Course Program

Turn pitches into birdie looks—score from the fairway

Turn into birdies, for a 23-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Buffalo Peak Golf Course

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 22.76 drills68% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

6 to 45

Average HCP

22.7

Duration (single session)

2 hr 36 min

or

1 drill/day: 6 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring36%
Aim22%
Accuracy16%
Alignment13%
Dispersion8%
Visualization4%

Overview

Program Structure

Turn pitches into birdie looks—score from the fairway. Up-and-down contest and turn into birdies. Focus on Scoring, Aim, Accuracy, Alignment, Dispersion, Visualization. For a 23-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Aim
  • Accuracy
  • Alignment

Program details

Sessions
6 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
2 hr 36 min
or
1 drill per day
6 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 | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped fairway; one bucket with balls above feet level, one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Pick a place on the fairway where the ball is above your feet and about 30 to 40 yards from the hole.

2

Put 18 balls in a pile on your side at this spot.

3

Pick a target on the green and keep it the same for the first 6 shots.

4

Hit 6 pitch shots trying to get close to the target from the above-feet slope.

5

Change the target after every 6 shots. Do this 3 times for a total of 18 shots from this spot.

6

Move to a place where the ball is below your feet, again 30 to 40 yards from the hole.

7

Put 18 more balls in a pile at this new spot.

8

Do exactly the same as before: 6 shots per target, 3 targets, 18 shots total.

9

Count a shot as a success if the ball stops very close to the target.

0

After 36 shots, add up the number of successful shots and enter the score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218131074
02

Pitch| Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal piles of 5 balls and stop pitch shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch| Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Separate 36 balls into 9 piles of 4 balls. Put them between 30 and 60 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark 9 stop zones on the green with tees, string, or markers. Make sure they are spaced out and about the same size.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots total, with 4 balls aimed at each zone.

4

Start at any pile and aim for the first zone. After 4 shots, aim for the next zone.

5

Keep hitting from different piles until you have aimed 4 shots at each of the 9 zones (36 shots total).

6

Count how many balls land and stop in the right zone.

7

Enter the number of successes in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612853
03

Pitch | Parallel 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 | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in 2 rows of

5

Space rows 6 yards/meters apart. Space piles in each row 4 yards/meters apart.

2

Put all piles on grass, between 30 and 60 yards/meters from the hole, not on the green.

3

On the green, draw two circles around the hole: the inner one has a 6-foot/2-meter radius (birdie zone); the outer one has a 15-foot/5-meter radius (par zone). Shots outside the big circle count as misses (bogey).

4

Hit 36 pitch shots total: 18 aiming for the inner (birdie) circle, 18 aiming for the outer (par) ring but outside the inner circle. Split into two groups of 18; switch groups after every 6 shots.

5

Hit from any pile. Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the right circle (inner or outer).

6

Keep going until all 36 shots are done. Change piles for different lies.

7

At the end, add up how many successful shots out of 36 attempts and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201511853
04

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

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

Find a place on the uphill slope, 30 to 40 yards from the hole, to hit all shots.

2

Put a target (like a pin or club) at the hole or a visible spot on the green.

3

Split 36 shots into 2 groups of

4

Hit 18 balls from the uphill slope, trying to stop them close to the target.

5

Move to a similar place on the downhill slope at the same distance.

6

Hit 18 balls from the downhill slope at the same target.

7

Count how many balls stop in the chosen scoring area around the target (example: within 3 feet).

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
05

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop pitch shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

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

Arrange 40 balls in 2 lines of 20 balls each, 5 to 10 yards apart, with 1 foot between each ball.

2

Set up a 15-foot circle on the green, and divide it into 4 equal quadrants using string or tees.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots: 18 from the first line and 18 from the second line.

4

Hit 9 shots at each quadrant, for 4 groups of 9 shots.

5

Hit 9 shots from the first line to the first quadrant.

6

Hit 9 shots from the second line to the second quadrant.

7

Hit 9 shots from the first line to the third quadrant.

8

Hit 9 shots from the second line to the fourth quadrant. Enter score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221813963
06

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

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

Make 2 piles of 18 balls each, one uphill and one downhill, 30–60 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green: close (within 3 feet), medium (3 to 6 feet), far (6 to 10 feet) from the hole.

3

Hit 36 pitches in total, using both piles and aiming at all zones.

4

From the uphill pile, hit 3 shots at each zone (close, medium, far), for 9 shots.

5

From the downhill pile, repeat: 3 shots at each zone, for 9 shots.

6

Do steps 4 and 5 again, using both piles, until each slope has 18 shots (6 at each zone).

7

Count a shot as a success if it stops in the correct target zone.

8

When finished, count successes and enter the number out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612853

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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