Course Program

Stop Ball on Dime

Vary landing spot, for a 29-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Fountain Head Country Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 29.29 drills61% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

29.2

Duration (single session)

3 hr 54 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control34%
Alignment21%
Accuracy11%
Aim10%
Dispersion9%
Precision7%
Scoring5%
Trajectory2%

Overview

Program Structure

Stop Ball on Dime. Vary landing spot and stop on a dime. Focus on Distance Control, Alignment, Accuracy, Aim, Dispersion, Precision, Scoring, Trajectory. For a 29-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Alignment
  • Accuracy
  • Aim

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

Chip | 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 chip shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

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

Arrange 36 balls in 2 lines of 18 balls each. Keep the lines 5 to 10 yards apart. Place balls 1 foot apart.

2

Mark a 6-foot circle around the hole. Divide the circle into 4 sections using markers.

3

Split the 36 chips into 4 sets of 9 shots.

4

From the first line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

1

From the second line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

5

From the first line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

3

From the second line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

6

Count each ball that stops in the correct quadrant.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612963
02

Chip | Perpendicular Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip shot inside the landing 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 Chip | Perpendicular Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Put 10 piles of balls in two straight lines that cross. Each pile has 3 or 4 balls. Keep each pile between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 landing zones on the green in a row. Make them 6 feet apart using sticks or string.

3

Hit 36 chip shots total. Aim for each landing zone 12 times.

4

Pick any pile to start. Hit 12 chips to the first zone, then 12 to the second zone, then 12 to the third zone.

5

Count how many balls land and stop inside the target zone for each shot.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
03

Chip | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and stop chip shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets
1

Put 40 golf balls in 8 lines, 5 balls in each line, each ball 1 yard apart.

2

Set up 8 flags as targets, spaced apart so each one is clear.

3

Chip all 5 balls from each line to a different target flag.

4

Aim for all shots to land within 10 feet (3 meters) of the target flag.

5

Do this for all 8 lines for a total of 40 chips.

6

Only count 36 shots: skip 4 balls or do 4 fewer shots.

7

Give a point for each ball that stops within 10 feet (3 meters) of the target.

8

Add up the number of successes out of 36 attempts and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141074
04

Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip 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 Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines: 5 piles in each line, 3 yards apart, and the lines 5 to 10 yards away from each other. Piles are 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

Use string or tees to mark 4 equal areas around the hole, each 6 feet from the hole.

3

Hit 36 chip shots, split into 4 groups of

9

Aim each group at a different area.

4

Start from a pile, chip 9 balls at the first area, then move to another pile for the next area. Do this until all 4 areas have 9 shots each.

5

Each shot that stops in the right area is a success.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
05

Chip | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to land a chip shot inside the landing zone(s). The player with the most points wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

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

Set up 3 landing zones on the green, 6 feet apart in a straight line.

2

Place 3 piles of balls around the chipping area, each pile randomly 5 to 30 yards from the hole. Keep this setup the same.

3

Divide 36 chip shots into 3 groups of

4

For the first 12 shots, aim for the first landing zone from any pile.

5

For the next 12 shots, aim for the second landing zone from any pile.

6

For the last 12 shots, aim for the third landing zone from any pile.

7

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

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141174
06

Chip | 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 chip shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

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

Make 10 piles with 4 balls in each pile, for a total of 40 balls. Put these piles in two lines that cross each other, with 5 piles in each line.

2

Place the piles on grass, 5-30 yards from the hole. The lines should be 5-10 yards apart, and each pile should be 2 yards apart.

3

Around the hole, make two circle target zones using string or tees: a small Bullseye (6 feet from hole) and a bigger Bullseye (15 feet from hole).

4

Hit 36 chip shots, in 3 sets of 12 shots.

5

For each set, chip towards the Bullseye zones, switching piles each time.

6

Balls stopping in the small Bullseye count as higher score. Balls in the big Bullseye also count, but less. Both are counted as a successful chip.

7

When finished, count all balls in the small or big Bullseye out of 36 tries, and enter the total in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
07

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped deep rough and other extreme grass types; one bucket with balls above feet level, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
1

Make two target zones on the green, Zone A on the left and Zone B on the right, 8 feet apart.

2

Put 18 balls in the deep rough above feet, at distances from 5 to 20 yards, in a straight line.

3

Chip the 18 balls to land and stop in Zone A from the uphill position.

4

Move to deep rough below feet, set up 18 balls the same way.

5

Chip these balls to land and stop in Zone B from the downhill position.

6

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

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score2927252218141174
08

Chip | 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 Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Set up 3 target zones on the green at 6, 12, and 18 feet from the hole.

2

Place 36 golf balls between 5 and 30 yards from the hole in the flat deep rough.

3

Split the 36 balls into 3 groups of 12, with each group aimed at one zone.

4

Hit from the same rough spot, aiming at the same zone, until you finish 12 shots for that zone.

5

Count a ball as a success if it lands and stays in the right zone.

6

Add up all successful chips. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
09

Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip shot closest to the multiple target(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 Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Arrange 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other. Each line has 5 piles. Each pile has the same number of balls.

2

Put the piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole. Leave 3 yards between piles in a line. Make lines 5 to 10 yards apart.

3

Set up 3 targets around the green. Each target is about 6 feet apart from the others.

4

There are 36 chip shots total, with 12 shots for each target.

5

Always use the same stance and ball position for every shot.

6

For each set of 12 shots, chip to the target from any pile. Try to get close to the target.

7

A shot is a success if the ball stops within 3 feet of the target.

8

After all 36 shots, add up how many balls stopped within 3 feet of the target and enter the score out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252217141174

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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