Course Program

Can you stop the ball close from the sand?

Practice at Sierra Madre

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 13.14 drills

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

3 to 45

Average HCP

13.1

Duration (single session)

1 hr 43 min

1 drill/day: 4 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Distance Control30%

Dispersion24%

Aim20%

Precision13%

Scoring9%

Trajectory5%

Overview

Program Structure

This short game helps you sharpen your distance control, executing sand shots, and make faster decisions that translate straight to scoring opportunities. Each drill mirrors on-course scenarios before you stitch everything together in finale sessions.

Skill

Distance Control

Shot

Sand

What you will improve

Distance Control
Dispersion
Aim
Precision

Program details

Sessions: 4 focused drills
Recommended: 2–3 sessions / week
Total duration: 1 hr 43 min
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.

Drill 1 Drill 2 Drill 3 Drill 4

Sand | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a sand shot in the stop zone(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. Up to 80 balls are needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Diagram for Sand | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Set up 4 lines of balls in the bunker. Each line has 9 balls. Balls are 1 foot apart.

Mark 9 stop zones on the green. Space them out so there is 1 zone for each shot.

Hit 36 sand shots: 4 balls for each zone.

For each shot, aim to stop the ball inside the zone on the green.

Hit 4 balls for the first zone, then 4 for the second, and keep going until all 9 zones are done.

Count balls that stop inside the right zone as successful.

After all 36 shots, enter your number of successful shots out of 36 attempts 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

Sand | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls in the sand (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal lines of 5 balls and stop sand shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

25 minFocus: Short Game

Diagram for Sand | Scattered Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Put 35 balls in 7 straight lines, 5 balls per line, 2 feet apart, on grass or a slope, 20–40 yards from the hole, outside the green.

Put 7 flags or markers on the green, one for each line of balls.

For each line, hit the 5 balls from the sand, trying to make each ball stop within 10 feet of the flag for that line.

Do this for all 7 lines and hit a total of 35 shots.

Count each ball that ends up inside the 10-foot circle as a success.

Write down the number of successful shots out of 35 attempts in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions35

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	30	28	25	21	17	13	10	7	4

Sand | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a sand shot in the stop zone(s). The player with the most points at the end wins the challenge. One bucket of balls per player is needed.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Diagram for Sand | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Place 36 golf balls in 9 piles, each with 4 balls, in a sand bunker 20–40 yards from the hole.

Make 9 stop zones on the green in a 3 by 3 grid using tees, string, or markers.

Hit 4 sand shots to each stop zone, for 36 shots total.

Start from any pile and aim for the first stop zone.

After 4 shots to one zone, move to the next zone and keep going until all 9 zones are done.

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

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	28	26	23	19	15	11	8	5	3

Sand | Parallel Ball Lines | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls in the sand (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 parallel lines 20 balls per line and stop sand shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Make two straight lines with 20 balls in each line. Each ball is about 1 foot apart. The two lines are 5 to 10 yards apart.

On the green, mark 9 stop zones using buckets, string, or tees. Keep the zones apart.

Hit 36 sand shots from the bunker. Try to stop the ball inside the zones.

Split the 36 shots into 9 groups. Each group has 4 shots.

For each group, hit 4 shots from one ball line at one stop zone.

After 4 shots, switch to the other ball line. Aim 4 shots at the next zone. Keep going back and forth until you finish all 9 zones.

Count how many balls stay in the zone they were aimed at.

Add your total successes out of 36 and enter score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	31	29	27	23	18	14	10	7	4

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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

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