Course Program

Turn bunker shots into par saves—score from the sand

Save par clutch, for a 15-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Barossa Valley Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 15.18 drills73% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

1 to 45

Average HCP

15.1

Duration (single session)

3 hr 25 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring32%
Accuracy22%
Distance Control14%
Visualization10%
Aim8%
Precision7%
Dispersion5%
Trajectory1%

Overview

Program Structure

Turn bunker shots into par saves—score from the sand. Turn into par saves and up-and-down contest. Focus on Scoring, Accuracy, Distance Control. For a 15-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Sand

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control
  • Visualization

Program details

Sessions
8 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 25 min
or
1 drill per day
8 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

Sand | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) in the sand. Scatter into 8 equal piles of 5 balls and hit-and-land sand shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Make 9 piles of 4 golf balls each in the bunker, placing them randomly 20 to 40 yards from the hole.

2

Put 3 markers on the green in a straight line, each 6 feet apart to make 3 landing zones.

3

Hit 12 balls to each zone (36 shots total).

4

Hit from any pile to the first zone 12 times, then 12 to the second, then 12 to the third.

5

Count how many balls stop in the correct zone.

6

Add up your successful shots out of 36 and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141074
02

Sand Mid

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sand.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand  Mid
1

Place 3 piles of 12 balls each in the bunker at 20, 30, and 40 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 3 landing zones: Zone A (closest), Zone B (middle), Zone C (furthest), spaced about 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 12 balls to each zone, for a total of 36 shots.

4

Alternate between piles, but focus each set of 12 shots on one zone.

5

Count every shot that lands and stops in the correct zone as a success.

6

Add up your successful shots out of 36, and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191411853
03

Sand Short

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sand.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand  Short
1

Place 3 piles of 12 golf balls in the bunker, each pile in a different spot between 5 and 20 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green around the hole, each zone about 3 feet wide.

3

Hit balls from each pile and try to land them in each target zone, 12 shots per zone.

4

Count each ball that stops inside the right zone as a success.

5

After all shots, enter the number of successful balls out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623201612963
04

Sand | Parallel Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls in the sand (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop sand shots inside Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand | Parallel Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

In a sand bunker, make two straight lines of golf balls. Put 18 balls in each line, spaced 1 foot apart. Lines should be 5 to 10 yards apart.

2

On the green, mark two circles around the hole: one with a 6-foot radius and another with a 15-foot radius.

3

Stand in the bunker 20 to 40 yards from the hole.

4

Hit 9 shots from the first line, trying to land balls inside the 6-foot circle.

5

Hit 9 shots from the second line, trying to land balls inside the 15-foot circle but outside the 6-foot circle.

6

Do steps 4 and 5 two more times, switching lines and targets, until you hit 36 shots total.

7

Count how many balls stopped inside the 6-foot circle and the 15-foot circle. Enter the total number of successful shots out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612963
05

Sand | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a sand shot in the stop zone(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 Sand | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Place 36 golf balls in 9 piles, each with 4 balls, in a sand bunker 20–40 yards from the hole.

2

Make 9 stop zones on the green in a 3 by 3 grid using tees, string, or markers.

3

Hit 4 sand shots to each stop zone, for 36 shots total.

4

Start from any pile and aim for the first stop zone.

5

After 4 shots to one zone, move to the next zone and keep going until all 9 zones are done.

6

Count each shot that stops inside the correct stop zone as a success.

7

Add your successful shots out of 36 and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
06

Sand | Scattered Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls in the sand (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and stop sand shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

23 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand | Scattered Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Put 32 balls in 8 lines of 4 balls each, spaced about 2 feet apart, in the sand area 20–40 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, mark a circle with a 10-foot radius around the hole.

3

Divide the circle into 4 equal parts (quadrants) using two lines that cross at the hole.

4

For each line of 4 balls, choose one quadrant and try to hit all 4 balls so they stop inside that quadrant.

5

After finishing one line and quadrant, move to another line and aim at a new quadrant. Do this until all 8 lines and quadrants are done.

6

Count each ball that stops in the chosen quadrant.

7

Add up the number of successful shots out of 32 and enter score in the app, out of 32 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions32
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score2826242016131074
07

Sand | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a sand 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 Sand | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Place two piles of balls in the sand 20-40 yards from the hole.

2

Make two circles around the hole on the green: one with a 6-foot radius and another with a 15-foot radius.

3

Hit 36 shots: 18 aimed for the small circle, 18 aimed for the area between the small and big circles.

4

Hit 18 balls, trying to land them in the small circle.

5

Hit 18 balls, trying to land them in the area between the two circles.

6

A ball in the right area counts as a success.

7

Count the number of balls in the right spots as you go.

8

Add up your total successful shots and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612853
08

Sand Long

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sand.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Sand  Long
1

Make 4 piles of 9 balls each in the bunker, spaced 40–60 yards from the hole.

2

Place 3 target circles on the green, about 6 feet apart in a line from the hole. Label them Target 1 (closest), Target 2 (middle), and Target 3 (farthest).

3

There are 36 shots. Do 12 shots at each target.

4

For 12 shots, aim for Target

1

Next 12 shots, aim for Target

2

Last 12 shots, aim for Target

5

Change piles for each shot to get different lies and angles.

6

The shot counts as a success if it lands and stays inside the right circle.

7

Enter how many successful shots out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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