Course Program

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots

Check clubface, for a 20-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Duran Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 19.99 drills64% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

8 to 45

Average HCP

19.9

Duration (single session)

3 hr 54 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Alignment33%
Scoring19%
Accuracy16%
Distance Control14%
Aim8%
Dispersion5%
Precision4%

Overview

Program Structure

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots. Open up and fly and set up for high shot. Focus on Alignment, Scoring, Accuracy. For a 20-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Alignment

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Alignment
  • Scoring
  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control

Program details

Sessions
9 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 54 min
or
1 drill per day
9 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 | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Set up 3 target zones on the green, spaced about 4 feet apart in a row.

2

Place all golf balls together in a pile 10 yards from the green, outside the deep rough.

3

Hit 36 flop shots from the rough, aiming 12 shots at each zone.

4

Hit 12 shots to Zone

5

Hit 12 shots to Zone

6

Hit 12 shots to Zone

7

Count each shot that lands and stays in the correct zone as a success.

8

Add how many successes out of 36, and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
02

Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit flop shot 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 Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
1

Set up two targets on the green about 10 to 15 yards apart.

2

Get 36 balls and split them into 2 groups of

3

Hit 18 flop shots from a slope with the ball above your feet, aiming at the first target.

4

Hit 18 flop shots from a slope with the ball below your feet, aiming at the second target.

5

Count how many balls land and stop within 3 feet of each target. These are successes.

6

Keep your ball setup the same for all shots.

7

After all 36 shots, record how many were successful out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
03

Flop | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

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

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

Set up 3 target zones on the green at 5, 12, and 20 yards from where the balls will be hit. Mark each zone with cones.

2

Place 36 balls in 3 groups of 12 balls each.

3

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 5 yard zone.

4

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 12 yard zone.

5

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 20 yard zone. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

6

Do not change your ball position or stance during the test.

7

Count each ball that lands and stays inside the right target zone as a success.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302824201612964
04

Flop | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop shot inside the quadrant(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 | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants
1

Arrange 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other. Each line has 5 piles, placed 3 yards apart. The lines are 6 yards apart.

2

Put all piles between 5 and 40 yards from the hole. Keep all piles on the same type of grass.

3

On the green, mark 4 equal quadrants. Each quadrant is a circle with a 3-meter radius around the hole.

4

Hit 36 flop shots: 9 shots to each quadrant.

5

Start at one pile. Hit 9 shots at Quadrant 1, move to another pile and hit 9 shots at Quadrant 2, then 9 shots at Quadrant 3, then 9 shots at Quadrant

6

A shot that stops inside the target quadrant counts as a success.

7

Count all successes for each quadrant and add them up.

8

After all 36 shots, write down your total number of successful shots in the app, out of 36.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
05

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Set up 3 landing zones on the green, about 6 feet apart in a line. Name them Zone 1 (close), Zone 2 (middle), Zone 3 (far).

2

Put 2 piles of 18 balls each, 5–20 yards away from the green, in deep or thick grass.

3

Hit 36 flop shots from these piles, trying to land the ball in the zones.

4

Hit 12 shots to Zone

1

Alternate piles if wanted.

5

Hit 12 shots to Zone

6

Hit 12 shots to Zone

3

Enter how many shots stayed in the right zones, out of 36 attempts, in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
06

Flop | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

Hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway.

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

Place two pins on the green about 8 feet apart to mark target zones.

2

Set up 5 to 20 yards from the hole on flat ground.

3

Hit 36 flop shots in 3 sets of

4

Aim all first 12 shots at the left target.

5

Aim all next 12 shots at the right target.

6

For the last 12 shots, switch target every 3 shots: 3 left, 3 right, then repeat.

7

Keep the same ball setup for every shot.

8

Count a shot as success if ball stops within 3 feet of target.

9

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
07

Flop | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop 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 Flop | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other, 5 piles in each line. The piles are 3 yards/meters apart. The two lines are 5 to 10 yards/meters apart.

2

Put the piles 5 to 40 yards/meters away from the hole, not on the green.

3

Mark 9 target zones on the green using tees, string, or small buckets. Make them easy to see.

4

Hit 36 flop shots total, 9 to each target zone.

5

Pick a pile and hit 9 flop shots to target zone

6

Then hit 9 shots to target zone 2, using any pile.

7

Do the same for zones 3 through 9, hitting 9 shots at each for 36 total tries. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612853
08

Flop | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

Hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway.

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

Make 3 target areas on the green: Left, Center, and Right. Each should be about 4 feet wide.

2

Put 3 piles of balls on a flat fairway, 15 to 20 yards from the hole. Space them so shots come from different angles.

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 12 at the Left zone, 12 at the Center zone, 12 at the Right zone.

4

Take shots from different piles, but set up the ball the same way each time.

5

Check if the ball stops inside the zone aimed for.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the correct zone.

7

When done, add up the number of balls in the zones and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
09

Flop | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal perpendicular 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 | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Place 40 balls into 10 piles of 4 balls each, with the piles in two lines of 5 piles. Lines are about 7 yards apart, and piles are about 2 yards apart within each line.

2

Mark 9 stop zones as a 3-by-3 grid using tees, string, or markers. Zones are about 3 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 balls in total, aiming to land 4 balls in each of the 9 stop zones.

4

Hit 4 balls at the first stop zone from any pile, then move to the next zone and hit 4 balls there. Repeat until all 9 zones are done.

5

Each time a ball stops in the correct zone, count a point.

6

After 36 shots, add up how many balls landed in the correct zones and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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