We tend to associate the yips with putting, but most golfers have also experienced an unpleasant twitchiness on chipping and pitching at some stage. If the feeling of this is tough to describe – mental confusion and a loss of clubface awareness are certainly in there – the results are certainly not; expect duffs, thins, even double hits. As and when this affliction shows up in your game, try this fix on the practice area; I’ve seen it work wonders with golfers at their wits’ end.

The fault

Hands drive downward into impact. Twitchy chips often crop up when we continue to swing the hands downward into impact.

As the gap between the club’s handle and the ground narrows, we are forced to delay the release of the club to avoid hitting the turf before the ball.

Effectively, we are trying to hit the ball and not hit it at the same time!

No wonder this move causes mental strife. Expect low, sharp ball flights, excessive wrist flipping, and a complete loss of clubhead control.

The fix: Hands swing up, more release

We need to replace this damaging, downward drive with a new approach in which we allow the hands to move upward naturally, supported by a controlled body rotation. To train this feel, place an alignment stick about 12 inches in front of the ball. Set up normally, the ball centred in a narrow stance.

Strike the ball, miss the stick

Hit the shot, focusing on making a smooth, controlled motion. As you swing through impact, avoid hitting the alignment stick by allowing your hands to move upward instead of staying low. Finish the swing standing tall over your front leg, allowing your body rotation to lead the movement. It may take your action a few goes to settle down, but ultimately this simple exercise promotes a quieter wristed and better-timed release of the club, improving strike, trajectory and control. Better yet, it puts your mind and body back on the same page