Abstract
Background:The yips in golf is currently regarded as a task-specific movement disorder, with variable phenomenology and of unclear etiology. There is some overlap with task-specific dystonia (TSD), which has also been reported in other sports. The objective was to further characterize the yips in terms of its prevalence and related factors.Methods:Recreational golfers from one of the larger golf clubs in the Netherlands aged 18 years or older, filled in an anonymous, web-based questionnaire with items on demographic, medical and lifestyle factors, specific yips-relevant items, as well as fanaticism, familial presence of yips, obsessive-compulsive traits, and a dystonia questionnaire.Results:In total, 234 golfers (26%) completed the questionnaire, among whom 52 (22%, 95% CI: 17–28%) reported to suffer from the yips. In comparison to their non-yips counterparts, the yips group was characterized by a larger proportion of men, more current or past smoking, better golf skills, longer history of playing golf, and more familial yips occurrence.Discussion:Golfer’s self-reported yips may be very frequent in a group of responding amateur golfers and associated factors seems to include male gender, current or past smoking, extensive golf experience and skills, and a positive family history of the yips. Further work to better understand the origin and nature of the yips is needed.
Highlights
It has been over 50 years since the first written notion of the yips [1]
Fifty-two golfers reported to suffer from the yips, which presents a prevalence of 22%
Among the golfers who filled in our questionnaire, we retrieved a yips prevalence of 22% among the participants
Summary
It has been over 50 years since the first written notion of the yips [1]. Estimated prevalence rates vary between 12% [2] up to almost 50% [3], with most studies targeting selected groups of more experienced golfers. The golfer’s yips are regarded as a task-specific movement disorders, in part overlapping with or resembling task-specific dystonia (TSD). The golfer’s yips are, not always typically dystonic movements. In a study by Adler et al [4], only 5 of 14 golfers with the yips were considered to have dystonia. The yips in golf is currently regarded as a task-specific movement disorder, with variable phenomenology and of unclear etiology. The objective was to further characterize the yips in terms of its prevalence and related factors
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