Self-demand can generate unwanted effects in our lives. Today I will transfer this premise to talk about the yips in golf a very common phenomenon and also very feared by practitioners of this discipline.
Golf is a sport that requires many physical and intellectual skills on the part of the player. This constant pressure can lead to involuntary spasms that end up affecting the expected perfect play. If you are interested in knowing more about the jeep in golf, what it is, how it arises and what its consequences are, keep reading.
Jeep in golf: what is it and where does it come from?
If you didn’t know its meaning, I’ll tell you. When talking about jeep In psychology we refer to an involuntary spasm. Excessive muscle activity leads to unwanted movement or even an inability to do the movement
This phenomenon – whose name we owe to Scottish golfer Tommy Armour – can interfere with the execution of movements that require good motor coordination. Generally, the chances of it happening increase the more practice a skill requires and the more time you spend thinking about how to do it.
In this way, when you start paying special attention to whether an action is performed correctly, the cerebellum is no longer responsible for this response. In fact, it becomes a conscious response that is difficult to control by the brain alone.
Believe it or not… The more practice a player accumulates, the more likely he will be to develop a jeep. Although practice makes perfect, if it is mixed with an excessive need to do it well, it can be detrimental to practice and also to daily life.
Often, it is this excess of mental instructions that causes these spasms and, with it, a cascade of subsequent emotional reactions that become chronic and intensify over time.
It is also important that you know this: yips They don’t just happen in golf. These spasms are quite common in sports that require a lot of thinking before executing a movement. For example: cricket, darts or archery. It is usually much less common in sports where the intensity of the game does not leave much room for reflection or analysis of the movement.
Causes of jeep in golf
Some of the main causes that cause a jeep in golf they are:
1. Material change
In some cases, the start of jeep can be precipitated when a player changes materials. These changes in the weights of the shafts and heads are made in order to refine the safety of the shot, the distance or other details a little more.
2. Changes in swing or technique
These changes cause the player to focus excessively on how the swing should be made and do not allow the cerebellum to do what it should do. This extreme pressure may be another cause of jeep.
3. Injuries
What I’m going to tell you happens with everything in life! It’s normal that you want to avoid something bad that has happened to you previously, right? For this Sometimes players concentrate more than normal on movements, to avoid future injuries
4. Practice non-stop
The years of intense practice with a special focus on the technical part can be one of the many variables that generate a jeep. Especially when you work tirelessly.
5. Player Personality Characteristics
This last reason – but just as important as the first – applies especially to people who are very self-demanding and have a great need for control. Being attentive to these characteristics and working on mental flexibility could help prevent yips.
The phenomenon of yips explained by psychology
How many times have you forced your brain to stop thinking about something and that something becomes the first thing you think about? Something similar happens with the yips. If we talk about self-fulfilling prophecies, this phenomenon will be a good example. A person who experiences yips You usually focus on what you don’t want to do instead of focusing on what you do want to achieve.
This mentality of avoiding mistakes instead of seeking instructions for success is detrimental to golf Instead of enhancing skills, the probability of failure increases. In these cases, the player has a great desire to do perfect and the goal of not making a mistake.
Thought suppression is highly challenging when trying to prevent an idea from lingering in the mind. This, in turn, usually interferes with the execution of a blow, preventing it from being fluid, which favors muscle tension and sudden movements associated with the hit. jeep.
Consequences of experiencing a jeep
Yes, the yips They can leave consequences and here I will tell you some:
As you see, once the jeep occurs, it seems like an endless cycle. But, fortunately, there is a solution. To do this, it is important to cultivate patience, adapt mental discourse to give yourself positive advice (for example: “go up in block” or “pull your shoulders” instead of “don’t break your wrist”), take care of anger and do the exercise of focusing attention on small exercises, so that the cerebellum can regain its power.
Finally, the key is to ensure that the threat of error does not determine the swing.