Tiger Woods Chip Yips (2017 Edition, with Poll)

[iacas]

Quote

Sens: Obviously, getting through the week without a wince and a back-grab would be good. But more than that, no chip yips and no prolonged stretches of two-way misses.

http://www.golf.com/tour-news/2017/10/31/tour-confidential-tiger-edition-what-are-your-expectations-his-return-and-his-season

I have a hard time believing people still think the chip yips were ever really a thing for Tiger. IMO he was caught between techniques, and playing on some grainy greens. He had put all of his time in on the full swing, and neglected his putting and chipping and short game stuff. He played beautifully only a few months later at Augusta the one time he "had" the "chip yips."

But let's see what the poll is.

[saevel25]

I voted no on both. He suffered from lack of practice. I believe his pitching technique didn't allow him to use the bounce as effectively as he could have. 

[Wanzo]

I voted "something else" and "no".  I tend to think he had pretty poor technique, but I do think that it probably got in his head some after hitting some poor shots which affected his confidence too.  I think he'll be past that this time around but curious to see if his technique is different.  I mean, he had to have practiced that area a lot given his physical limitations for a while and the obvious need.

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, Wanzo said:

I do think that it probably got in his head some after hitting some poor shots which affected his confidence too.

I think this.

And I don't call those the yips. You don't "cure" the yips as quickly as he did.

[colin007]

He looked like he wasn't in control of where he wanted the low point to be on those chips

[David in FL]

I don't know what to call it, but it was entertaining as hell.  One can only hope it somehow continues!  

Edited November 1, 2017 by David in FL

[Yukari]

I voted no on both.  I think he was rusty with his short game and hence horrible chip shots -- not yips.

This time around, I think he will be better prepared since he HAD to start with chipping first, albeit not by choice.

[colin007]

1 hour ago, David in FL said:

I don't know what to call it, but it was entertaining as hell.  One can only hope it somehow continues!  

That's not nice, David. You're better than that. 

[billchao]

I vote no and no. Like @Wanzo, I believe Tiger suffered from bad mechanics which led to bad results that hurt his confidence, which affected his decision making. I've been there myself, settling for a running chip or putting from the rough and ending up 40' away from the hole just so you don't flub another pitch woefully short of the green or blade it over it, resulting in yet another greenside shot. It's fine for a weekend hack like me but not someone trying to compete on the PGA Tour.

That's not the yips. The yips, to me, are more like what Charles Barkley does with that hitch. Tiger might hit some bad short game shots in 2018, but he won't have the yips.

[skydog]

I’m somewhere between No and something else (voted no). As someone who has had the putting yips before, his problems did not seem akin to the yips at all to me.

[David in FL]

3 hours ago, colin007 said:

That's not nice, David. You're better than that. 

 

[Zeph]

No and no.

My first issue with this topic is how one defines "yips". What are they in golf, who has had them, who has gotten rid of them and how much do you have to struggle with putting or short game for it to be classified as yips? Career ending? 1 year? 3 years? If people interpret the word differently, you'll have a hard time finding consensus.

He had struggles with the short game, that was pretty clear. I never considered it yips as far as I've come to understand the term. It lasted a little while, then he got the hang of it. After surgery, being out of the game and all, I would be surprised if he didn't struggle with parts of the game in the early days of a comeback.

[jamo]

I also voted no and no. I'm no Tiger Woods, but I also had a several-week stretch this season where I was shanking and skulling and fatting all my chips. Now that the season is over, of course, I've been chipping like a champ on the practice green.

Sometimes things go awry, especially when you're working on new technique.

[Ty_Webb]

14 hours ago, iacas said:

I think this.

And I don't call those the yips. You don't "cure" the yips as quickly as he did.

This ^

I have had some experience with them and I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. They go through spells of being bad and not so bad. I lean towards them being a technical issue rather than a mental thing, although the mental side of it is quite large too. I know if I'm going to be yippy on a chip before I even get to it. That has to be a mental thing. 

In any case, the way I characterize the really bad days is at the top of my backswing, it's like a fuse is lit in my elbows. It burns down my forearms as I swing the club down and the bomb goes off at impact. I basically have two choices - I can not release the club at all and it will be pointing up to 30 degrees right and the ball goes half way and WAY right, or I can fire my right hand completely and the ball takes off and goes somewhere around 20 degrees left. Neither is good. I can see it coming from a mile away and I get hot flushes just thinking about it. 

Mine affected my longer putting and my chipping and drifted into my pitching at times. Claw grip did for my putting and, touch wood, that's been fine. I have a new feeling I'm working with on my chipping, which is helping and my pitching has also, touch wood, been okay lately. Either way, no one who thinks they may have the yips has the yips. If you have them, you know it.

Anyway, I digress. I didn't see anything remotely yippy in what Tiger was doing. He hit some awful chips yes, but nothing yippy. I hit awful chips on my good days (good meaning not yippy) and that's from a lack of practice. I don't mind that - that's fixable. Tiger hit some great chips very soon afterwards, under quite a lot of pressure (as noted at the Masters). There is no earthly way he does that if he had the yips. Even a little bit.

[coachjimsc]

I voted no and no.

15 hours ago, iacas said:

IMO he was caught between techniques

I also agree with this. IIRC Tiger even stated as such during that time.

[DaveP043]

I voted no and no as well.

1 minute ago, coachjimsc said:

I also agree with this. IIRC Tiger even stated as such during that time.

I'm not sure that I'd use Tiger's explanation as proof of anything, he's never really been open and honest with the media.  In this case he may have been, but at the same time he was telling us how close he was to playing well, and how good he was feeling.

[Wally Fairway]

I would have voted "Yes" and "I have no idea", but I can't vote because the poll requires me to say yes or no to the 2nd part.
And I refuse to pick on or the other as I really have no idea. I really hope that he doesn't have the yips when he returns

[iacas]

Anyone still think Tiger has/had the chip yips?