Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?

Feel the green, for a 18-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Alden Pines Country Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 187 drills60% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

18

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control33%
Accuracy27%
Alignment20%
Precision7%
Scoring6%
Dispersion4%
Trajectory3%

Overview

Program Structure

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?. Vary landing spot and feel the green. Focus on Distance Control, Accuracy, Alignment, Precision, Scoring, Dispersion, Trajectory. For a 18-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Accuracy
  • Alignment
  • Precision

Program details

Sessions
7 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 2 min
or
1 drill per day
7 days · 26 min/day

Drill Framework

Program breakdown

Each drill is designed to prepare you for the course. Follow the program or repeat the drills to improve key areas of your game.

01

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped deep rough and other extreme grass types; one bucket from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill
1

Prepare 36 balls in 6 groups of

2

Set up 2 target zones on the green: one uphill and one downhill, with markers 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 18 balls to the uphill zone and 18 to the downhill zone.

4

Hit 6 balls from the tough uphill spot to the uphill zone.

5

Hit 6 balls from the tough downhill spot to the downhill zone.

6

Do steps 4 and 5 two more times for all 36 shots.

7

Count each ball that stays in the right zone.

8

After 36 shots, enter your number of successes out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
02

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat deep rough and other extreme grass types.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Put 3 target zones on the green: left, center, right. Each 5 feet apart.

2

Put 12 balls in a pile, 30-60 yards from the hole, in deep rough.

3

Hit 12 shots trying to land in Zone A.

4

Hit 12 shots trying to land in Zone B.

5

Hit 12 shots trying to land in Zone C.

6

Keep balls in the same spot and rough for all shots.

7

Count each ball that lands and stays in the right zone.

8

After 36 shots, enter your number of successes into the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825221713964
03

Pitch | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped fairway; one bucket with balls above feet level, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
1

Put 36 balls into 3 piles of 12 balls each.

2

Put 3 target zones on the green in a straight line, about 6 feet apart.

3

Pick one sloped fairway spot to shoot from (above feet or below feet).

4

Hit 12 shots to the first target zone.

5

Hit 12 shots to the second zone.

6

Hit 12 shots to the third zone. For each shot, count how many balls land and stay in the correct target zone. When done, count successful shots out of 36 and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
04

Pitch | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway surface.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Fairway | Flat
1

Make 3 piles with 12 golf balls in each pile.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green, each about 6 feet apart and about 2 feet wide.

3

Pitch all shots from 30 to 40 yards away on flat grass.

4

Use the first pile and hit balls at the first target zone.

5

Use the second pile and hit balls at the second target zone.

6

Use the last pile and hit balls at the third target zone.

7

Count the balls that land and stop in the target zone.

8

After all shots, count how many landed in the zones and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612964
05

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot closest to the multiple target(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Arrange 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other at a right angle. Each line has 5 piles, spaced about 3 meters apart.

2

Place the piles on grass, 30 to 60 meters from the hole.

3

Set 5 different targets around the green, spaced apart.

4

Make 36 pitch shots, in 6 rounds of 6 shots each.

5

For each round, pick one pile and one target. Hit 6 shots from that pile to that target.

6

After 6 shots, move to a different pile and a different target for the next round. Keep going until all 36 shots are done and each target has 6 shots.

7

Count each shot that lands closest to the target as a success.

8

Add up the number of successful shots from all 36 shots and enter this score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211713963
06

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot inside the quadrant(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. 25 balls per player are needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Set up 4 lines of balls on the grass, 30 to 60 yards from the hole, with 5 yards between each line.

2

Put 9 balls in each line, spaced 1 foot apart, for 36 balls total.

3

On the green, mark 4 circles (quadrants) with string or tees. Each circle should be about 9 feet wide and not overlap.

4

Start at the first line. Hit each ball, aiming to land about the same number (2 or 3) in each circle.

5

After one line, move to the next. Keep aiming to put about the same number of balls in each circle. Do this for all 4 lines.

6

Count how many balls end up fully inside the target circle after each shot.

7

At the end, enter the number of balls in the circles out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191512963
07

Pitch | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot in the bullseye. The best final score relative to PAR wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Make two circles on the green: a small one with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius, and a bigger one with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius.

2

Put 3 piles of 12 balls each on the short game area, in random spots 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots total: 12 from each pile.

4

From the first pile, hit 12 shots and try to stop the ball inside the circles.

5

Move to the next pile and repeat, until all 36 shots are done.

6

Count balls in the small circle as birdies, balls in the big circle as pars, balls outside as bogeys.

7

Count how many balls are in the circles after all 36 shots. Enter your total score out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

Start the drills at your own pace or work with a coach to inside drills.golf.

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards? | Alden Pines Country Club