Evening star., 1938-04-06
Y|PS' EVER FATAL
TOL|NKS CONTROL
Player Suffering Attack
Can't Avoid Hurry.ng His
Swings, Strokes.
By GRANTLAND RICE.

10y "ANnA~ ASASNs
AUGUSTA, Ga, April 6.-The great
est curse in golf, according to Prof
Tommy Armour. the silver fox of Scot
, land, Boca Ration and Medinah, is not
slice or hook, or even a topped
drive.
Il still repeat" observes Armour,
that it is the yips The yips-and
nothing else.
What are the yips? You ought to
know. The yips are a sudden explo-
sion of the nerve centers. They may
lead to sudden, hurried backswing
They may catch you before the top of
your backswing, forcing you to hit too
swiftly from the top. They may cause
head lifting-which they usually do.
But above all the loudest explosion
takes place In your wrists on short
chip or putt-even on putt of 18
inches. They are especially deadly on
the shorter puts around the green.
II suppose they start in the brain,
where tension nearly always begins.
But they explode like powder when the
fuse it lit. They can come from many
causes-staleness, too much high-pres-
sure golf, outside worries. They hit
highstrung natures much harder than
the phlegmatic type. I've seen them
hit a Hagen and Jones. Vardon
and Harry Cooper. Sammy Snead
and every one else"
Tension Checks Many.
''Too many people," Armour contin-
ued, look too much toward results
not toward causes. Some one says
You lifted your head but the fault
began well before that 1t was there
at the start of your sWing-too much
tension. I should say the main test
OF smooth golf swing is the ability to
pause for fraction of a moment at
the top Of the sWing-not to hurry the
downswing.
you might be surprised to know
how many GOLFER start their down.
swing before the backsWing is ever fin
thed. I'd say that 80 per cent of all
who play are guilty of this fault. This
again goes back to another form of
the yips. They simply can't wait to
finish one part OF the job before they
start the next move.
Il recall once playing at Pinehurst," p"
Tommy went on, land had been mov-
ing around between 66 and 70 stead
lily. Suddenly, in a tournament, I
moved up to Is or II.
"'What's happened to your body
turn?' Gil Nichols asked me- You
are not turning halfway
Il know I'm not said.
"You see, I knew what the fault
was, but couldn't correct it. MY
nerves-or the yips-wouldn't let me.
I simply couldn't wait to take my full
turn-I couldn't finish my swing. I
had played too much golf.
Nerve Control Goes Swiftly.
Heres another example. I was on
the practice putting green one day,
with nothing at stake, using free.
full, perfect putting stroke. And get
ting great results. Frank Crown
inshield happened to be standing
nearby.
why don't you use that same
cGIohC AL a UAk uoul lidlllCllJs llt dSkcU.
IT'S marvellous
Il laughed. I told him that il I
ever tried to use that same stroke
in a hard competition I'd hit half
my puts out of bounds. And I think
would
Bob Jones had the best putting
stroke ever saw-full, free and easy.
But, when he tried to put it to the
test after five-year lay-off it
wouldn't work. The same thing has
happened to Hagen the last few years.
The old nerve control no longer exists.
1T hasn't anything to do with cour-
age or gameness. Nothing at all. 1t
all happens in flash. That's why
Leo Diegel had to try holing short
puts left-handed. Just as he'd start
to stroke the ball right-handed-even
2-foot putt-there'd come a sudden
jerk or stab and he might be 6 feet
beyond the cup.
In one 72-hole tournament missed
81 puts under feet. And I was
playing the best golf Of my life up
to the pin.
How many times have you known
you couldn't hole that 2-footer? The
yips were telling you in advance.
tcopyrisht. 1898. by the North American
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