News Tips Digital Daily Wisc. So, researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. are trying to figure out how Yips starts and then how to stop it. WCCO's Tony Berlin took a closer look into this golfer's nightmare. Yips is defined as a type of nervous twitch golfers get before a pressure putt.
Yips also can plague other athletes at critical points.
Some say it's all in your mind, but medical experts think it might have physical roots too. Either way, the fear of Yips is contagious. This condition has become such a handicap for Leaf that she is now pitching the local pro for relief and every back swing is an adventure. Leaf finds that the closer she gets to the hole to sink her putt, the worse the Yips become. What should be an easy shot now becomes virtually impossible to do in one swing.