Course Program

Thread Needle: Narrow Landing Zone

Pinpoint mixed shots, for a 25-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Hendon

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 24.58 drills79% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

24.5

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Precision27%
Distance Control23%
Aim15%
Scoring11%
Alignment10%
Dispersion7%
Accuracy4%
Trajectory3%

Overview

Program Structure

Thread Needle: Narrow Landing Zone. Pinpoint mixed shots and thread the needle. Focus on Precision, Distance Control, Aim, Scoring, Alignment, Dispersion, Accuracy, Trajectory. For a 25-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Precision

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Precision
  • Distance Control
  • Aim
  • 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

Chip | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip shot inside the quadrant(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. 25 balls per player are needed.

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

Set up 4 lines of 9 balls each, 1 foot apart.

2

Put the lines on grass 5-20 yards/meters from the hole, not on the green.

3

On the green, make 4 quadrants using string or tees, each about 6 feet in radius.

4

Hit 36 chip shots in total, 9 to each quadrant.

5

Start at any ball line and chip 9 balls, aiming for Quadrant

6

Move to the next line and chip 9 balls to Quadrant

7

Do the same for Quadrants 3 and 4, 9 balls each.

8

Count each ball that stops in the target quadrant.

9

Add up the number of successful shots and enter the total out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624201612853
02

Chip | 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 chip shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Set up 10 piles of 4 balls each in two rows (5 piles per row), spaced 2 yards/meters apart. Put the rows 5 to 10 yards/meters apart and place the piles 5 to 30 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark 9 stop zones on the green using buckets, string, or tees. Space them out so each zone is different.

3

Prepare to hit 36 chip shots, divided into 9 groups of 4 shots. Each group targets a different stop zone.

4

From any pile, hit 4 shots at the first stop zone. Move to the next stop zone and hit 4 shots at it. Keep going until you’ve aimed 4 shots at each of the 9 zones.

5

Count every ball that stops inside the right zone as a success.

6

When done, count up all successful stops out of 36 attempts and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
03

Chip | Scattered 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 | Scattered Piles | Quadrants
1

Mark 4 areas on the green with string or tees. Each area should be a circle about 6 feet wide.

2

Put 36 balls into 4 piles of 9 balls. Place the piles between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 9 balls from each pile. Aim every group of 9 at a different circle.

4

Try to land each ball into the correct circle. Move to the next pile and repeat until all 36 balls are hit.

5

Count the balls that stop inside the correct circle.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
04

Chip | Parallel Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop chip shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

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

Put 40 balls into 10 piles with 4 balls in each pile. Arrange in two lines, 5 piles per line.

2

Space piles 2 yards or meters apart side to side. Space the two lines 5 to 10 yards or meters apart front to back.

3

Mark 4 sections (quadrants) in a circle of 6 feet or 2 meters radius around the hole on the green using string or tees.

4

Hit 36 chip shots total, 9 shots into each quadrant.

5

Start at any pile and chip balls to land in the first quadrant. After 9 shots, switch to the next quadrant.

6

Switch piles after each shot for variety, but always keep the same chipping setup and distance.

7

Count each ball that stops inside the correct quadrant as a success.

8

After all 36 shots, enter number of successful shots made out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191512963
05

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
06

Chip | Scattered Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and hit-and-land chip shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

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

Put 40 balls into 8 lines. Each line has 5 balls. Lines should be about 1 yard or meter apart. Put these lines anywhere on the grass 5 to 30 yards/meters from the hole but not on the green.

2

On the green, use sticks, clubs, or string to mark 3 landing zones in a straight line about 6 feet (2 meters) apart.

3

Divide the 36 chip shots into 3 sets of 12 shots.

4

For each set, pick 3 lines of balls and aim every shot at one landing zone.

5

Hit 5 chips from each line to the chosen zone. After 3 lines (15 shots), change zones until all 36 shots are done.

6

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

7

Enter the total number of successful shots in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
07

Chip | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel 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 | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of 4 balls each in two rows. Each row has 5 piles.

2

Keep piles about 2 meters apart, rows 5–10 meters apart.

3

Place piles 5–30 meters from the hole, not on the green.

4

Mark two circles around the hole on the green: a small one (2 meters out) and a big one (5 meters out).

5

Take turns hitting balls from different piles, trying to stop balls in the circles.

6

Hit 36 balls total: 18 try for the small circle, 18 for the big circle.

7

Count how many balls finished in each circle.

8

Add these for a score and enter your total out of 36 tries.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623201612853
08

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

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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