GolfClubAtlas.com, version 2013

[Gib_Papazian]

Mark,

Nope. It sucks and then doesn't land on the green.  

Ball flight trajectory mirrors life if you think about it. When you're young and full of testosterone, booze and bat speed, the ball she fly high and finally landeth in a faraway kingdom.

Then, the ball she come off the club like fired from a rifle. It comes down and rolls a long way, but still in the same time zone.

Add another 10 years, the ball she fly, but not so far . . . . . but still straight.

10 more and you stand on the white tee with a f*cking pea shooter and hope to reach the fairway.

Does anybody have a treatment for the yips besides a broom handle or a midlife switch to a cack-handed grip? Tommy's "cure" worked fabulously well until the Bell Rang. In tournament conditions, that 4.25 inch hole shrank down to a thimble. Johnny Miller, following his improbable 1994 victory in the Crosby, remarked that he got through the round putting while looking at the hole. I believe he called it "the WOOD method." . . . . . . Works Only One Day.  

Paging Dr. Katz.   

[Mark Pearce]

When Rihc visits for that match he can teach you The Claw (tm).

[Gib_Papazian]

If memory serves, Professor Goodale switched to (and demonstrated) "The Claw" prior to running back to Scotland, thereby reducing the aggregate I.Q. in the Bay Area by 6.3 points.

Rihc has always reminded me of The Sack, a mysterious character in a short story by William Morrison . . . . . . Since the Treehouse is (or used to be) overflowing with nerds, Trekkies, "art rockers" and devotees of the arcane and obscure, it is inconceivable that someone in the Grillroom has not only read the story, but can quote passages chapter and verse.    

Here is the story for anybody looking for a great SciFi read: http://www.scribd.com/doc/23333752/William-Morrison-The-Sack

  

[Mark Woodger]

Thanks to all for the website. It is a wonderful resource for information and a great place to interact on a wide variety of subject. The quality of the writing by most on this site is excellent and far better than some of the stuff on other golf websites and in magazines. I think i learn as much from that as i do about golf courses and life.

Good luck to all in 2013.

[Adam Clayman]

Mark,

Nope. It sucks and then doesn't land on the green.  

Ball flight trajectory mirrors life if you think about it. When you're young and full of testosterone, booze and bat speed, the ball she fly high and finally landeth in a faraway kingdom.

Then, the ball she come off the club like fired from a rifle. It comes down and rolls a long way, but still in the same time zone.

Add another 10 years, the ball she fly, but not so far . . . . . but still straight.

10 more and you stand on the white tee with a f*cking pea shooter and hope to reach the fairway.

Does anybody have a treatment for the yips besides a broom handle or a midlife switch to a cack-handed grip? Tommy's "cure" worked fabulously well until the Bell Rang. In tournament conditions, that 4.25 inch hole shrank down to a thimble. Johnny Miller, following his improbable 1994 victory in the Crosby, remarked that he got through the round putting while looking at the hole. I believe he called it "the WOOD method." . . . . . . Works Only One Day.  

Paging Dr. Katz.   

As aunt Molly would say " When I met him, he looked like a greek god. Now, he looks like a goddamn greek."

  Re your yips.... Quit thinking about the result. Focus on the task, and treat it like any old, run of the mill, everyday, X foot putt.

The paralyzation emanates from betwix the ears, and comes from that voice that says, I need this for _____ (par, birdie, whatever). Now as for those other voices,,, Will the real Dr. Katz stand up?

[Gib_Papazian]

And the chipping yips?

Prozac?

Mac O'Grady and I spent an afternoon some years ago. One of the subjects he expounded upon (expansively and loquaciously) was the Yippers.

It was (so he told me) found to be - through scientific research - a neurological twitch that begins in the fingers, moves its way up the arm and eventually to the shoulder.

Trying to reason away the yips to the afflicted is like admonishing a Tourette's victim to just stop their verbal tics.

Bernhard Langer is a man of incredibly strong will. If the Yips were truly caused by concentrating on the result instead of the process, he would not have resorted to such contortive putting mechanics.

I wish there was a blue pill for the Yips - my guess is a large measure of the aging male population would make the trade, straight-across.         

[Stephen Davis]

Gib,
I was recently turned on to something from a company called Eyeline golf called Balls of Steel (insert witty retort here). They are 5 times heavier than a regulation golf ball. They are used to practice (no more than 6-7 foot putts). They really make you put a very confident, accelerating stroke on the ball. I have found since I started using them that my putting has greatly improved, especially in the 10 foot and in range. Also, I do not use it but I have read the reasoning behind the Claw method and it does seem to be sound.

[Gib_Papazian]

Stephen,

That is like telling an oncology patient that zinc helped you cure a head cold.

 

[Stephen Davis]

Stephen,

That is like telling an oncology patient that zinc helped you cure a head cold.

 

Gib,

I don't follow. The yips is a twitch that occurs just before impact, which among other things causes you to decelerate. By working with these weighted balls it prevents (or trains you to prevent) deceleration at impact. I can tell you that it works, however, it does require practice which most people don't care for. On a separate note, I really enjoy your posts. They are witty, funny and often dead on. Thanks!

[Gib_Papazian]

Stephen,

I have ordered juevos de acero and am cautiously optimistic. The yips have ruined my enjoyment of the game - especially since the putting twitches metastasized into my wedges.

My shot sequence on a medium par-5 goes: Driver 230 yards, dead center; rescue club short of the greenside bunkers; skull wedge over the green into a bunker; shank; another shank; desperate swipe, chunked barely onto the fringe; deft lag putt to five feet; yip two feet past; lip-out coming back; throw putter and ball to next tee.

Rinse and repeat.      

[Stephen Davis]

Stephen,

I have ordered juevos de acero and am cautiously optimistic. The yips have ruined my enjoyment of the game - especially since the putting twitches metastasized into my wedges.

My shot sequence on a medium par-5 goes: Driver 230 yards, dead center; rescue club short of the greenside bunkers; skull wedge over the green into a bunker; shank; another shank; desperate swipe, chunked barely onto the fringe; deft lag putt to five feet; yip two feet past; lip-out coming back; throw putter and ball to next tee.

Rinse and repeat.      

Gib,

Although I know this is tough to experience, at least you make it entertaining to read . I am anxious to hear how these work out for you. I really hope they work and help you enjoy playing again.

[Steve Lang]

   Stephen,

Ms Sheila says you need to man up and go for 10-12 footers on the carpet with the steel balls and then 40 footers really come into range!  Though she didn't have the yips, and she was a good putter already, they've helped her a lot, noticeably on lag puts.  She recommends alternating with regular surlyn unless you like to play hockey..

Gib, ever tried one-handed - pure pendulum motion?  Embrace the flick, don't fear it, reverse paddle dude.


p.s. i think there needs to be a Locker Room-Bar within the site, how else can Gib get the widest range of help??