Golfers talk about the yips as if they’re some invisible curse. From Bernhard Langer’s putting woes to golfers’ desperate experiments, the word has haunted even the best. Mark O’Meara was quoted as saying, “If you told me to go around the corner and stand on my head for five minutes and then come over and putt, I would have tried it. I was very desperate.” But while most blame nerves or confidence, Max Homa takes a different view.

The 6-time PGA Tour winner recently sat down with YouTuber Luke Kwon, where the conversation turned to chipping yips. Kwon admitted that no advice ever seemed to work. That’s when Homa offered a perspective few expected. “I don’t believe in the yips,” he said. “It stems from a physical problem. Nobody who strikes it gets the yips for no reason.” Homa said on the Luke Kwon Golf channel.

The 2023 Farmers Insurance Open winner acknowledged that mentality and psychological aspects. In fact, he clarified that he himself talks to his psychologist once every week. His psychologist is Dr. Bhrett McCabe. McCabe is a clinical and sports psychologist who has even worked with Billy Horschel. “He relates your struggles and issues to examples you can easily understand and comprehend,” Horschel said about McCabe. Despite acknowledging the mentality part, Homa says that the yips are more about physical issues than mental struggles.

“I also think that when you admit you have the yips, that’s where I don’t think that’s true. Because if you could fix the technique and if your head was in a good spot, then you fixed everything. You know what I mean? But if you only say it’s mental, then you can’t fix that,” Max Homa said.

Homa is someone who went from having the yips to having the best chipping technique. Grant Horvat, an internet personality who has played with the likes of Phil Mickelson, said that Homa’s chipping technique is compact, quiet, and efficient.

The PGA of America has also shared its chipping technique and written an entire article about how good it is and what young golfers can learn from it. So if someone like him says that the yips have more to do with physical issues and less with mental problems, there must be some truth in it.

Although Homa overcame the yips he had, he is struggling with his poor form in 2025.

Max Homa’s disappointing 2025 season

Max Homa concluded his 2025 PGA Tour season at the Bank of Utah Championship. It was the toughest season for the 6x PGA Tour winner. He just had two top-10 finishes in 24 tournaments and eight missed cuts. His earnings fell drastically to about $1.64 million.

He went down nearly 86% from $10.7 million during his peak 2022-23 season. Homa’s world rankings also took a steep decline. From a high of 7th, it went down to 130th, the lowest since January 2020. A significant factor could be major equipment changes.

Homa switched from Titleist to Cobra Puma Golf and Lululemon apparel in January 2025. He debuted with a new Cobra DS-Adapt LS driver and Limit3d irons at The Sentry, resulting in a disappointing T26 finish. This change failed to yield rhythm, leading to inconsistent play. Despite a better showing with a T12 finish at the Masters and a career-best T5 at the John Deere Classic, consistency was lacking.

Max Homa knew it, and he acknowledged it. Sharing an Instagram post after the Bank of Utah Championship, Homa wrote, “2025 season is a wrap for me. Disappointing season. It’s not a true failure if u learn something from it, and boy did I learn a lot this year.” Homa is someone who focuses more on commitment and hard work than on results. He is optimistic that his hard work will pay off in 2026.