Course Program

Land 3–4 Feet From Hole

Vary landing spot, for a 17-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Highgate

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 17.48 drills67% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

9 to 25

Average HCP

17.4

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control33%
Accuracy24%
Alignment15%
Scoring15%
Precision7%
Dispersion4%
Trajectory3%

Overview

Program Structure

Land 3–4 Feet From Hole. Vary landing spot and stop on a dime. Focus on Distance Control, Accuracy, Alignment, Scoring, Precision, Dispersion, Trajectory. For a 17-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Accuracy
  • Alignment
  • Scoring

Program details

Sessions
8 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 28 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

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
02

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 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. Up to 80 balls are needed.

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

Set up 4 lines of balls, 5 yards apart. Each line has 9 balls, 1 foot apart.

2

Place the lines 30 to 60 yards from the hole, not on the green.

3

Put 3 target flags on the green, spaced evenly.

4

Make 3 groups of 12 shots from the 36 balls.

5

First 12 shots: aim for the left flag.

6

Next 12 shots: aim for the middle flag.

7

Last 12 shots: aim for the right flag.

8

Always use the same ball setup; only change which flag you aim for.

9

Count a point when the ball stops closest to the flag you aimed for.

0

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
03

Pitch | Scattered Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Scattered Piles | Quadrants
1

Make 4 piles of 9 balls each, with the piles 30–60 yards from the hole on different ground.

2

On the green, mark out a 15-foot circle around the hole and divide the circle into 4 equal parts.

3

Hit 9 shots from a pile to try and stop the ball in the first part of the circle.

4

Move to another pile and hit 9 shots for the second part.

5

Repeat for the third and fourth parts, from any pile.

6

Count each ball that stops in the right part as a success.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141063
04

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
05

Pitch | Rough | Flat

Short Game

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

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

Make 3 piles of 12 balls each (36 balls total) between 30 and 60 yards from the hole on flat rough grass.

2

On the green, set up 3 target areas at different distances around the hole.

3

Hit 12 balls toward each target area (36 shots total, 12 for each zone).

4

Hit the first 12 balls to Zone 1, the next 12 to Zone 2, and the last 12 to Zone

5

Leave the balls in the same position; only change which target zone you aim at.

6

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

7

When all 36 shots are finished, count the number of successes and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
06

Pitch | Scattered Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Scattered Piles | Quadrants
1

Make 4 piles of 9 balls each, with piles placed randomly 30–60 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 4 quadrants on the green around the hole using string or tees, each about 9 feet wide.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, 9 to each quadrant.

4

From any pile, hit 9 balls trying to stop them in the first quadrant.

5

Move to a new pile and hit 9 balls to the second quadrant. Repeat for all quadrants.

6

Count balls that stop inside the target quadrant.

7

Count total balls in the correct quadrant and enter the number out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612853
07

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
08

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal perpendicular piles of 4 balls and stop pitch shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

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

Place two string circles on the green: an inner Bullseye circle with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius and an outer Bullseye circle with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius around the hole.

2

Set up 10 piles of 4 balls each (total 40 balls) at 30 to 60 yards from the hole in two lines. Each line has 5 piles spaced about 5 to 10 yards apart. Piles in each line are 2 yards apart.

3

Hit a total of 36 pitch shots, divided into two groups of 18 shots each, alternating between the two lines of piles.

4

From each pile, hit 2 pitch shots trying to land the ball inside the inner or outer Bullseye on the green.

5

Each ball that stops inside the inner Bullseye counts as a birdie. Each ball inside the outer Bullseye but outside the inner circle counts as a par. Balls outside the outer circle are misses.

6

Keep hitting until you finish 36 shots, switching piles for variety. Enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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