Course Program

Up-and-Down Contest

Up-and-down contest, for a 25-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Lancaster

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 25.39 drills67% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

25.3

Duration (single session)

3 hr 54 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring31%
Aim24%
Alignment12%
Distance Control10%
Dispersion7%
Accuracy7%
Precision6%
Visualization3%

Overview

Program Structure

Up-and-Down Contest. Turn into birdies and up-and-down contest. Focus on Scoring, Aim, Alignment, Distance Control, Dispersion, Accuracy, Precision, Visualization. For a 25-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Aim
  • 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

Chip | Parallel Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

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

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

Arrange 36 balls in 2 lines of 18 balls each. Keep the lines 5 to 10 yards apart. Place balls 1 foot apart.

2

Mark a 6-foot circle around the hole. Divide the circle into 4 sections using markers.

3

Split the 36 chips into 4 sets of 9 shots.

4

From the first line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

1

From the second line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

5

From the first line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

3

From the second line, hit 9 chips at Quadrant

6

Count each ball that stops in the correct quadrant.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612963
02

Chip | 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 Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill
1

Find a spot in deep rough on an uphill slope 5 to 30 yards from the hole. Set up the ball the same way each time.

2

Place three targets around the green in a straight line, 4 feet apart.

3

Hit 18 chip shots from the uphill slope. Land 6 balls in each target zone.

4

Move to a deep rough spot on a downhill slope 5 to 30 yards from the hole. Keep the same setup.

5

Hit 18 chip shots from the downhill slope. Land 6 balls in each target zone.

6

Count each ball that ends inside the target as a success.

7

Add up all the successful shots out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302824201612853
03

Chip | Parallel 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 | Parallel Piles | Quadrants
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines. Each line has 5 piles. The lines are 5 to 10 yards apart. Each pile in a line is 4 yards apart.

2

Put the piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole on any type of grass.

3

On the green, make 4 quadrants with string or tees. Each quadrant is about 6 feet wide.

4

Hit 36 chip shots. Hit 9 shots to each of the 4 quadrants.

5

Choose a pile and chip 9 balls, aiming for one quadrant.

6

After 9 shots, switch to the next quadrant. Do this for all 4 quadrants.

7

A chip that stops inside the right quadrant counts as a success.

8

After 36 shots, count how many balls stopped in the target quadrants and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612963
04

Chip | Rough | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped rough grass; one bucket with balls above feet level, one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Rough | Above/Below Feet
1

Gather 36 balls and split into 2 groups of 18 balls.

2

Pick one target (pin) on the green.

3

For the first 18 shots, place the ball above your feet in the rough 5–20 yards from the hole.

4

Chip all 18 balls, trying to get close to the target.

5

Move to the other slope so the ball is below your feet, same distance.

6

Chip the last 18 balls at the target.

7

Count each shot that stops within 3 feet of the hole as a success.

8

Enter the number of successes out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
05

Chip | 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 chip shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Scatter 36 balls into 8 piles of about 4 or 5 balls each on grass between 5 and 30 yards or meters from the hole.

2

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

3

Hit 36 chip shots, split into two groups of

4

For the first 18 shots, try to land the ball inside the small circle (6-foot radius).

5

For the last 18 shots, try to land the ball inside the area between the small and big circle (6- to 15-foot radius).

6

Take turns hitting shots from different piles for variety.

7

Count how many balls stop in the right circle for each group.

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612852
06

Chip | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip 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 Chip | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Put 36 balls into 9 piles. Each pile has 4 balls. Put piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 9 target zones on the green.

3

Try to hit 4 balls into each zone. Do this for all 9 zones.

4

Always use the same ball setup. Only change which zone is the target.

5

Count each ball that stops inside the correct zone.

6

Add up all the successful shots out of

6

Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141074
07

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
08

Chip | 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 Chip | Rough | Uphill/Downhill
1

Pick a spot in the rough, on an uphill slope, 5–30 yards from the hole.

2

Put a target at the hole.

3

Hit 18 chip shots uphill, trying to stop the ball close to the hole.

4

Move to a downhill spot in the rough, also 5–30 yards from the hole.

5

Hit 18 chip shots downhill at the same target.

6

Every 4 shots, check the results and adjust if needed.

7

Count a success for every ball that finishes close to the hole (like within 3 feet).

8

Use the same setup for every shot.

9

After 36 shots, add up your total successes. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
09

Chip | Rough | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped rough grass; one bucket with balls above feet level, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Rough | Above/Below Feet
1

Get 36 balls. Make 6 piles with 6 balls in each pile. Use 3 piles for above feet lies and 3 piles for below feet lies.

2

Put the piles in the rough on a slope, between 5 and 20 yards from the hole. Keep the same type of slope for each group (above or below feet).

3

Mark 2 zones on the green. Zone A is the front half near the hole. Zone B is the back half, farther from the hole.

4

From each pile, hit 6 chip shots. Aim 3 shots at Zone A and 3 shots at Zone B.

5

First, chip from the piles with above feet lies, 6 shots each pile, 3 to each zone. Then do the same with below feet piles.

6

A shot counts as good if it lands and stays in the zone you aimed for.

7

When done with all 36 shots, count the good shots and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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