As an amateur starting out in your golfing career, you may have heard about a condition known as the yips. There’s a good chance, unless you were already familiar with the game, that you had no idea what these yips were or are. The yips may be a problem for many people, but they are not one that is talked about that often.

Perhaps you are better off having never know what the golfing yips are or were, and perhaps you may wish you had never heard of the, once you come down with them. They are, possibly, the worst thing that can happen to your golf game, and they might be the thing that changes your play for your life. The golfing yips are deadly to a handicap, and it is not always obvious how to overcome.

If your yips find your missing putts and shots, unable to think on the course, or without the ability to move, you may have attempted to get rid of them. But the most common cures tried for the golfing yips are often done the wrong way, by changing mechanics or altering the fundamentals of your game.

You can try to get rid of your golfing yips by changing your game, but this will only distract you from the problem, not eradicate it. In addition, you will have to struggle with learning a new putter grip, or a new club itself.

The golfing yips are a sort of nervous disorder that causes your body to shut down. You may lose your fine motor skills, and you will likely be unable to play your game. The yips are caused by a traumatic experience, and the yips themselves can prove to be traumatic for anyone trying to go low on the scorecard.

With these yips, whether in the form of golfing yips or shanks, your body will fail to move in the way that you want it to. You may not be able to take the club back on your backswing, or you may fail to bring it back down on the down swing. You will freeze up when it comes time to take action, and your swing will seem unexplainably lost.

This scenario is like springing a leak in your bathroom or kitchen, and attempting to solve the problem only by mopping up the leaking water. With the mop and the changed mechanics, the water will still be spouting – just like the yips will still be dominating your nervous system.

You need to turn the water off before you begin mopping up the mess, and this is done by in golf by first remedying those golfing yips. You need to fix that energy within your body that is stopping you from moving your putter back. You need to stop yourself from freezing over the putt, remove the jitters with the short stick in your hand, and go back to a place where you can focus only on the putt.

You need to get past the trauma that caused the putting yips, and only the right methods can help you do this, not a change in your game.

Here’s a little tweak that will improve your ball-striking immensely. It’s easy to do, takes just a little adjusting to, and you will be amazed at the improvement you get right away. Keep your elbows together throughout your golf swing.

In his book, Five Lessons, Ben Hogan stressed keeping your elbows pressed as close together as possible in order to have the arms operate as a unit. When that happens, he said, “they tend to pull all of the elements of the swing together.”

Mickey Wright, owner of whom many people (including Hogan) said had the finest swing they ever saw, also recommended keeping your elbows close together. The reason, she said, is that she keeps her clubface square throughout the swing by keeping the arms and elbows in the same relative position at all times. She even sold an elastic strap to wear as a training aid.

If the two golfers who had arguably the best swings in history both advocate setting and keeping the elbows close together, we should pay attention.

Before you start experimenting with this idea, keep in mind that whatever you do, you must not put tension in the body. Just as we want to be relaxed but not loose, we want to be firm but not tense.

So if you take your stance then pull your elbows in as close together as you physically can, you’ll feel a tremendous amount of tension both in your arms and upper body. Try it. That serves no one, even the best golfers.

To get your elbows where they should be, take your address with a club in hand. Stretch your arms out, by straightening the elbows, as far as they will go. You can feel the tension. Now relax your arms to the point where the tension leaves, but no more. This is the correct position for your arms.

During the swing, have the feeling in mind that they stay this close. They won’t, but feel as if they do. You will find it difficult to get the clubface out of square because arms have to turn, preventing the clubface from closing, but they can’t turn too much, which opens the clubface.

If your shots curve one way or the other and you just can’t figure out why, try this. It’s another example of how important a proper setup is for leading you into a good swing and a good shot.