Course Program

Up-and-Down Contest

Up-and-down contest, for a 24-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Sonora Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 24.18 drills67% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

24.1

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring33%
Aim23%
Alignment17%
Accuracy13%
Distance Control8%
Visualization3%
Precision3%
Dispersion1%

Overview

Program Structure

Up-and-Down Contest. Turn into birdies and up-and-down contest. Focus on Scoring, Aim, Alignment, Accuracy, Distance Control, Visualization, Precision, Dispersion. For a 24-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Aim
  • Alignment
  • Accuracy

Program details

Sessions
8 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
3 hr 28 min
or
1 drill per day
8 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

Chip | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip 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 Chip | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines of 5 piles each, about 5 to 10 yards apart, and space piles 4 yards apart.

2

Put the piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole on grass, but not the green.

3

On the green, make two circles around the hole: one with a 6-foot radius, and another with a 15-foot radius.

4

Hit 36 chip shots from the piles: 4 shots from 6 piles, and 3 shots from 4 piles.

5

Try to land the ball in the circles. Inside the small circle counts as 'birdie', in the big circle as 'par', and outside as 'bogey'.

6

Count how many balls stop inside the big (15-foot) circle.

7

When finished, enter how many were successful out of 36 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282420151174
02

Chip | Fairway | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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

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

Place 3 target zones on the green, 6 feet apart, in a line from the hole.

2

Use 36 balls, split into two groups of

3

Chip 18 balls from above feet level, 6 balls to each zone.

4

Chip 18 balls from below feet level, 6 balls to each zone.

5

Count balls that stop inside the correct zone.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
03

Chip | Rough | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped rough grass; one bucket from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Rough | Uphill/Downhill
1

Gather 36 golf balls. Make 3 piles of 6 balls on an uphill slope and 3 piles of 6 balls on a downhill slope, placing them 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 landing zones on the green in a line, each 6 feet apart; label them Zone 1, Zone 2, and Zone

3

From each uphill pile, hit 6 chip shots aiming for Zone 1, then Zone 2, then Zone

4

From each downhill pile, hit 6 chip shots aiming for Zone 1, then Zone 2, then Zone

5

Count a shot as a success if the ball lands and stops in the intended zone.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211713964
04

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat deep rough and other extreme grass types.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Find a flat spot in deep rough or thick grass, 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

Place three targets on the green in a line, about 4 feet apart.

3

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

4

For the first 12 shots, aim for Target

5

For the next 12 shots, aim for Target

6

For the last 12 shots, aim for Target

7

Use the same setup for every shot.

8

Count a success if the ball stops within 2 feet of the target.

9

Add up how many successes were made out of 36 and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063
05

Chip | Scattered Piles | Quadrants

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip shot inside the quadrant(s). The player with the most points wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Scattered Piles | Quadrants
1

Mark 4 areas on the green with string or tees. Each area should be a circle about 6 feet wide.

2

Put 36 balls into 4 piles of 9 balls. Place the piles between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 9 balls from each pile. Aim every group of 9 at a different circle.

4

Try to land each ball into the correct circle. Move to the next pile and repeat until all 36 balls are hit.

5

Count the balls that stop inside the correct circle.

6

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
06

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Hit two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat deep rough and other extreme grass types.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat
1

Place 3 piles of 12 balls each in deep rough or thick grass between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 3 target zones on the green, each zone spaced 6 feet apart, in a straight line from your spot.

3

Hit 36 chip shots in total, in 3 sets of 12 shots.

4

For the first 12 shots, aim for Target Zone

1

Then aim for Target Zone 2 for the next 12 shots.

5

Aim for Target Zone 3 for the last 12 shots. Enter number of successes in the app, out of 36 attempts.

6

Alternate between the 3 piles for your shots, keeping the balls in deep rough or thick grass.

7

Count each shot that stops inside the target zone as a success.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score292724201612964
07

Chip | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and stop chip shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Scattered Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Scatter 40 balls into 8 lines of 5 balls each, spaced 1 yard or meter apart, placed anywhere from 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, make two circles around the hole: one with a 6-foot (2-meter) radius, and one with a 15-foot (5-meter) radius, using string or tees.

3

Chip 36 balls during the test, divided into 3 sets of 12 balls.

4

Chip the first 12 balls, trying to make them land inside the small circle.

5

Chip the next 12 balls, trying to make them land inside the big circle but outside the small circle.

6

Chip the last 12 balls, trying to make them land anywhere inside the big circle.

7

Start from any line and move around as needed, but use only 36 balls.

8

Count each ball that stops where it is supposed to for each set.

9

Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score312926221713963
08

Chip | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Hit 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 Chip | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill
1

Set up two target zones on the green: one uphill, one downhill, about 10 feet apart.

2

Hit 18 chip shots from the uphill slope at the uphill target zone.

3

Hit 18 chip shots from the downhill slope at the downhill target zone.

4

Keep ball setup the same for all shots. Only change your target for the slope.

5

Count shots that stop inside or within 3 feet of the target zone as a success.

6

Add up all successful shots out of 36 attempts and enter score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141063

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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

Up-and-Down Contest | Sonora Golf Club