Course Program

Avoid Three-Putts

Avoid three-putts, for a 35-handicap player, ~30 minutes at Northern Bear Golf Course

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 356 drills80% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

25 to 45

Average HCP

35

Duration (single session)

2 hr 36 min

or

1 drill/day: 6 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring30%
Aim22%
Precision13%
Alignment12%
Accuracy10%
Distance Control10%
Trajectory4%

Overview

Program Structure

Avoid Three-Putts. Stop near the hole and chip to the green. Focus on Scoring, Aim, Precision. For a 35-handicap player, in ~30 minutes.

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Aim
  • Precision
  • Alignment

Program details

Sessions
6 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
2 hr 36 min
or
1 drill per day
6 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 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
02

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
03

Chip | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip shot in the bullseye. The best final score relative to PAR wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

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

Make two piles of balls for each player between 5 and 30 yards from the hole, anywhere in the chipping area, on any surface.

2

On the green, make two bullseye zones around the hole: inner circle with 6-foot radius and outer ring from 6 to 15 feet.

3

Each player hits 36 chips: 18 from each pile.

4

Try to stop the ball in the inner bullseye (best), then outer bullseye (good), or avoid missing both (bad).

5

Switch piles after 18 shots, finish all 36 shots.

6

Count how many balls stop in the bullseye zones.

7

After 36 shots, record the number of balls in the bullseyes as your score. Enter this total in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302826221713963
04

Chip | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal piles 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 Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Put 40 balls into 8 piles, with 5 balls in each pile, between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 3 zones in a straight line, each zone 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 chip shots in total, split into 3 sets of 12 shots.

4

For the first 12 shots, aim to land the ball in Zone

5

For the next 12 shots, aim for Zone

6

For the last 12 shots, aim for Zone

7

Choose any pile to hit from, switch piles if wanted.

8

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

9

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
05

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit 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, one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Make two groups of 18 balls; one for balls above feet, one for balls below feet.

2

Put 3 targets in a straight line on the green, about 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 chip shots total: 18 with balls above feet, 18 with balls below feet.

4

Split each set of 18 shots into three groups of

6

Each group of 6 goes to a different target.

5

With balls above feet, hit 6 shots to each target, keeping ball position the same.

6

With balls below feet, do the same: 6 shots to each target.

7

Count any shot that stops within 3 feet of the target as a success.

8

Count how many successful shots you had. Enter your score out of 36.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512964
06

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

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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

Avoid Three-Putts | Northern Bear Golf Course