Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6, ESV).
Using the word “yips,” like using the word “shank,” is anathema for some golfers. It’s worse than walking under a ladder while a black cat saunters across your path on Friday the 13th.
But there it is, in writing, and even at the top of the page.
Stats say that more than 25% of all golfers have “yipped.” That includes me; it includes a young man who is one of the best golfers I’ve ever known (and I know Tour pros). It also includes Bernhard Langer, six-time Schwab Cup champion.
The cost of having the yips in golf can be high. The young man mentioned above has now quit the game, at least for a season, because of the driver yips. That is sad. He once shot four under par in a tournament round with six penalty strokes caused by wayward drives.
I know, for a four-under round, you may take the yips for a day. But you wouldn’t like it.
Recently, I was playing golf with three Christian leaders when one of them said he was worried about his next shot, and another quoted the verse above in response. In jest, mostly.
Naturally, we all chimed in with thoughts on trusting God, worrying, and being anxious. That’s when it hit me: the real problem with the yips isn’t higher scores or embarrassment; it is anxiety.
If we thought about God half as much as we think about the yips when we have them, people would notice the glow in our faces.By definition, “anxiety is a common feeling linked with worried thoughts and associated physical changes like increased heart rate.” If you have that, you are not alone; it affects 18.1% of Americans, making it the most common mental health issue in the US.
The “yips” is a specific yet isolated form of anxiety, and any form of anxiety can be consuming.
People with the yips spend hours on YouTube looking for a cure. They practice more than ever. They pay for lessons. One pro has had such good success “curing” the yips that it is all he now teaches, and he’s booked solid.
When something consumes our thoughts, we aren’t much good to anyone else, including God. The yips don’t become an idol; they become a slave master. We think about them even off the golf course.
If we thought about God half as much as we think about the yips when we have them, people would notice the glow in our faces.
And that’s what this verse now says to me: “Don’t allow anything to worry you to the point of being consumed by it. Even in times like that, lean on God in prayer, be thankful, and tell God you need his help.”
Yips? They once had a bit of a hold on me, but God holds me closer. And I’m thankful.
—
Lewis Greer
December 15, 2021
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