The Phenomenology of the golfers’ Yips, a Video‐Panel Study

BACKGROUND: There is ongoing debate on the nature and the phenomenology of the golfers' yips. OBJECTIVES: To clarify the phenomenology of the golfers' yips, based on assessment of videos by expert neurologists. METHODS: A panel of 13 movement disorder neurologists reviewed videos of 15 golfers (10 with and 5 without the yips). Videos showed wrist movements during putting, in three conditions: both hands, right and left hand only. The presence or absence of a movement disorder and its phenomenology was collected via a short questionnaire. RESULTS: The video panel classified the yips as a movement disorder with high overall diagnostic accuracy (0.84[95% CI: 0.71-0.92, p < 0.001]) and significant inter-rater reliability (Gwet-AC1 = 0.56, 95% CI: 0.46-0.67, p < 0.001). The phenomenology was predominantly classified as dystonia with significant inter-rater reliability (Gwet-AC1 = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.44-0.69, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A panel of expert neurologists considered the golfers' yips a neurological movement disorder, most consistent with dystonia.