term “choking under pressure” should be used instead.

The yips are different from choking in several ways:

• the yips involve involuntary muscle movements; choking does not
• the yips may occur over a prolonged period (days, weeks, months); choking only occurs during one event or competition
• the yips occur with or without being nervous (they can happen during training or in competition); choking only occurs when an athlete is nervous (for example, during competition).

The yips can be a chronic, more severe form of choking where an increase in anxiety leads to the involuntary muscle movements, but chronic choking does not always lead to the yips.

Can athletes recover from them?

Some athletes can overcome them but others get defeated.

Jon Lester, a former professional baseball player, developed the yips and could not throw accurately to first base – a basic yet vital skill for elite pitchers.

Several throwing coaches suggested he change his technique, with no success. So Lester decided to purposely bounce the ball off the ground when throwing to first base instead of throwing it on the full. This is hardly ideal considering the importance of throwing quickly and accurately to bases.

He said at the time the new technique was an idea to:

[…] eliminate all tension and bounce it over there. I don’t really care what it looks like. I don’t care if it bounces 72 times.

Despite his woes throwing to first base, Lester still enjoyed a highly successful career.

But some yips-affected athletes have been forced to walk away from their sport.

Ian Baker-Finch, a professional golfer who won the British Open title in 1991, developed the yips and attempted to change his swing multiple times.

It didn’t work – at the 1997 British Open he played so poorly that he withdrew before the second round and retired with immediate effect.

The title of his biography is To Hell And Back, which delves into his battle with the yips and then finding fulfilment in golf commentary.

How can the yips be overcome?

There isn’t much research that has focused specifically on how to overcome the yips.

Interventions are usually based on the type of yips the athlete is experiencing.

For example, if the issue is more physical, medication is often used to reduce the likelihood of muscle spasms and jerking. Acupuncture can also help.

With psychological yips, pre-performance (or pre-shot) routines and solution-focused guided imagery may help yips-affected athletes (and performance generally).

If the athlete is battling the combined version of the yips, then eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapy (often shortened to EMDR) has been shown to improve symptoms and performance.

With all these interventions though, only a small sample of yips-affected athletes were tested, and long-term follow-up studies are needed.

Dealing with pressure

With golf’s next major, the 2026 PGA Championship, starting on Thursday, the best golfers in the world will descend on Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia.

Some will excel under the immense pressure but let’s hope none of them succumb to choking – or even worse, the yips.