If you’ve ever had the affliction of fearing short wedge shots, you can certainly appreciate how difficult the malady can be.

Over the course of my golf life — for whatever reason — that strange affliction seems to crop up now and again. Same for the traditional putting yips. Those are nasty problems to deal with, but I have figured out a sound and effective way to beat them back into remission. I don’t think you are ever completely cured of something that is a nervous twitch at exactly the wrong time, but you can keep it suppressed.

So, if your short game is occasionally or frequently visited by yippiness — where chunks and/or skulls become way too frequent — today’s post is for you.

It is my belief that this inability to execute the simplest of strokes – whether it is with the putter or the wedge – comes from prior bad experiences. One chunk or skulled shot (or badly missed 2-3 footer) sticks in your mind and makes you more uncomfortable and nervous when you face the next one. You hit that next one just as bad and the nasty affliction has taken hold of your mind in such a way that your body cannot perform the simple action it knows how to do.

So, here’s how I have learned to deal with my wedge yips whenever they find their way back into your game.

Review your fundamentals. Especially around the greens on our shortest of shots, it is very easy to somewhat “forget” your fundamentals – stance, alignment, posture, ball position and grip pressure. If one or more of those gets out of whack, then your body is not in sync with the shot your eyes see. That causes unnoticed tension, and your hands try to take over to make the clubhead go where the eyes are looking, instead of where the body is pointing. Double down on your fundamentals!

Check your grip pressure…again! Tension causes us to tighten up all over, but particularly in our grip, and even more specifically, to your master-hand pressure (your right for right-handed players, of course). When results go a bit south on you, your tendency is to get more master-handed in an attempt to guide the clubhead to the ball. The proper technique, of course, is to execute these shots with your lead side, and keep the hands pretty “quiet.” An overactive right hand is a killer around the greens.

Check your tempo. Anxiety begets tension which begets increased speed and wrecks your tempo and timing. These greenside chips and pitches can be hit with very slow and methodical tempo, feeling almost like you’re swinging the club in slow motion.

Practice…drill…practice. The great thing about practicing your short game technique is that you do not need to go to the range. You can do it in your basement, garage or back yard. Without any balls at all to get in the way, visit these first three points and re-learn or re-confirm your skill set. Focus on fundamentals, check your grip pressure, and tempo and make lots of practice swings. Then hit some balls with this refreshed set of fundamentals.

The last thing I highly recommend is that you begin and end each pre-round warm-up with these short chips and pitches. Hit enough of them to feel really good about your technique and attitude as you take it to the course. Those practice shots before you get into your full swings will help set the pace and tempo for the day and those you hit before you go to the first tee will be fresh in your mind and psyche when you face your first “real one” on the course!