Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from a tight lie?

Stop close from tight lie, for a 17-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Short

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 16.69 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

8 to 45

Average HCP

16.6

Duration (single session)

3 hr 53 min

or

1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control30%
Alignment19%
Accuracy18%
Aim10%
Dispersion8%
Scoring7%
Precision5%
Trajectory4%

Overview

Program Structure

Can you stop the ball close from a tight lie?. Feel the distance and stop close from tight lie. Focus on Distance Control, Alignment, Accuracy. For a 17-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Alignment
  • Accuracy
  • Aim

Program details

Sessions
9 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 53 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 | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop shot inside the landing 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 Flop | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Set up 4 lines of 9 balls each, spaced 1 foot apart. Place the lines between 5 and 20 yards from the hole on grass.

2

Mark 3 landing zones on the green, 3 feet apart in a straight line. Each zone is 3 feet wide.

3

Hit 12 flop shots to each zone for a total of 36 shots.

4

Start at any line of balls and hit 12 shots to Zone

1

Change lines and hit 12 shots to Zone

2

Change lines again and hit 12 shots to Zone

5

Count a success when the ball lands and stops in the right zone.

6

Add the total number of successful shots and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623191511853
02

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
03

Flop | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop 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 Flop | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants
1

Arrange 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other. Each line has 5 piles, placed 3 yards apart. The lines are 6 yards apart.

2

Put all piles between 5 and 40 yards from the hole. Keep all piles on the same type of grass.

3

On the green, mark 4 equal quadrants. Each quadrant is a circle with a 3-meter radius around the hole.

4

Hit 36 flop shots: 9 shots to each quadrant.

5

Start at one pile. Hit 9 shots at Quadrant 1, move to another pile and hit 9 shots at Quadrant 2, then 9 shots at Quadrant 3, then 9 shots at Quadrant

6

A shot that stops inside the target quadrant counts as a success.

7

Count all successes for each quadrant and add them up.

8

After all 36 shots, write down your total number of successful shots in the app, out of 36.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
04

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
05

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players 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 target zones on the green, spaced about 4 feet apart in a row.

2

Place all golf balls together in a pile 10 yards from the green, outside the deep rough.

3

Hit 36 flop shots from the rough, aiming 12 shots at each zone.

4

Hit 12 shots to Zone

5

Hit 12 shots to Zone

6

Hit 12 shots to Zone

7

Count each shot that lands and stays in the correct zone as a success.

8

Add how many successes out of 36, and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
06

Flop | Rough | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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

Place 36 golf balls into 6 piles of 6 balls each around the practice green.

2

Set up 2 target zones on the green about 6 feet apart: Zone A (closer to the edge) and Zone B (closer to the hole).

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 18 shots for Zone A and 18 for Zone B.

4

First, from piles above your feet, hit 3 shots per pile to Zone A, then 3 shots per pile to Zone B, switching piles as needed.

5

Next, repeat the same sequence from piles below your feet: 9 shots to Zone A and 9 shots to Zone B.

6

Count shots that land and stop inside the correct zone as a success.

7

Add your total successes. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612853
07

Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

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

25 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets
1

Make 7 lines of 5 balls each (35 balls total), with balls 1 yard apart. Put the lines on grass 5 to 20 yards from the hole, not on the green.

2

Put 5 markers on the green, each 6 feet apart.

3

Match each line of balls to a marker on the green.

4

Hit all 5 balls in the line as flop shots at the marker. Move to the next line and repeat with the next marker.

5

Count how many balls land within 10 feet of the marker.

6

When done, count total balls inside 10 feet, and enter score in the app out of 35 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions35
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141074
08

Flop | 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 flop shots inside Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Put 36 balls in 6 straight lines. Each line has 6 balls. Each ball is 1 yard or meter apart. Place lines 5-20 yards or meters from the hole, not on the green.

2

On the green, make two circles around the hole with string or tees: one small circle with a 6 foot/2 meter radius, and one bigger circle with a 15 foot/5 meter radius.

3

Hit all 6 balls in a line toward the hole, trying to land them inside the circles.

4

For the first 18 hits, try to land balls in the small circle. For the next 18 hits, try to land balls in the big circle.

5

After hitting one line, go to another line and repeat until all 36 balls are hit.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the right circle for each try. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512852
09

Flop | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop 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 Flop | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Divide 36 balls into 9 piles with 4 balls each. Put each pile in the chipping area, not on the green, between 5 and 20 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 9 stop zones on the green using tees, string, or buckets, spaced across the green.

3

Hit 4 flop shots at each stop zone, trying to stop each ball in the zone.

4

Start at any pile and pick a stop zone. Hit 4 balls from the pile to that zone.

5

Move to the next pile and new stop zone. Keep going until all 9 zones have 4 shots each (36 shots total).

6

Count each ball that stops inside the right stop zone.

7

Enter the number of successful shots in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302826221713963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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