Course Program

Pitch it close: accuracy from 20 yards and in

Pitch close, for a 14-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Green Acres Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 13.98 drills64% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

6 to 25

Average HCP

13.9

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Accuracy31%
Scoring25%
Distance Control13%
Alignment11%
Aim11%
Visualization6%
Dispersion3%
Trajectory1%

Overview

Program Structure

Pitch it close: accuracy from 20 yards and in. Leave inside 5 feet and pick landing spot. Focus on Accuracy, Scoring, Distance Control, Alignment, Aim, Visualization, Dispersion, Trajectory. For a 14-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Accuracy

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Accuracy
  • Scoring
  • Distance Control
  • Alignment

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 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 | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in 2 rows of

5

Space rows 6 yards/meters apart. Space piles in each row 4 yards/meters apart.

2

Put all piles on grass, between 30 and 60 yards/meters from the hole, not on the green.

3

On the green, draw two circles around the hole: the inner one has a 6-foot/2-meter radius (birdie zone); the outer one has a 15-foot/5-meter radius (par zone). Shots outside the big circle count as misses (bogey).

4

Hit 36 pitch shots total: 18 aiming for the inner (birdie) circle, 18 aiming for the outer (par) ring but outside the inner circle. Split into two groups of 18; switch groups after every 6 shots.

5

Hit from any pile. Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the right circle (inner or outer).

6

Keep going until all 36 shots are done. Change piles for different lies.

7

At the end, add up how many successful shots out of 36 attempts and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201511853
03

Pitch | Rough | Flat

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat rough.

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

Make 3 piles of 12 golf balls each, spaced between 30 and 60 yards from the hole in the rough.

2

On the green, mark 3 zones at different distances from the hole: Zone A at 5 feet, Zone B at 10 feet, Zone C at 15 feet.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots in total, 12 shots for each zone.

4

From the first pile, try to land and stop 12 balls in Zone A.

5

From the second pile, try to land and stop 12 balls in Zone B.

6

From the third pile, try to land and stop 12 balls in Zone C.

7

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

8

Set up the ball the same way every time.

9

When done, enter your number of successful shots into the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
04

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
05

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
06

Pitch| 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 pitch shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Arrange 40 balls into 10 piles. Put them in 2 lines, 5 piles in each line. Each pile is 2 yards apart. The lines are 5 to 10 yards apart.

2

Place the piles on grass, 30 to 60 yards from the hole.

3

On the green, mark 9 stop zones. Use buckets, tees, or string lines. Keep the zones separate.

4

Hit 36 pitch shots from the piles to the green.

5

Split the 36 shots into 9 groups of

6

For each stop zone, try to stop 4 balls inside the zone.

7

Change piles for every shot. Hit one ball from pile 1 to stop zone 1, then another from pile 2 to zone 1, and keep switching until there are 4 shots for each zone.

8

When finished, count how many balls stopped inside their zones and enter your total score out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074
07

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Put 4 straight lines of 9 balls each on the ground. Space balls 1 foot apart. Space each line 5 yards apart.

2

Set up these lines between 30 and 60 yards from the hole, on grass but not on the green.

3

On the green, make two circles around the hole: one with a 6-foot radius and one with a 15-foot radius.

4

Hit all 36 balls (9 from each line).

5

Hit every ball in a line before going to the next line. Any order.

6

Try to land each shot in the small or big circle around the hole.

7

If the ball stops inside the small circle, count as birdie. If the ball stops in the big circle but not the small, count as par.

8

Count how many balls finished in the big circle (including the small circle).

9

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612853
08

Pitch | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill
1

Split 36 shots into two groups of 18 shots: one group for uphill, one group for downhill, both on the fairway.

2

Mark three target zones on the green at 30, 45, and 60 yards from the hole.

3

For each slope, hit 6 shots at each zone (6 at 30 yards, 6 at 45 yards, 6 at 60 yards).

4

Do not change the ball setup during the drill.

5

Finish all 18 shots on the uphill slope first, then do all 18 shots on the downhill slope.

6

A shot counts only if it lands and stops inside the zone you aimed for.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262318141074

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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