Wedge Yips Update

Last time we spoke, I was telling you all about how friend of DRH, Ken, may have saved my life with a small tip to help with my wedge yips.  You can read that here if you haven’t seen it yet.  I had a promising run going, but inevitably, I found a way to screw it up and start trending the wrong way again.  Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t fully back to my usual wedge yipping ways, but I was certainly going that direction.  It felt like a massive kick in the…stomach.  Thankfully, another buddy with an interesting feedback style had my back.

Enter Aaron

Meet Russ.  Danger Russ.  Aka Aaron Bucksbaum, good friend of the show.  Recently, Tommy and myself played a casual round of golf on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with Aaron.  Prior to the round, the three of us wandered to the short game area and I figured I’d have to warm up a bit, but would start clipping the ball as clean as I have been as of late.  Well, the first few were pretty gross, Aaron proceeded to make fun of me accordingly, and I laughed it off while thinking, “nah, this is fine, just getting my hands moving.”  Thankfully I recovered ok, but wasn’t feeling too confident.  The next day, Aaron and I would play another 18 holes together at the illustrious Northmoor Country Club just outside of Chicago.  (PS. What I saw of that course is amazing and may be earning a high spot on my list.)

This course was amazing, the weather was perfect, and everything was setting itself up for a great day of golf.  We had a lot of fun, but very quickly into this Donald Ross beauty, I thought, “oh shit, they’re back…”  “They” being the wedge yips.  Well, my guy Aaron once again made sure to give me a hard time about it, and as upset as the poor play was making me, it was still pretty funny.  It also would prove to be pretty helpful but I didn’t quite know it at the time.

He kept reminding me that I’m pretty bad with wedges and that hitting wedges isn’t that hard – just hit down on it. Just hit down on it.  Just hit down on it, just hit down on it, just hit down it!  If only my brain could listen.  Once I hit a few bad ones, it was game over for me.  I was terrified to hit a wedge.  Call it a day from 115 in.

The Next Round

I ended up having some golf to play for work two days later.  Naturally, I thought the day off in between rounds would do me some good.  Maybe reset the body a bit and put the little rash of wedge yips behind me.  That’s how it seemed on the range before my next round, but then within three holes I knew I had a problem.  After about six holes, I’d had enough and started dropping some extra balls and trying some different things with the wedges.  A few trenches and lost balls later, I saw some progress.  Fortunately, I was able to find some feels that were repeatable, but I still had work to do.  As I made the turn, I started hearing a voice in my head.  An assertive one at that.

That voice was none other than ole Aaron’s.  I kept hearing him YELLING at me to hit down on the ball!  So I took my new wedge grip (courtesy of Ken), stood a little further from the ball (thanks, Woody), lightened my grip pressure, took the club back, swung down and through the ball as Aaron had been beating into me, and voilà, this happened…

That shot was from about 60 yards out.  The club clipped through cleanly with crisp contact and a great little flight.  Damnit, Aaron, you did it.  I might be back.

The Hope is Back

The rest of my round had some chunkier wedges, but nothing like the old days.  Getting enough room to let the wedge come through while keeping my hands ahead of the club, and feeling like I’m pulling it through/around with my left hand really made a massive difference.  Am I cured?  God no.  I still need to get feel and control once I’m used to making consistent contact with the same mechanics (I use that term loosely).  Oh, and I have to figure out how to do this with both of my wedges consistently.  But baby steps, we’re getting there.  I’m confident that Ken’s tip and Aaron’s heroic and humorous berating have me on the right track to finally conquer the wedge yips.

Given this adventure is gaining such speed, I’ll keep you posted on this journey.  I know I’m not the only out there chasing these demons and maybe my 6 and counting year journey will help you recover too.