Course Program

Save Par On Every Approach

Save par on approaches, for a 16-handicap player, ~15 minutes at 18-håls

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 15.59 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

6 to 25

Average HCP

15.5

Duration (single session)

3 hr 54 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Accuracy25%
Scoring25%
Distance Control14%
Aim12%
Visualization11%
Dispersion6%
Alignment3%
Precision3%

Overview

Program Structure

Save Par On Every Approach. Save par on approaches and land 3-4 feet away. Focus on Accuracy, Scoring, Distance Control. For a 16-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Accuracy
  • Scoring
  • Distance Control
  • 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

Pitch | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 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 | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Set out 40 balls in 8 lines of 5 balls each on the grass, with each ball 1 yard/meter apart. Place the lines anywhere from 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark two circles on the green around the hole: one with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius and another with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, divided into 3 groups of 12 shots.

4

In each group, hit 6 balls aiming for the smaller circle and 6 balls aiming for the larger circle.

5

Pick any ball to hit, but finish the required shots to each target zone in each group before moving on.

6

Score 1 point for each ball inside the small circle, 0.5 points for each ball in the bigger circle but outside the small one, and 0 for any ball outside both circles.

7

Add the points from all 36 shots and enter your score, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191512853
02

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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 Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
1

Put 4 piles of 9 balls on a slope, 2 piles above feet, 2 piles below feet, 30 to 60 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green: left, center, right, each about 6 feet wide.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, 18 from above feet piles, 18 from below feet piles.

4

For each area (above and below feet), hit 6 shots to each zone.

5

Switch between piles of the same area as you hit, aiming for the target zone.

6

A shot counts if the ball stops in the right zone.

7

Count how many shots went in the target zones and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612964
03

Pitch | Scattered Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines 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 Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones
1

Divide 36 balls into 9 groups of 4 balls each. Space each group about 1 yard apart, between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 9 stop zones using buckets, string, or tees. Space the zones so you can aim at one at a time.

3

For each group of 4 balls, aim all shots at one assigned stop zone.

4

After 4 shots to the first zone, move to the next group and aim all shots at the next zone.

5

Keep going until you have hit 4 shots to each of the 9 stop zones for a total of 36 shots.

6

Count how many balls finished in the correct stop zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
04

Pitch | Rough | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Hit 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 Pitch | Rough | Uphill/Downhill
1

Make 4 piles of 9 balls each, with 2 piles uphill and 2 piles downhill, all 25–40 yards from the hole in the rough.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green: Zone A (6 feet left), Zone B (6 feet behind), Zone C (6 feet right) of the hole.

3

Hit 36 total shots: 18 from uphill piles, 18 from downhill piles.

4

For each slope (uphill and downhill), split 18 shots into 3 groups of

5

Aim 6 shots at each zone (A, B, C) from the two piles on the same slope.

6

Alternate shots between the two piles on the same slope.

7

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

8

Add up total successes out of 36 tries and enter score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512853
05

Pitch| Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal piles of 5 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| Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Put 40 balls into 8 piles of 5 balls each, on grass 30–60 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark two circles around the hole: one with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius, and one with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots in 3 groups of 12 shots.

4

Aim 12 shots for the small circle, 12 shots for the area between the two circles, and 12 shots for the big circle (includes the small one).

5

Use balls from any pile, but keep where and how you hit them the same.

6

Count each ball that ends inside the correct circle as a success.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624201612853
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
07

Pitch | 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 Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
1

Get 36 golf balls. Divide into 3 groups of 12 balls.

2

Set up 3 target zones on the green. Make them easy to see and about the same size.

3

Go to the rough, 20-40 yards from the hole. Hit 12 balls at the first target zone.

4

Hit 12 balls at the second target zone from the same spot, same ball setup.

5

Hit 12 balls at the third target zone the same way.

6

Keep ball setup on the slope the same for all shots.

7

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

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624211713963
08

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

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 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones
1

Place 36 balls in 2 lines of 18 balls each, about 1 foot apart.

2

Set up 9 stop zones on the green using markers, arranged in 3 groups of 3 zones.

3

Hit 4 pitch shots into each stop zone, for a total of 36 shots.

4

Start at the first stop zone and hit 4 shots from the first ball line, aiming for that zone.

5

Switch to the second ball line and hit 4 shots at the next stop zone.

6

Keep switching lines and zones until all 36 shots are done.

7

A shot is a success if the ball stops in the target zone.

8

Count successful shots and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
09

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, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Choose two starting spots on a sloped fairway—one where the ball is above your feet, and one where it is below your feet.

2

Put 3 piles of 6 balls each above your feet, spaced between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

3

Put 3 piles of 6 balls each below your feet, spaced between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

4

Mark three target zones on the green: Left, Center, and Right, spaced about 6 feet apart.

5

Hit 6 shots from each above-feet pile, aiming at each target zone (18 shots total from above feet).

6

Hit 6 shots from each below-feet pile, aiming at each target zone (18 shots total from below feet).

7

Count a shot as successful if the ball stays in the target zone.

8

When all 36 shots are done, add up successful shots and enter score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201512974

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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