Course Program

Up-and-down contest: how many can you save in a row?

Save par clutch, for a 19-handicap player, ~15 minutes at River Oaks Gc

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 18.67 drills69% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

4 to 45

Average HCP

18.6

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring35%
Accuracy18%
Distance Control15%
Aim12%
Alignment7%
Dispersion3%
Precision3%
Trajectory3%
Visualization3%

Overview

Program Structure

Up-and-down contest: how many can you save in a row?. Save par clutch and turn into birdies. Focus on Scoring, Accuracy, Distance Control, Aim, Alignment, Dispersion, Precision, Trajectory, Visualization. For a 19-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Pitch

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control
  • Aim

Program details

Sessions
7 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 2 min
or
1 drill per day
7 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| Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal piles of 5 balls and stop pitch shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

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

Separate 36 balls into 9 piles of 4 balls. Put them between 30 and 60 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark 9 stop zones on the green with tees, string, or markers. Make sure they are spaced out and about the same size.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots total, with 4 balls aimed at each zone.

4

Start at any pile and aim for the first zone. After 4 shots, aim for the next zone.

5

Keep hitting from different piles until you have aimed 4 shots at each of the 9 zones (36 shots total).

6

Count how many balls land and stop in the right zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612853
02

Pitch | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in 2 rows of

5

Space rows 6 yards/meters apart. Space piles in each row 4 yards/meters apart.

2

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

3

On the green, draw two circles around the hole: the inner one has a 6-foot/2-meter radius (birdie zone); the outer one has a 15-foot/5-meter radius (par zone). Shots outside the big circle count as misses (bogey).

4

Hit 36 pitch shots total: 18 aiming for the inner (birdie) circle, 18 aiming for the outer (par) ring but outside the inner circle. Split into two groups of 18; switch groups after every 6 shots.

5

Hit from any pile. Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the right circle (inner or outer).

6

Keep going until all 36 shots are done. Change piles for different lies.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201511853
03

Pitch| Scattered Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

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

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch| Scattered Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Put 36 balls into 6 piles with 6 balls in each pile between 30 and 60 yards from the hole.

2

Place 3 flags on the green far apart and label them A, B, and C.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, in 3 sets of 12 shots.

4

Hit 12 balls so they stop within 10 feet of flag A.

5

Hit 12 balls so they stop within 10 feet of flag B. Use any pile.

6

Hit 12 balls so they stop within 10 feet of flag C.

7

Hit from any pile and change piles or targets as needed.

8

Count each shot that stops within 10 feet of the target as a success.

9

Count the total successful shots and enter the score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612963
04

Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a pitch 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 Pitch | Perpendicular Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines that cross each other, with each pile about 3 yards/meters apart.

2

Place the piles 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole on similar grass.

3

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

4

Take 36 shots: 18 try to land in the small circle, 18 try to land in the outer circle but not in the small circle.

5

Start with any pile and hit 18 shots for the small circle.

6

For the next 18 shots, try to land in the outer circle but not in the small circle.

7

Count a shot as a success if it lands in the circle you are aiming for.

8

After each shot, pick a different pile at random to hit from.

9

Count how many successful shots you made for each circle out of 36 attempts and enter your score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028252218141075
05

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
06

Pitch | 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, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Put 4 piles of 9 balls on a slope, 2 piles above feet, 2 piles below feet, 30 to 60 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green: left, center, right, each about 6 feet wide.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots, 18 from above feet piles, 18 from below feet piles.

4

For each area (above and below feet), hit 6 shots to each zone.

5

Switch between piles of the same area as you hit, aiming for the target zone.

6

A shot counts if the ball stops in the right zone.

7

Count how many shots went in the target zones and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612964
07

Pitch | Rough | Flat

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat rough grass.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Pitch | Rough | Flat
1

Set up 3 targets on the green, 6 feet apart in a straight line. These are Target A (closest), Target B (middle), and Target C (farthest).

2

From rough ground 30 to 60 yards away, place the ball and get ready to pitch at the targets.

3

Hit 36 pitch shots in total, split into 3 groups of 12 shots.

4

Aim the first 12 shots at Target A, trying to land and stop the ball inside that area.

5

Aim the next 12 shots at Target B, trying to land and stop the ball inside that area.

6

Aim the last 12 shots at Target C, trying to land and stop the ball inside that area.

7

Keep everything else the same each time, only change which target you aim at.

8

Count a shot as a success if the ball lands and stops inside the correct target area.

9

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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