Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?

Stop on a dime, for a 13-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Ken Mcdonald Golf Course

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 13.17 drills57% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

4 to 45

Average HCP

13.1

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control33%
Dispersion19%
Precision16%
Alignment14%
Accuracy6%
Aim5%
Trajectory5%
Scoring1%

Overview

Program Structure

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?. Stop on a dime and feel the green. Focus on Distance Control, Dispersion, Precision, Alignment, Accuracy, Aim, Trajectory, Scoring. For a 13-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Dispersion
  • Precision
  • Alignment

Program details

Sessions
7 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 2 min
or
1 drill per day
7 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 | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones

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 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Arrange 36 balls into 9 piles with 4 balls in each pile. Put the piles in two straight lines, 5 to 10 yards/meters apart. Keep about 2 yards/meters between each pile. Place all piles about 30 to 40 yards/meters from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 9 separate stop zones using buckets, string, or tees. Make sure these zones are spread evenly around the hole.

3

Hit 4 pitch shots to each of the 9 stop zones. This makes 36 shots in total.

4

Hit shots by switching between piles and zones in order. For example, do 4 shots to zone 1, then 4 shots to zone 2, and continue until each zone has 4 shots.

5

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

6

When finished, total the number of successful stops and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612964
02

Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

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 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

Prepare 36 balls in 6 groups of

2

Set up 2 target zones on the green: one uphill and one downhill, with markers 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 18 balls to the uphill zone and 18 to the downhill zone.

4

Hit 6 balls from the tough uphill spot to the uphill zone.

5

Hit 6 balls from the tough downhill spot to the downhill zone.

6

Do steps 4 and 5 two more times for all 36 shots.

7

Count each ball that stays in the right zone.

8

After 36 shots, enter your number of successes out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
03

Pitch | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot in the stop 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 Pitch | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines, each line has 5 piles, piles in a line are 4 yards/meters apart, and lines are 5 to 10 yards/meters apart.

2

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

3

Mark 9 stop zones on the green with buckets, string, or tees. Space the zones evenly.

4

Use 36 balls. Make 9 groups of 4 balls for each stop zone.

5

For each stop zone, hit 4 balls trying to stop them inside it. Do this for all 9 zones.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the right zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141063
04

Pitch | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 perpendicular lines 20 balls per line and stop pitch shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Set up 2 lines of 18 balls each, making 36 balls total, spaced about 1 foot apart, 30 to 60 yards from the green.

2

On the green, make 4 areas using string or markers inside a circle about 15 feet wide.

3

Plan to hit 9 balls into each of the 4 areas.

4

From one ball line, hit 3 balls at the first area.

5

Switch to the other ball line and hit 3 balls at the second area.

6

Keep switching lines, hitting 3 balls at a time, until each area has 9 balls aimed at it.

7

Count how many balls stop in the right area.

8

After all 36 balls are hit, record the number that landed in the correct spot out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218131074
05

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot in the stop zone(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 | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 9 stop zones on the green using markers, buckets, tees, or string.

2

Place 4 lines of 9 balls off the green, with each ball 1 foot apart. Keep each line 5 yards apart and between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots total, 4 shots for each of the 9 stop zones.

4

Start at any ball line. Hit 4 balls toward the first stop zone. Repeat for each stop zone, hitting 4 balls per zone.

5

After each shot, see if the ball stopped in the right zone. Count balls that stopped inside the correct zone.

6

Keep ball positions and distance the same. Only change your target zone after every 4 shots.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
06

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot in the stop 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 Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Place 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other, with 5 piles in each line, spaced 3 yards apart.

2

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

3

On the green, mark 9 clear stop zones using buckets, string, or tees, spaced evenly.

4

Hit 36 pitch shots, aiming 4 shots at each of the 9 stop zones.

5

From any pile, hit 4 balls trying to stop them in the first zone.

6

After 4 shots, aim at the next zone and hit 4 more shots, repeating for each zone.

7

Keep hitting 4 shots per stop zone until all 9 zones are done (total 36 shots).

8

Count each ball that stops in the target zone as a success.

9

After all shots, add the number of successful shots and enter your score in the app out of 36.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141074
07

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Set up 4 lines of balls on the grass, 30 to 60 yards from the hole, with 5 yards between each line.

2

Put 9 balls in each line, spaced 1 foot apart, for 36 balls total.

3

On the green, mark 4 circles (quadrants) with string or tees. Each circle should be about 9 feet wide and not overlap.

4

Start at the first line. Hit each ball, aiming to land about the same number (2 or 3) in each circle.

5

After one line, move to the next. Keep aiming to put about the same number of balls in each circle. Do this for all 4 lines.

6

Count how many balls end up fully inside the target circle after each shot.

7

At the end, enter the number of balls in the circles out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191512963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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