Course Program

Turn flops into par saves—score from the sand or rough

Turn into par saves, for a 24-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Palm-Desert (Temporary Tees)

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 23.67 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

6 to 45

Average HCP

23.6

Duration (single session)

3 hr 2 min

or

1 drill/day: 7 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring31%
Alignment22%
Distance Control14%
Accuracy14%
Aim11%
Visualization4%
Dispersion3%

Overview

Program Structure

Turn flops into par saves—score from the sand or rough. Up-and-down contest and turn into par saves. Focus on Scoring, Alignment, Distance Control. For a 24-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Alignment
  • Distance Control
  • Accuracy

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 | Scattered Ball Lines | Quadrants

Short Game

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

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

Scatter 40 balls in 8 lines, with 5 balls in each line, spaced about 1 yard or meter apart between 5 and 40 yards or meters from the hole.

2

Divide a 10-foot or 3-meter circle around the hole into 4 equal parts using string or tees.

3

Hit a total of 36 flop shots.

4

Assign 9 shots to each of the 4 parts.

5

Pick 5 balls from the scattered lines and try to land and stop the ball in the assigned part, then move to a different line and part.

6

Always hit each shot from where the ball was placed, aiming at the assigned part.

7

Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the intended part.

8

Do all 36 shots (9 in each part) and then count all successful shots and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612853
02

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
03

Flop | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

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

Place 36 balls in two groups of 18 balls each for uphill and downhill shots.

2

Set up three targets on the green: right, center, and left of the hole, each 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 12 flop shots from uphill slope at the right target.

4

Hit 6 shots from uphill at the center target, then 6 at the left target (total 18 uphill shots).

5

From downhill slope, hit 12 shots at the right target, 6 at center, 6 at left (total 18 downhill shots).

6

Count shots that stop within 3 feet of the target as success.

7

Write down your number of successful shots out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302826221713963
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
05

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
06

Flop | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a flop 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 Flop | Scattered Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Pick two random spots 5-20 yards from the hole and place two piles of balls. Make spots and surfaces random but similar.

2

Make two circles on the green with string or tees: one circle 6 feet from the hole, one circle 15 feet from the hole.

3

Hit 36 flop shots: 18 shots at the small circle, 18 shots at the big circle.

4

At the first pile, hit 9 balls at the small circle, then 9 at the big circle.

5

At the second pile, again hit 9 at the small circle, then 9 at the big circle.

6

Count balls that stop inside the small circle as birdie. Count balls in the big circle (but outside small) as par.

7

Add up all balls that stayed in both circles. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623181411853
07

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, and one bucket with balls below feet level.

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

Make two piles of 18 balls each: one pile with the ball above your feet on a slope, and another pile with the ball below your feet on a slope. Place both piles 5–40 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Set up three target zones on the green at different distances. Make sure each zone is marked and separated by about 5 feet (1.5 meters).

3

Hit 18 shots from the above-feet pile and 18 shots from the below-feet pile, for a total of 36 shots.

4

From the above-feet pile, hit 6 shots to each of the three zones.

5

From the below-feet pile, hit 6 shots to each of the three zones.

6

Count each shot that stops in the correct zone.

7

After all 36 shots, record the number of successful shots out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302824201612963

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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