By Larry Canning
I’ve often pondered writing this column but have never, in the words of our brand new Open Champion golfer of the year – “had the stones” to go through with it.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in front of my computer, fingers tips loaded and a head full of experiences with the “Yips”, only to bail out last minute for fear of winding with a massive incurable does of these heinous little mongrels. I remember one night, after the best part of a beautiful Southern Highlands Wines Shiraz, which was on the back of 2 schooners of Coopers Ale at Mittagong Pub, I tapped out 500 words on the Yips before I nodded off on top of the keypad.
This led to a terrible night’s sleep where Sandra told me I woke up twitching and screaming “Tiger!! You play through ….I could be on this green for the rest of the bloody day!!”
The first thing I did next morning was to delete the living daylights out of that prospective piece while I still had control over most of my bodily functions.
I have given golf lessons to people who’ve had them but I always wore a face mask and washed my hands with hand sanitiser before and after.
I actually did have one single weird attack out of the blue on the 18th hole at Tumut Golf Club during a Seniors tour pro-am. Given how my tournament was travelling at this stage if I could slot it in there close and make a birdie, I might make roughly $39 in prizemoney. When the club made contact with the ground I thought I’d struck the mains electricity line to the clubhouse! My wife Sandra said “Shit Larry are you alright?!!”
It never really happened again on a golf course and that’s where this yarn becomes bizarre!
You see, my loyal readers, I have suffered a huge dose of this virus but not on a golf course. Now before you take that to another more embarrassing physical scenario, let me explain.
I was playing over 40’s cricket in one of the most iconic cricketing towns in the world – Bowral, the home of one – Sir Donald Bradman. I had prepared in the nets with a mate and some of our respective sons and whilst I wasn’t about to gain the eye of the Aussie selectors I thought I could get through my upcoming game without humiliating myself.
My golf equipment sponsor at the time was Maxfli who also had Slazenger so as you can imagine, I had the very best kit from the Slazenger V 12 bat to the latest in lightweight sweat free Abdo batting protectors. I looked like a former decent player who just hadn’t played for years which is exactly what I was trying to achieve and I actually propelled a couple of pills in front of square right up until I had to fake a “calfamus-that-hurtias” injury just before my off stump landed back onto the ground.
It was the next week when I was thrown the ball when it turned to excrement. I ran in, went through my classic wind up and landed the near new kookaburra ball right onto the laces of my left foot. I was lucky my foot stopped it going backwards and costing my team a couple of overthrows. Next ball sailed over the batter and the keepers head at a speed so slow you could have run three before it landed.
I had the YIPS! But how can a golf professional, who’s faced life changing putts (I missed every one of them), in front of TV cameras and tens of thousands of people suffer a massive dose of this affliction when playing another sport when there is absolutely nothing on the line except a couple of overthrows??
According to the Mayo Clinic – “The yips are involuntary wrist spasms that occur most commonly when golfers are trying to putt. However, the yips also can affect people who play other sports — such as cricket, darts and baseball.
It was once thought that the yips were always associated with performance anxiety. However, it now appears that some people have the yips due to a neurological condition affecting specific muscles. This condition is known as focal dystonia.
Changing the way you perform the affected task might help you find relief from the yips. For example, a right-handed golfer might try putting left-handed”
Which brings me right back to why I’m sharing this story with you.
I was just watching Lucas Glover winning on the PGA Tour for the second straight week. The big guy has had a huge issue with the yips to the point where the TV commentator showed Lucas nearly completely missing the ball when trying to make an 18-inch putt 12 months earlier!
He changed to the same broom-stick putter Adam Scott uses a month ago and has since pocketed $8 million Aussie.
The comments immediately following were all about how the pressure of playing for millions can affect your nerves. NO my friends, it’s not about that at all.
Good on Lucas Glover who is that good a ball striker he actually ended a 10 year winless streak last year while still suffering the “Putting Tazers”.
I know when the R&A and USGA both chose to ban anchored putting 7 years ago it left thousands of yippers around the world looking for tennis rackets or law sets of bowls, so if you are one of these victims of their arrogance, take a squiz at Lucas Glover’s putting method and give it a crack!
I can’t guarantee you’ll win the Fed Ex Cup but the odd Pro-Shop voucher or keno ticket might be just around the next dogleg.
