February 08, 2001
It is not our custom in this space, be assured, to plunge into the vile and the obscene. Never will your senses be assaulted with one certain vulgarism that begins with c---i and ends with d-p. Another is s---k. These words have no place in polite company (and are equally out of place at the BYOB Driving Range and Debate Society). The world of golf is one of high-minded principle, at least when no large wagers are involved. Still, we must not do denial. Confronting our adversary is the only honorable course, even if he is low-down scum like the yips. According to research conducted by the Mayo Clinic's sports medicine research division, the yips costs those afflicted a monstrous 4.7 strokes per round. To our shock and wonder, some say this isn't a life-and-death issue. How many are affected? Oh, only 25 percent of all "frequent golfers." Life and death? It's far more serious than that. This is holocaust. (I knew for sure it was a common problem when I typed the word and my computer didn't put a squiggly line under it.) The news gets worse. The research, published in the journal Sports Medicine, indicates that the cause may be a combination of psychological and physiological factors. In other words, neither a psychiatrist nor a neurologist alone can cure the afflicted. We need both. Another conclusion of the research is that more research is needed. This finding indicates that a) more grant money is available, and, b) cancer may be cured before the yips. Where would we be without research?
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