Why is Tiger's Short Game so Bad? Does he Have the Yips?

[NJpatbee]

Long lay off, lack of confidence, feeling the pressure.  I do think he will improve as he plays more tournaments and gets it back.  He may not be the most admirable person on tour, but it is sad to see him play like....well.....me.

[Rick Martin]

You guys love the word "yips"

There's no such thing as yips in my opinion. It's a synonym for excuse created by the weak minded. and someone certainly cannot declare another individual to have a condition, only they choose believe in. It's simply a way to rationalize why Tiger was #1 in world 8 months ago and now after this tournament, he struggled in the short game? It's no different in my opinion than saying "he's been cursed by voodoo"

I find it equally as strange when some admits they themselves have this yip thing. It's kind of giving up, right? Just my 2 cents.

you think Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson, and Bernhard  Langer, Johnny Miller were weak minded?

[Yukari]

Like Phil said, short game is the first thing that goes during a long layoff.

[colin007]

Like Phil said, short game is the first thing that goes during a long layoff.

Nah, this is completely different. There's guys on this website that would destroy Tigs right now in a short game competition.

[Patch]

What bad luck. Just read that Woody chipped in for a par save, but also tweaked his back and has with drawn from the tournament. I think he blamed the fog delay which allowed his back to tighten up. The chip going in for a par save had to be a good thing for his chipping issues.

[BugDude]

He looks like he's trying to chip with a football bat.

As much as I really do not personally care for el tigre, even I hate to bear witness to such an embarrassing spectacle.  It reminds me of the Tin Cup movie when Roy gets the S-words and starts trying all those infomercial gimmicks.

Perhaps he's experiencing paralysis from analysis.  Whatever it is, it's ugly.

[mvmac]

Does anyone really know what is cause tiger to have such a bad short game all of a sudden? Is it all in his head, the yips etc.

Here's my take

http://thesandtrap.com/t/79801/why-is-tigers-short-game-so-bad-does-he-have-the-yips/18#post_1102350

[Chad Ryan]

Tiger's problem is mental. But it's not some yipping mental block. His problem is he doesn't love the game anymore - it's obvious. The guy plays fewer tourney's every year. He takes more and more time off with these injuries. He seems to practice less and less (something documented in Haney's book and evident in his form on the course). Tiger wants the records and the money but he doesn't want to work for it anymore. He withdraws everytime he doesn't have a chance to win and blames it on some weirdly described injury. The guy had a broken knee and fought through it at the US open in 08 cuz he had a chance to win. He's 8 shots back today and his glutes don't fire and he WD's? cmon. He was two thirds of the way through the round. Freddy couples fights back pain EVERY TIME he tees it up. He plays twice as many events as tiger. I hope he gets it together...it's sad to see him fall so far....again.

[nevets88]

[QUOTE name="Chad Ryan" url="/t/79801/why-is-tigers-short-game-so-bad-does-he-have-the-yips/40_40#post_1102877"]   Tiger's problem is mental. But it's not some yipping mental block. His problem is he doesn't love the game anymore - it's obvious. The guy plays fewer tourney's every year. He takes more and more time off with these injuries. He seems to practice less and less (something documented in Haney's book and evident in his form on the course). Tiger wants the records and the money but he doesn't want to work for it anymore. He withdraws everytime he doesn't have a chance to win and blames it on some weirdly described injury. The guy had a broken knee and fought through it at the US open in 08 cuz he had a chance to win. He's 8 shots back today and his glutes don't fire and he WD's? cmon. He was two thirds of the way through the round. Freddy couples fights back pain EVERY TIME he tees it up. He plays twice as many events as tiger. I hope he gets it together...it's sad to see him fall so far....again.  [/QUOTE] Earlier in this post, it's mentioned it's a technique problem, not yips. See [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/t/79801/why-is-tigers-short-game-so-bad-does-he-have-the-yips/0_40#post_1102350]here[/URL]. We really don't know how much he practices, but given injury and family circumstances, I'd understand why.  Here is a Google search on Couples and WDs. There's not a trivial amount of WDs. I count 7 alone in the first page since 2009. [URL=https://www.google.com/search?q=fred+couples+withdraw&oq;=fred+couples+withdraw&aqs;=chrome..69i57.4621j0j7&sourceid;=chrome&es;_sm=119&ie;=UTF-8#q=fred+couples+withdraw+-tiger+-woods+-%22tiger+woods%22&safe;=off&start;=10]https://www.google.com/search?q=fred+couples+withdraw&oq;=fred+couples+withdraw&aqs;=chrome..69i57.4621j0j7&sourceid;=chrome&es;_sm=119&ie;=UTF-8#q=fred+couples+withdraw+-tiger+-woods+-%22tiger+woods%22&safe;=off&start;=10[/URL]

[Zeph]

Tiger's problem is mental. But it's not some yipping mental block. His problem is he doesn't love the game anymore - it's obvious. The guy plays fewer tourney's every year. He takes more and more time off with these injuries. He seems to practice less and less (something documented in Haney's book and evident in his form on the course). Tiger wants the records and the money but he doesn't want to work for it anymore. He withdraws everytime he doesn't have a chance to win and blames it on some weirdly described injury. The guy had a broken knee and fought through it at the US open in 08 cuz he had a chance to win. He's 8 shots back today and his glutes don't fire and he WD's? cmon. He was two thirds of the way through the round. Freddy couples fights back pain EVERY TIME he tees it up. He plays twice as many events as tiger. I hope he gets it together...it's sad to see him fall so far....again.

Really? He hasn't been playing much because he's injured. Do you expect him to play in an injured state? I don't know much about Tiger's practice regimen, but I wouldn't use the book by Haney from years ago as a guideline.

Pain is not pain. There's everything from a prickle on the finger to being torched. You can't compare him to Freddy and say he should just play through it. You have no idea what kind of pain Freddy or Tiger has. I've had back pain I could play with and back pain that almost immobilize me.

[Rick Martin]

He looks like he's trying to chip with a football bat.

As much as I really do not personally care for el tigre, even I hate to bear witness to such an embarrassing spectacle.  It reminds me of the Tin Cup movie when Roy gets the S-words and starts trying all those infomercial gimmicks.

Perhaps he's experiencing paralysis from analysis.  Whatever it is, it's ugly.

I think yips are a lot about paralysis by analysis and overly concentrating on positions in the short game shot/swing.

I'm tiring of Tiger's over analysis of his physical condition - a little TMI.

He sounds like he's near the end of the road and might need to bow out gracefully.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad Ryan

Tiger's problem is mental. But it's not some yipping mental block. His problem is he doesn't love the game anymore - it's obvious. The guy plays fewer tourney's every year. He takes more and more time off with these injuries. He seems to practice less and less (something documented in Haney's book and evident in his form on the course). Tiger wants the records and the money but he doesn't want to work for it anymore. He withdraws everytime he doesn't have a chance to win and blames it on some weirdly described injury. The guy had a broken knee and fought through it at the US open in 08 cuz he had a chance to win. He's 8 shots back today and his glutes don't fire and he WD's? cmon. He was two thirds of the way through the round. Freddy couples fights back pain EVERY TIME he tees it up. He plays twice as many events as tiger. I hope he gets it together...it's sad to see him fall so far....again.

Really? He hasn't been playing much because he's injured. Do you expect him to play in an injured state? I don't know much about Tiger's practice regimen, but I wouldn't use the book by Haney from years ago as a guideline.

Pain is not pain. There's everything from a prickle on the finger to being torched. You can't compare him to Freddy and say he should just play through it. You have no idea what kind of pain Freddy or Tiger has. I've had back pain I could play with and back pain that almost immobilize me.

Dead on.  I have back issues too, and sometimes I can play through it, other times not.  And mine has never been what Tiger's is, or was before the surgery.  Guys who don't have back trouble always seem to be the first to accuse him of malingering.  They haven't got a clue.

[BugDude]

I think there's some truth to his waning burning drive and passion for the game.

I'm 46 and from the first time I hit a golf ball at 20 I was hooked...heck, totally addicted!!!  It was an obsession, the central focus of an OCD driven mania.  I ate, drank, slept, talked, studied, practiced, and played every chance I got.  If I couldn't play, I had a golf club in my hand.  I had a practice green in my house and hit 100 5-footers a night to a 2 ball wide hole before bed.  If I missed one, I started over.  I practiced chipping every day at lunch (my club practice green was close to work).  I hit the range 4 times per week and played at least 4 times per week.  I remember playing while it was flurrying, while it was pouring rain, I didn't care what the conditions were I had to get my fix.  I even played within a week of knee surgery walking on crutches on the course (putting all of my weight on my left leg and just balancing myself with my right leg in a brace).  The Docs said I wouldn't play for a year, and within 3 months I was playing better than ever.  And I got darn good at the game too.  I loved the creativity of the inside 100 game.  I loved escape shots and pulling off things people couldn't imagine.  To me it was an art form.

Fast forward to when I turned 40.  Something happened that I still can't explain.  My interest in golf just sort of fizzled.  I had other interests that were really starting to take priority.  I had young kids, I got involved in antique cars, painting, fishing, billiards.  It just kept getting less and less about golf until I went a year and only played maybe 6 times and never went to the range.  Now, I play through the summer when the courses are empty and in the winter I rarely play.  I recently went 4 months without touching a club.  I just got back into it the last month, went to the range a couple times, played 4 rounds, but I'm still not driven.

The funny part is after months off, it doesn't take me long to get back to form.  My last 4 rounds after not touching a club were 82, 77, 74, 74 (5 birdies that last round).  Short game feel and touch is the first to go, but comes back quick too.  Whatever is going on with his game is more than just time off rustiness.

I've struggled with back problems, multiple knee problems, elbow problem, etc.  Debilitating at times, multiple surgeries, etc.  Pain and fear of pain if you make a certain move can alter your mechanics without you even realizing it.  Then that creeps in your head.  Couple that with 100 swing thoughts at the same time due to changing your swing and BAM!!!  You have the fortitude of a bowl of jello.

I overcame many obstacles, but I've never gotten back my burning drive and desire for the game.  It's just OK for me now.  If I play, fine, if I don't, fine.  I like it and I enjoy playing well but I don't have the burn.  Ironically, once I didn't really care anymore my game got even better.  I played more at and under par rounds last spring and summer than ever, but that still didn't restore the burn.  The indifference towards the game allowed me to get out of my own way and actually score better.  Maybe not play better as in hitting the actual shots, but playing smarter.

In any event, he's got a lot of crap going on and it's a multi-faceted issue with no single fix.  He can cure the mechanical issues and the swing thoughts/analysis stuff, but you can't really fix the competing interests robbing your golf game of the attention you once gave it.

[iacas]

This is fact.  Using a 60° wedge from a tight lie is an art form, and it requires precise control of the club, which requires precise mental control.

That depends on the technique being employed. Some types of technique make shots like these more difficult to hit than others.

[warbirdjms]

Wether it is the Yips or as Tigers says 'trouble finding the bottom of his swing', all who have witnessed his recent struggles can say for a fact that he cannot compete until the issue is resolved. Each of us have an opinion which makes this site so interesting to follow, this is my take: After hitting a few indifferent chips/pitches in competetive play(when it matters!), could be poor technique, a bad lie or just the fact that your human! When you find yourself in the same situation again the subconscious mind automatically brings the picture/feeling of previous bad results into your conscious mind, leading to a thought process along the lines of 'oh no,last time I faced this kind of shot I made a right mess of it, make sure you don't do the same thing this time.OK, keep weight left, hinge wrists and hold firm, accelerate through impact' It could be a number of swing thoughts running through your mind but it is my belief that if the image or feeling in your mind is of the end result, and BAD result at that, this is what causes the poor shot. The very thing that you don't want to happen does, it is the fear of missing the shot that causes the miss. I am no Tiger but I did achieve a reasonable standard of play and in fact did qualify to play on the European Tour (many,many years ago) all the while struggling with the short game, if I missed a green it was a dropped shot or two! I decided to grind it out of the dirt and set a goal of 5,000 practice pitch/ chips shots a day and followed this regime for exactly 4 weeks, each practice session started poorly but after approx 1 hour I would be hitting my target from any distance 1 shot out of 10 and the rest would be very good. The very first competive round I played after my 4 week grind, I missed the first green by 10 feet, my chip didn't even make the green,double bogey! That was the last round I played with a card in my hand, for me and I fear for Tiger no amount of physical practice will cure this, the only 'cure' is to hit successful shots in actual competitive play. How do you achieve this, if I knew that I would now be playing on the senior tour:-) My research into this malady makes me believe/know it is a mind issue and I have achieved some reasonable success in practice play( not competitive though!) using clear keys, not looking at the ball but off to the side,closing my eyes! Each of these radical methods I believe, take your mind of worrying about the result and letting your natural ability hit the shot, a NON conscious method. it is my opinion Tiger knows how to hit these shots, he's hit some of the greatest short shots in the history of golf( he should get someone to make a DVD of all his great shots and he should just watch them for a week or two, better than any practice), but his mind is now concentrated upon not hitting a bad pitch and this creates enough tension to ruin the shot.If you watch his chip on the first hole from just off the green in the Farmers in slow mo you can just make out his head moving as he looks to see the finish of the shot(anxious) causing the thin. It's also my belief this poor thinking has permeated Tigers long game, how else would he be striping it in practice but then play so poorly in competition. Tiger please,please seek the help of someone like Bob Rotella, it's not caused by a weak mind just a mind working incorrectly.

[spikemk]

Yips? I think there is too much clutter rattling around between the ears . He is a legend and I hope he finds the right broom and Fully recovers from that back problem to trust his swing that we all know is waiting to come out and play.

[ol deadeye]

It's in his head for sure. It's called doubt. No such thing as yips. We have all had it. Does not matter what club is being used. No one ever played the game with more confidence than Tiger. Look in Rory's eyes, then look in Tigers. See the difference? Unless he regains it you will not see him on the weekend at the Masters.

[mchepp]

Brandel once again attempting to kick Tiger when he is down:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nbc-yahoo-sports/brandel-chamblee--tiger-woods--quest-for-perfection-causing-his-downfall-154348564.html