The yips: an investigation of the causes and treatments in the context of golf

Aim: When a skill is lost, this can impact a person's career and psychological wellbeing. As this is the case with the yips, preventing, treating, and curing them is important. This study was prompted by the limited information available on the yips, specifically regarding etiologies. The intent of this study was to utilize surveys with both a medical review of systems and psychological questioning to identify commonalities in afflicted players. This could then provide considerations of the causes and guide future research. Methods: The study recruited experienced golfers for in-person surveys and stroke demonstrations from January 26, 2019 to March 28, 2020. The analyses included statistical methods and discussion. These methods included Yates’ chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test targeted toward smaller sample sizes. Results: Finding participants was difficult and resulted in a small sample size (n = 14). The study had 4 participants with the yips and 10 controls. Statistical methods for small sample sizes found few associations. However, Fisher's exact test showed negative associations between the yips and sore throats (p = 0.0050), fever (p = 0.0150), and physical trauma (p = 0.0150). Yates' chi-squared test also found significance for fever (p = 0.0328), sore throat (p = 0.0105), and physical trauma (p = 0.0328). Qualitative data were also highlighted in the study, including tabulating the treatments tried and the outcomes of the participants. Conclusion: The yips cause problems, especially for those who have invested significant time into perfecting a skill. Continued research is warranted to elucidate the causes and effective treatments.