Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?

Feel the green, for a 13-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 12.98 drills69% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

4 to 45

Average HCP

12.9

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control40%
Dispersion12%
Trajectory12%
Precision11%
Aim11%
Alignment8%
Scoring6%

Overview

Program Structure

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards?. Vary landing spot and stop on a dime. Focus on Distance Control, Dispersion, Trajectory, Precision, Aim, Alignment, Scoring. For a 13-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Distance Control
  • Dispersion
  • Trajectory
  • Precision

Program details

Sessions
8 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 28 min
or
1 drill per day
8 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 | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal perpendicular piles of 4 balls and stop pitch shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Quadrants
1

Set up 2 lines of 5 piles, each with 4 balls. Lines should be 5 to 10 yards/meters apart, piles 2 yards/meters apart.

2

Place lines 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole, on grass, any slope.

3

On the green, use string or tees to make a circle with a 15-foot (5 meter) radius around the hole. Divide this circle into 4 equal parts.

4

Hit 36 pitch shots from the piles to the green, 9 shots for each of the 4 parts.

5

Hit from different piles, aiming for the current part. Finish all 9 shots in one part before switching.

6

Count each shot that stops in the right part.

7

Add up total successful shots. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
02

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot in the stop 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 Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 9 stop zones on the green using markers, buckets, tees, or string.

2

Place 4 lines of 9 balls off the green, with each ball 1 foot apart. Keep each line 5 yards apart and between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots total, 4 shots for each of the 9 stop zones.

4

Start at any ball line. Hit 4 balls toward the first stop zone. Repeat for each stop zone, hitting 4 balls per zone.

5

After each shot, see if the ball stopped in the right zone. Count balls that stopped inside the correct zone.

6

Keep ball positions and distance the same. Only change your target zone after every 4 shots.

7

After all 36 shots, count the number of successful shots out of 36 and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
03

Pitch | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines, each line has 5 piles, piles in a line are 4 yards/meters apart, and lines are 5 to 10 yards/meters apart.

2

Put these piles on grass between 30 and 60 yards/meters from the hole, not on the green.

3

Mark 9 stop zones on the green with buckets, string, or tees. Space the zones evenly.

4

Use 36 balls. Make 9 groups of 4 balls for each stop zone.

5

For each stop zone, hit 4 balls trying to stop them inside it. Do this for all 9 zones.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the right zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141063
04

Pitch | 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 pitch shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Arrange 36 balls into 9 piles with 4 balls in each pile. Put the piles in two straight lines, 5 to 10 yards/meters apart. Keep about 2 yards/meters between each pile. Place all piles about 30 to 40 yards/meters from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 9 separate stop zones using buckets, string, or tees. Make sure these zones are spread evenly around the hole.

3

Hit 4 pitch shots to each of the 9 stop zones. This makes 36 shots in total.

4

Hit shots by switching between piles and zones in order. For example, do 4 shots to zone 1, then 4 shots to zone 2, and continue until each zone has 4 shots.

5

Count each ball that stops inside the right stop zone as a success.

6

When finished, total the number of successful stops and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612964
05

Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Parallel Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Place 4 lines of 5 balls. Balls in each line are 1 foot apart. Lines are 5 yards apart and 20 to 40 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 landing zones on the green, each 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, 12 shots at each landing zone.

4

Use one line for 12 shots at the first zone, another line for 12 shots at the second zone, and the last line for 12 shots at the third zone.

5

Count a shot as a success if it lands and stops in the correct zone.

6

Add up successful shots and enter the number out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
06

Pitch | Scattered Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and hit-and-land pitch shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Scattered Ball Lines | 3 Landing Zones
1

Put 36 balls on the grass in 6 lines. Each line has 6 balls. Keep balls 1 yard apart.

2

Make 3 landing zones on the green using sticks, clubs, or string. Each zone should be 9 feet from the others in a straight line.

3

Split your shots into 3 groups of

2

Each group is for one landing zone.

4

Hit 6 balls from one line to the first zone. Move to another line and hit 6 balls to the same zone. Now you have 12 shots for the first zone.

5

Do the same for the second and third zones, using 2 lines for each (6 shots per line).

6

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

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141074
07

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch shot inside the landing 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 Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Put 10 piles of balls in two lines that meet at a right angle, 5 to 10 yards apart, with each pile 3 yards apart.

2

Place the piles 30 to 60 yards from the hole on grass but not on the green.

3

Mark 3 landing zones on the green with sticks or string, each 6 feet apart in a line.

4

Hit 36 pitch shots in total, 12 at each landing zone.

5

For the first 12 shots aim at Landing Zone 1, for the next 12 aim at Zone 2, for the last 12 aim at Zone

6

Start from any pile and switch piles between shots.

7

Count a success if the ball lands and stops in the correct zone.

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score2927252218141174
08

Pitch| 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 pitch shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

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

Make 3 piles of 12 golf balls each between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, set up 3 landing zones in a straight line 9 feet (3 meters) apart.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots in total, grouped into 3 sets of

4

Try to land the first 12 shots in Landing Zone 1, the next 12 in Landing Zone 2, and the last 12 in Landing Zone

5

You can hit from any pile, but keep the ball position the same.

6

Count every ball that stays in the right landing zone as a success.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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

Can you stop the ball close from 30 yards? | Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club