Course Program

Pick your landing spot and trust your swing—flop shot challenge

Fly over bunker, for a 20-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Bluff/River

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 207 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

8 to 45

Average HCP

20

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Aim24%
Distance Control17%
Precision16%
Dispersion16%
Scoring10%
Trajectory7%
Accuracy5%
Alignment4%

Overview

Program Structure

Pick your landing spot and trust your swing—flop shot challenge. Fly over bunker and aim for soft landing. Focus on Aim, Distance Control, Precision. For a 20-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Aim

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Aim
  • Distance Control
  • Precision
  • Dispersion

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

Flop | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop flop shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 9 target zones on the green using buckets, strings, or tees. Space them in a 3x3 grid, with about 3 feet between each.

2

Divide 36 balls into 9 groups of

3

Make 10 piles of 4 balls each, set 5 to 40 yards from the hole. Space the piles 5 to 10 yards apart in two lines, with 2 yards between piles in each line.

4

Hit 4 shots to try to stop balls inside each of the 9 zones. Finish all 4 shots in one zone before moving to the next zone in order.

5

Switch between different ball piles while practicing each zone to get different lies and angles.

6

Count each shot that stops in the right zone as a success.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
02

Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop shot inside the landing zone(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. Up to 80 balls are needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Set up 4 lines of 9 balls each, spaced 1 foot apart. Place the lines between 5 and 20 yards from the hole on grass.

2

Mark 3 landing zones on the green, 3 feet apart in a straight line. Each zone is 3 feet wide.

3

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

4

Start at any line of balls and hit 12 shots to Zone

1

Change lines and hit 12 shots to Zone

2

Change lines again and hit 12 shots to Zone

5

Count a success when the ball lands and stops in the right zone.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
03

Flop | Parallel Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop flop shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Piles | Quadrants
1

Arrange 36 balls into 9 piles of 4 balls each. Put 5 piles in one line and 4 piles in a second line, spaced 2 meters apart. Leave 5 to 10 meters between lines.

2

Mark 4 equal quadrants inside a circle with a 3 meter radius around the hole using string or tees.

3

Divide 36 balls into 4 groups of 9 shots. Aim for 9 shots into each quadrant.

4

Hit flop shots from any pile. Aim to land 9 balls in the first quadrant, then move to the next quadrant for the next 9 shots, until all 4 quadrants are targeted.

5

Count each shot that lands in the right quadrant as a success.

6

After 36 shots, enter your total successful shots in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612853
04

Flop | Rough | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped rough grass; one bucket from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Rough | Uphill/Downhill
1

Place two ball markers on the green, about 10 feet apart.

2

Choose a spot on the uphill slope, 5 to 20 yards from the hole. Use this spot every time for the test.

3

Hit 18 flop shots from this spot. Aim at the targets, switching every 3 shots between them until all 18 shots are done.

4

Move to a spot on the downhill slope, 5 to 20 yards from the hole. Use this spot every time for these shots.

5

Hit 18 flop shots from the downhill spot. Switch targets every 3 shots until all 18 are done.

6

Count shots that stop within 3 feet of the marker as successful.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624201612853
05

Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop flop shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | Multiple Targets
1

Put down two lines of 18 balls each, spaced 1 foot apart. Place the lines 5 to 10 yards apart.

2

Set up three targets on the green, at least 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 12 flop shots to each target, for 36 shots total.

4

Hit 6 flop shots from the first ball line to the first target, then 6 from the second line to the same target.

5

Do the same for the second and third targets, always switching lines.

6

Count each shot that stops within 10 feet of the target as a success.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512964
06

Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Make 8 lines of 5 balls each. Space out the lines and balls on grass, not on the green, anywhere from 5 to 40 yards/metres away from the hole.

2

On the green, put down 3 landing zones in a straight line with 6 feet (2 metres) between them, using sticks, clubs, or string.

3

Take 36 shots, split into 3 sets of 12 shots.

4

Aim each set of 12 shots at one landing zone. Start with Zone 1, then Zone 2, then Zone

5

Hit all 5 balls from each line toward the target zone. After each line, move to another line.

6

Count a shot as good if the ball stays in the correct zone.

7

Add up how many good shots you made and enter the score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
07

Flop | Scattered Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Scattered Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Set up 3 target areas on the green, about 6 feet apart.

2

Make 6 piles of 6 balls each, on the grass 5 to 40 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 36 flop shots total. Divide them into 3 groups of 12 shots.

4

Hit the first 12 shots at Target 1, using any piles.

5

Hit the next 12 shots at Target 2, choosing any piles.

6

Hit the last 12 shots at Target 3, using any piles.

7

After each shot, see if your ball stopped very close to the target. Count that shot as a success if it did.

8

When finished, add up successful shots and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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