Course Program

Land 3–4 Feet From Pin

Stick flops to green, for a 16-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Van Hengel-Colt

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 16.29 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

8 to 25

Average HCP

16.2

Duration (single session)

3 hr 54 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring20%
Accuracy20%
Alignment17%
Distance Control17%
Aim10%
Precision6%
Dispersion5%
Trajectory3%
Visualization3%

Overview

Program Structure

Land 3–4 Feet From Pin. Flop over hazards and land 3-4 feet away. Focus on Scoring, Accuracy, Alignment. For a 16-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Accuracy
  • Alignment
  • Distance Control

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

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Set up 3 landing zones on the green, about 6 feet apart in a line. Name them Zone 1 (close), Zone 2 (middle), Zone 3 (far).

2

Put 2 piles of 18 balls each, 5–20 yards away from the green, in deep or thick grass.

3

Hit 36 flop shots from these piles, trying to land the ball in the zones.

4

Hit 12 shots to Zone

1

Alternate piles if wanted.

5

Hit 12 shots to Zone

6

Hit 12 shots to Zone

3

Enter how many shots stayed in the right zones, out of 36 attempts, in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
02

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
1

Prepare two sets of 18 balls: one set for above-feet shots, one set for below-feet shots.

2

Mark three target zones on the green: left, center, and right.

3

Divide 36 shots into three groups of 12: each group has 6 above-feet and 6 below-feet shots. Each group aims 2 shots at each zone.

4

From deep rough and sloped lies, hit two flop shots at each target zone: first above-feet, then below-feet, for all zones.

5

Keep the ball setup the same for all shots. Only change the target zone.

6

Count a ball as a success if it lands and stops in the intended zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074
03

Flop | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

Hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Fairway | Flat
1

Make 3 target areas on the green: Left, Center, and Right. Each should be about 4 feet wide.

2

Put 3 piles of balls on a flat fairway, 15 to 20 yards from the hole. Space them so shots come from different angles.

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 12 at the Left zone, 12 at the Center zone, 12 at the Right zone.

4

Take shots from different piles, but set up the ball the same way each time.

5

Check if the ball stops inside the zone aimed for.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the correct zone.

7

When done, add up the number of balls in the zones and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
04

Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop flop shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | Multiple Targets
1

Put down two lines of 18 balls each, spaced 1 foot apart. Place the lines 5 to 10 yards apart.

2

Set up three targets on the green, at least 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 12 flop shots to each target, for 36 shots total.

4

Hit 6 flop shots from the first ball line to the first target, then 6 from the second line to the same target.

5

Do the same for the second and third targets, always switching lines.

6

Count each shot that stops within 10 feet of the target as a success.

7

After all 36 shots, record the number of successful shots out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512964
05

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill
1

Split 36 balls into two groups of

2

Make two target zones on the green, each about 5 feet wide: Zone A (left), Zone B (right).

3

For the first 18 balls, hit from uphill rough and try to land in Zone A.

4

For the next 18 balls, hit from downhill rough and try to land in Zone B.

5

All shots should be from the same spot in deep rough, 10 to 15 yards from the green.

6

Count balls that land and stay in the correct zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
06

Flop | 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 flop shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Place 40 balls into 10 piles of 4 balls each, with the piles in two lines of 5 piles. Lines are about 7 yards apart, and piles are about 2 yards apart within each line.

2

Mark 9 stop zones as a 3-by-3 grid using tees, string, or markers. Zones are about 3 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 balls in total, aiming to land 4 balls in each of the 9 stop zones.

4

Hit 4 balls at the first stop zone from any pile, then move to the next zone and hit 4 balls there. Repeat until all 9 zones are done.

5

Each time a ball stops in the correct zone, count a point.

6

After 36 shots, add up how many balls landed in the correct zones and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
07

Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and stop flop shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Scatter 40 balls in 8 lines, with 5 balls in each line, spaced about 1 yard or meter apart between 5 and 40 yards or meters from the hole.

2

Divide a 10-foot or 3-meter circle around the hole into 4 equal parts using string or tees.

3

Hit a total of 36 flop shots.

4

Assign 9 shots to each of the 4 parts.

5

Pick 5 balls from the scattered lines and try to land and stop the ball in the assigned part, then move to a different line and part.

6

Always hit each shot from where the ball was placed, aiming at the assigned part.

7

Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the intended part.

8

Do all 36 shots (9 in each part) and then count all successful shots and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612853
08

Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and hit-and-land flop shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Place 40 balls in two lines of 20 balls. The balls in each line are 1 foot apart. The two lines are 5 to 10 yards apart.

2

On the green use sticks or string to make 3 landing zones in a straight line. Each zone is 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 flop shots from the ball lines to the landing zones.

4

Make 3 groups of 12 shots.

5

For each group aim for only one landing zone.

6

After each group of 12 shots, switch to the other ball line.

7

Count every shot that stops in the right landing zone.

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074
09

Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit flop shot 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 Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
1

Place two piles of 18 balls on a sloped fairway: one pile above feet level, one pile below. Each pile should be 5-20 yards from the hole.

2

Mark three target zones on the green at different distances (Zone 1 at 5 feet, Zone 2 at 10 feet, Zone 3 at 15 feet).

3

Hit 18 shots from above and 18 shots from below feet, making 36 flop shots in total.

4

Split each 18-shot pile into 3 groups of 6 shots.

5

Aim each group of 6 shots at one zone. First 6 shots at Zone 1, next 6 at Zone 2, last 6 at Zone

6

Alternate shots between above feet and below feet piles as you go through zones.

7

Count each shot that stops in the correct zone as a success.

8

When done, add up successes. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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