Pick a landing spot and stick it—pitching challenge
Pitch close, for a 17-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Sonnenalp Golf Club
Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 17.19 drills55% match to course practice profile
Program Snapshot
Handicap range
6 to 44
Average HCP
17.1
Duration (single session)
3 hr 54 min
or
1 drill/day: 9 days · 26 min/day
Ideal tee
All
Skill Distribution
Accuracy36%
Distance Control21%
Alignment16%
Aim11%
Scoring9%
Precision5%
Dispersion3%
Overview
Program Structure
Pick a landing spot and stick it—pitching challenge. Leave inside 5 feet and pick landing spot. Focus on Accuracy, Distance Control, Alignment, Aim, Scoring, Precision, Dispersion. For a 17-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.
Skill
Accuracy
Shot
Pitch
What you will improve
Accuracy
Distance Control
Alignment
Aim
Program details
Sessions
9 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 54 min
or
1 drill per day
9 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.
Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway surface.
26 minFocus: Short Game
1
Make 3 piles with 12 golf balls in each pile.
2
Mark 3 target zones on the green, each about 6 feet apart and about 2 feet wide.
3
Pitch all shots from 30 to 40 yards away on flat grass.
4
Use the first pile and hit balls at the first target zone.
5
Use the second pile and hit balls at the second target zone.
6
Use the last pile and hit balls at the third target zone.
7
Count the balls that land and stop in the target zone.
8
After all shots, count how many landed in the zones and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
30
28
25
20
16
12
9
6
4
02
Pitch| Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
Short Game
Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop pitch shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.
26 minFocus: Short Game
1
Put 40 balls into 10 piles of 4 balls each. Make 2 rows with 5 piles in each row.
2
Place the 2 rows 5 to 10 yards apart. Each pile in a row is 2 yards from the next.
3
Put the piles on grass, 30 to 60 yards from the hole, anywhere except on the green.
4
On the green, make 2 circles around the hole: a small circle with a 6-foot radius, and a big circle with a 15-foot radius.
5
Hit 36 balls. Try to get 18 balls into the small circle and 18 balls into the big circle.
6
Take turns hitting from different piles, changing lines and piles as wanted. Focus on the correct target zone.
7
Balls stopping inside the small circle are better. Balls in the big circle are good too.
8
When all 36 balls are hit, count the balls in both circles and add them for your score. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
28
26
22
18
14
11
8
5
3
03
Pitch | Rough | Above/Below Feet
Short Game
Up to 5 players hit 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
1
Make 3 piles of 6 balls each on sloped ground above your feet, 20 to 40 yards from the hole.
2
Make 3 piles of 6 balls each on sloped ground below your feet, same distance, opposite slope.
3
Hit 18 shots from above your feet and 18 shots from below your feet.
4
Mark 3 target zones on the green (left, center, right).
5
Hit 6 shots from above your feet at each zone.
6
Hit 6 shots from below your feet at each zone.
7
Score one point for each ball that lands and stops in the right zone.
8
Count successes and enter the total out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
31
29
26
22
17
13
9
6
3
04
Pitch | Scattered 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
1
Make two circles on the green: a small one with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius, and a bigger one with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius.
2
Put 3 piles of 12 balls each on the short game area, in random spots 30 to 60 yards/meters from the hole.
3
Hit 36 pitch shots total: 12 from each pile.
4
From the first pile, hit 12 shots and try to stop the ball inside the circles.
5
Move to the next pile and repeat, until all 36 shots are done.
6
Count balls in the small circle as birdies, balls in the big circle as pars, balls outside as bogeys.
7
Count how many balls are in the circles after all 36 shots. Enter your total score out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
31
29
26
22
18
14
10
6
3
05
Pitch | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
Short Game
Up to 5 players hit 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
1
Put 36 balls into 3 piles of 12 balls each.
2
Put 3 target zones on the green in a straight line, about 6 feet apart.
3
Pick one sloped fairway spot to shoot from (above feet or below feet).
4
Hit 12 shots to the first target zone.
5
Hit 12 shots to the second zone.
6
Hit 12 shots to the third zone. For each shot, count how many balls land and stay in the correct target zone. When done, count successful shots out of 36 and enter the score in the app.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
32
30
28
25
20
16
12
8
5
06
Pitch | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
Short Game
Up to 5 players 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
1
Get 36 golf balls. Divide into 3 groups of 12 balls.
2
Set up 3 target zones on the green. Make them easy to see and about the same size.
3
Go to the rough, 20-40 yards from the hole. Hit 12 balls at the first target zone.
4
Hit 12 balls at the second target zone from the same spot, same ball setup.
5
Hit 12 balls at the third target zone the same way.
6
Keep ball setup on the slope the same for all shots.
7
Count a shot as a success if it lands and stops in the target zone.
8
Add up successful shots and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
28
26
24
21
17
13
9
6
3
07
Pitch | Rough | Flat
Short Game
Up to 5 players hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat rough grass.
26 minFocus: Short Game
1
Make 3 piles of 12 balls each (36 balls total) between 30 and 60 yards from the hole on flat rough grass.
2
On the green, set up 3 target areas at different distances around the hole.
3
Hit 12 balls toward each target area (36 shots total, 12 for each zone).
4
Hit the first 12 balls to Zone 1, the next 12 to Zone 2, and the last 12 to Zone
5
Leave the balls in the same position; only change which target zone you aim at.
6
Count each ball that lands and stops inside the target zone as a success.
7
When all 36 shots are finished, count the number of successes and enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
31
29
26
22
17
13
9
6
3
08
Pitch | Parallel Piles | Multiple Targets
Short Game
Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop pitch shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.
26 minFocus: Short Game
1
Make 10 piles of balls in two lines, 5 piles in each line. Each pile has 4 balls.
2
The lines should be 7 yards apart. Each pile in a line is 3 yards apart from the next.
3
Put 3 flags on the green, at different spots, 20 to 40 yards away.
4
Hit 36 pitch shots in total, 12 shots at each flag.
5
Pick any pile to start. Hit shots from any pile to the first flag until you finish 12 shots.
6
Do the same thing for the second flag and then the third flag, 12 shots at each.
7
Count how many balls end within 10 feet (3 meters) from the flag.
8
After all 36 shots, add up the number of shots that were successful and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
31
29
26
22
17
13
9
6
3
09
Pitch| Parallel Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
Short Game
Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop pitch shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.
26 minFocus: Short Game
1
Put two lines of 18 balls on the ground, with lines 5-10 yards/meters apart, and balls 1 foot/30 cm apart in each line.
2
Mark two circles around the hole: an inner circle with a 6 ft/2 m radius, and an outer circle with a 15 ft/5 m radius.
3
Hit 36 shots, 18 from each line.
4
Hit 3 shots from the first line, then 3 from the second line, and keep switching every 3 shots until all 36 are done.
5
Count balls that stop in the inner or outer circle. Balls outside both circles are misses.
6
Enter the number of balls inside either circle in the app, out of 36 attempts.
Scoring benchmarks
Repetitions36
Handicap
+9
+5
+1
5
12
19
27
36
54
Score
28
26
24
20
16
12
8
5
3
Next Step
Ready to start this program?
Start the drills at your own pace or work with a resident professional on this course.