Course Program

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots

Open up and fly, for a 24-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Repton Short

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 24.47 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

6 to 45

Average HCP

24.4

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Alignment33%
Accuracy22%
Distance Control16%
Scoring13%
Aim9%
Precision6%
Dispersion2%

Overview

Program Structure

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots. Open up and fly and set up for high shot. Focus on Alignment, Accuracy, Distance Control. For a 24-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Alignment

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Alignment
  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control
  • Scoring

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

Flop | Rough | Flat

Short Game

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

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

Make two piles of 18 balls on rough grass, 5-40 yards from the hole.

2

Mark three equal target zones on the green about 5 feet apart: Zone A (closest), Zone B (middle), Zone C (farthest).

3

Hit 36 flop shots in three sets: 12 shots to Zone A, then 12 to Zone B, then 12 to Zone C.

4

Switch between the two piles when hitting your shots.

5

Try to land and stop the ball inside the correct zone. Count each ball in the right zone as a success.

6

Count your successes out of 36 shots and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302826221713963
02

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
03

Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped fairway; one bucket with balls above feet level, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
1

Get 36 golf balls. Split them into 2 groups of

2

Make 3 target zones on the green. Each zone should be 4 feet wide and lined up in a row.

3

Hit 18 flop shots from above your feet. Aim for 6 shots at each target zone. Use the same setup and stance for every shot.

4

Move to below your feet. Hit 18 flop shots again, 6 shots at each of the same target zones.

5

Count the shots that stop inside the correct target zone as success.

6

Add up the successful shots from both above and below feet, out of 36 tries. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211713963
04

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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, one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Put 18 balls in one bucket for shots above your feet, and 18 balls in another bucket for shots below your feet.

2

On the practice green, set up 3 target zones in a row, about 10 to 15 feet from the hole.

3

Split the 36 balls into 3 groups of 12 balls.

4

For the first 12 balls, hit from above feet and aim for Target Zone

5

For the next 12 balls, hit from below feet and aim for Target Zone

6

For the last 12 balls, switch between above and below feet every 2 balls and aim for Target Zone

7

Always keep the ball on the correct slope as needed, only change which target zone you aim at as above.

8

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

9

When done, count how many successes out of 36 and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624201612853
05

Flop | Rough | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

Hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped rough grass; one bucket with balls above feet level, one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Rough | Above/Below Feet
1

Place 18 balls on a slope above the feet, and 18 balls on a slope below the feet, on opposite sides near the green.

2

Set one target on the green at a short distance between 10 and 20 yards.

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 18 from above the feet, 18 from below the feet.

4

Every 3 shots, change aim to left, center, or right of the target. Hit 6 shots at each aim for both slopes.

5

Try to land each ball close to the target.

6

Count a shot as successful if the ball lands within 3 feet of the target.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
06

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

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 from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill
1

Split 36 balls into two groups of

2

Make two target zones on the green, each about 5 feet wide: Zone A (left), Zone B (right).

3

For the first 18 balls, hit from uphill rough and try to land in Zone A.

4

For the next 18 balls, hit from downhill rough and try to land in Zone B.

5

All shots should be from the same spot in deep rough, 10 to 15 yards from the green.

6

Count balls that land and stay in the correct zone.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
07

Flop | 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 flop shots inside quadrants. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Quadrants
1

Pick a spot 5 to 20 yards from the hole near the green to practice flop shots.

2

Place 36 balls in two lines so they cross in the middle. Each line has 18 balls, 1 foot apart.

3

Use string or tees to mark 4 equal zones inside a 10-foot circle around the hole.

4

Split the 36 balls into 4 groups of 9 balls. Each group aims for a different zone.

5

From the first line, hit 9 balls to the first zone.

6

From the second line, hit 9 balls to the second zone.

7

Go back to the first line and hit 9 balls to the third zone.

8

From the second line, hit 9 balls to the fourth zone. Count the number of balls that land in the right zone each time. After all shots, enter your total number of successes out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221813964

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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