Course Program

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots

Open up and fly, for a 21-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Sleepy Ridge Gc

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 21.14 drills66% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

8 to 45

Average HCP

21.1

Duration (single session)

1 hr 44 min

or

1 drill/day: 4 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Alignment31%
Scoring23%
Accuracy18%
Distance Control15%
Aim10%
Dispersion3%

Overview

Program Structure

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots. Check clubface and set up for high shot. Focus on Alignment, Scoring, Accuracy. For a 21-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Alignment

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Alignment
  • Scoring
  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control

Program details

Sessions
4 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
1 hr 44 min
or
1 drill per day
4 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 | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

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

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

Make 3 target areas on the green: Left, Center, and Right. Each should be about 4 feet wide.

2

Put 3 piles of balls on a flat fairway, 15 to 20 yards from the hole. Space them so shots come from different angles.

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 12 at the Left zone, 12 at the Center zone, 12 at the Right zone.

4

Take shots from different piles, but set up the ball the same way each time.

5

Check if the ball stops inside the zone aimed for.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the correct zone.

7

When done, add up the number of balls in the zones and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
02

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

Find a flat spot in the rough, 5 to 20 yards from the hole.

2

Set up three targets on the green, spaced apart for three landing zones.

3

Hit 36 flop shots; 12 shots at each target.

4

Keep ball position the same for all shots, only aim at the next target after 12 shots.

5

Try to land the ball softly in the target zone.

6

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

7

After 36 shots (12 per target), add up your total successful shots and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612853
03

Flop | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped fairway; one bucket from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Flop | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill
1

Make 2 target areas on the green: one uphill, one downhill, about 6 feet apart.

2

Use markers to show the edges of each target area.

3

Choose a spot 20 yards from the hole and set up golf balls for uphill shots.

4

Hit 18 flop shots, trying to land each one in the uphill area. Try to keep each ball inside the zone.

5

Move to the downhill area, same distance from the hole.

6

Hit 18 flop shots, trying to land each one in the downhill area.

7

Keep all shots from the same spot on each slope. Do not move the ball for each shot.

8

Count shots that stop inside the right target area.

9

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
04

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

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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