Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?

Feel the green, for a 24-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Nishna Hills Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 23.95 drills69% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

7 to 45

Average HCP

23.9

Duration (single session)

2 hr 10 min

or

1 drill/day: 5 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control37%
Precision20%
Accuracy13%
Alignment12%
Aim10%
Dispersion6%
Trajectory2%

Overview

Program Structure

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?. Vary landing spot and stop on a dime. Focus on Distance Control, Precision, Accuracy, Alignment, Aim, Dispersion, Trajectory. For a 24-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Precision
  • Accuracy
  • Alignment

Program details

Sessions
5 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
2 hr 10 min
or
1 drill per day
5 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 | Parallel Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and hit-and-land pitch shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Parallel Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Arrange 36 balls into 9 piles of 4 balls each, 30 to 60 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, make 3 landing zones spaced 9 feet apart.

3

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

4

Start from any pile, switch piles after every shot, and aim for Zone 1 for the first 12 shots.

5

After 12 shots in Zone 1, aim for Zone 2 for 12 shots, then Zone 3 for the last 12 shots.

6

Count each shot that stays inside the target zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
02

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
03

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Arrange 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other at a right angle. Each line has 5 piles, spaced about 3 meters apart.

2

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

3

Set 5 different targets around the green, spaced apart.

4

Make 36 pitch shots, in 6 rounds of 6 shots each.

5

For each round, pick one pile and one target. Hit 6 shots from that pile to that target.

6

After 6 shots, move to a different pile and a different target for the next round. Keep going until all 36 shots are done and each target has 6 shots.

7

Count each shot that lands closest to the target as a success.

8

Add up the number of successful shots from all 36 shots and enter this score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211713963
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 | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 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 | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Set out 40 balls in 8 lines of 5 balls each on the grass, with each ball 1 yard/meter apart. Place the lines anywhere from 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole.

2

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

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, divided into 3 groups of 12 shots.

4

In each group, hit 6 balls aiming for the smaller circle and 6 balls aiming for the larger circle.

5

Pick any ball to hit, but finish the required shots to each target zone in each group before moving on.

6

Score 1 point for each ball inside the small circle, 0.5 points for each ball in the bigger circle but outside the small one, and 0 for any ball outside both circles.

7

Add the points from all 36 shots and enter your score, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191512853

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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