Beta Blockers, Anxiety and the Yips

Charlie Beljan’s recent victory—in spite of anxiety attacks that required hospitalization—has brought the subject of beta blockers back to the forefront in golf. Following his winning effort, Beljan said that he would seek treatment which might include medication to ward against future attacks. He likely wouldn’t be allowed to use those drugs in competition, though, unless he gets a “therapeutic use” exemption approved by an independent panel of doctors.

The problem is that Beta Blockers, which are used to treat high blood pressure, among other things, apparently can have the side effect of steadying fine motor movements, such as steadying hand tremors. That, of course, would be a huge advantage in golf.

I see lawyers getting involved in this one.

1 thought on “Beta Blockers, Anxiety and the Yips”

  1. Yeah I wrote an article about this at my blog just recently.

    Beta Blockers are definitely a big advantage in golf particularly for someone coming down the stretch in a tournament when things can get tense.

    If they are allowed for one player, the flood gates would open for others to seek medication exemptions as well.

    Hopefully this issue can be sorted without going to the courts.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more from GolfBlogger Golf Blog

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading