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Welcome to issue number 46 of The 3 Minute Golfer. This FREE, weekly publication is here to help every golfer improve their mental game and their personal wellbeing. 

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In this issue:

• The Dangers of Overthinking: The Nervy and Yippy E …

• Wellness Tip – Staying Hydrated

• Mental Demons Q+A

• In Person Events - Book The 3 Minute Golfer

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The Dangers of Overthinking: The Nervy and Yippy Experience

Ever found yourself overthinking your shots?

Every golfer, no matter the level, finds themselves overthinking at some point in time…it's part and parcel of the game. But, as discussed in newsletter 43, for those with Nervy and Yippy mental styles, this tendency isn’t just an occasional hiccup, it’s a persistent hazard that lingers on every tee, fairway, and green. The ever-present danger of overthinking for these players means that the mental struggle can feel as relentless as the game itself, affecting their confidence and enjoyment.

Golf is a simple game played by complicated people who insist on making it more difficult than necessary. The ball doesn’t move, the club never argues back, and yet our brains can often treat each shot like a complex conversation. Overthinking in golf can become a dangerous habit. And not just for Nervy and Yippy but for every player.

The danger begins the moment you stand over the ball and remember everything you’ve ever been told. Keep your head down, but not too down. Relax your grip but keep it firm. Swing smoothly, but with speed, unless it’s windy, uphill, downhill, or Tuesday. By the time your swing starts, your body can be paralysed by thoughts that sound like poorly written software code.

This feeling is extenuated for the Nervy golfer whose brain arrives at the course already sprinting. Nervy players don’t need pressure…it finds them. Their nervous system hums like a refrigerator that won’t shut off, and every shot feels like it matters to the fate of civilisation. Overthinking for them isn’t optional, it’s automatic. They don’t stand over the ball so much as hover above it, vibrating gently with dread.

For the Nervy golfer, the danger of overthinking is constant over-arousal. They analyse grip pressure while simultaneously worrying about swing plane, tempo, posture, alignment, and whether everyone behind them is judging their breathing. Muscles tighten, swings shorten, and the ball is struck with all the freedom of a hostage reading prepared remarks. The harder they try to calm down, the more their brain responds by sounding additional alarms.

Then there is the Yippy golfer, who appears calm and collected right up until it matters. Yippy players function beautifully…until they don’t. Their anxiety is selective, like a sniper, and it usually shows up most evidently on short putts. Overthinking for the Yippy golfer is a precision activity, carefully applied to moments of maximum consequence.

The Yippy player’s perfectionist brain cannot resist replaying past failures in high definition. As they stand over a three-footer, their mind runs a detailed simulation of missing it, hearing the sighs, and questioning their real abilities. Their hands tighten, their stroke freezes, and the putter suddenly feels hard to move. The fear of failure doesn’t just whisper, it clears its throat and demands attention.

Overthinking punishes both styles in different ways. Nervy golfers drown in too much awareness, while Yippy golfers choke on too much importance. One suffers from constant tension, the other from situational terror. In both cases, the brain believes it is helping, when in reality it’s rearranging deck chairs on a sinking ship.

The truly dangerous part of overthinking is that it feels responsible. Golfers convince themselves that this extra thought will fix everything. But golf swings don’t improve by just adding more steps. The body wants rhythm and trust, while the mind insists on running the show like an anxious supervisor armed with a checklist.

The cruel joke is that the best shots often happen when the golfer is distracted, annoyed, or thinking about lunch. The swing flows, the ball flies, and the brain arrives too late to interfere. This only confuses matters further, because golfers then try to recreate not thinking, which is like trying to fall asleep by concentrating harder.

In the end, overthinking in golf is dangerous because it replaces instinct with interrogation. Nervy players need fewer alarms, Yippy players need fewer verdicts, and all golfers need to remember that the ball does not care how much thought went into hitting it. The safest swing is rarely the smartest one…just the one that happens before the brain has time to object.

See the References Here.