Let's Talk About the Yips

Let’s talk about the Yips.

This development of a sudden inability to execute seemingly simple, almost rote physical tasks a person has accomplished thousands of times in their lives has been the talk of the DFW metroplex where I live since late Monday night, following the struggles of Dallas Cowboys placekicker Brett Maher in the playoff game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

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Brett Maher. Record breaker.

For those who missed it, Maher somehow managed to miss, often badly, on 4 straight extra point attempts, a feat he normally accomplishes without issue 95% of the time. Combined with his missing of the team’s final extra point try in its loss to the Washington whatever-they-call-themselves-these-days the previous week, Maher managed to shank 5 straight tries, apparently a league record.

Make no mistake about it, the “Yips” is a very real phenomenon. They destroyed the career of David Duval, who looked like he would be a real challenger to Tiger Woods 20 years ago. They also hastened the end to the careers of Arnold Palmer and all-star baseball players Chuck Knoblauch and Steve Sax, to name a few.

I gave up golf in my early 50s after suffering from an incurable case of them for a decade. I had never been what anyone would call a good golfer or putter, but I was a pretty reliable 2-putter from 30 ft. on in. But one day, I suddenly had a mysterious twitch of the wrists in my putting swing that I found impossible to cure. Suddenly, 30-ft. lag puts that I would normally put within a foot or two of the hole would often fly completely off the green. Tap-ins were no longer tap-ins, and often would result in 2-3 more putts.

I took lessons from three different pros and tried a variety of wrist braces without luck. The problem was simply incurable.

When you go in a single day from giving up essentially no unnecessary strokes on the greens to giving up 20-25 strokes each round, the game loses all fun and just becomes a stress producer. I had plenty of other stress going on in my life, so ultimately I just put the clubs in storage and quit even trying to play the game. I figure doing that probably added 10 years to the back end of my life.

Everyone associated with the Cowboys’ organization from owner Jerry Jones on down expressed their absolute belief Tuesday that Maher’s issue will somehow be cured this week. That has often been the case with placekickers, but just as often it has not been the way things have played out.

I’m a fan of the Cowboys and certainly wish Maher well, but the best strategy for the Cowboys to employ this coming Sunday in San Francisco against the 49ers will be to go for it on every 4th down when in scoring territory, and go for a 2 point conversion after every touchdown.

If you end up having to rely on a placekicker with a clear and awful case of the yips to win this game, odds are very strong you will fly back to Dallas losers.

Go for 2, Cowboys. Every time.

That is all.