Course Program

Thread Needle: Narrow Landing Zone

Hit intended line, for a 12-handicap player, ~15 minutes at Newport Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 123 drills47% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

25 to 45

Average HCP

12

Duration (single session)

1 hr 18 min

or

1 drill/day: 3 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Aim28%
Precision28%
Alignment16%
Dispersion14%
Distance Control11%
Scoring4%

Overview

Program Structure

Thread Needle: Narrow Landing Zone. Pick line and commit and hit intended line. Focus on Aim, Precision, Alignment, Dispersion, Distance Control, Scoring. For a 12-handicap player, in ~15 minutes.

Skill

Precision

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Aim
  • Precision
  • Alignment
  • Dispersion

Program details

Sessions
3 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
1 hr 18 min
or
1 drill per day
3 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 1Drill 2Drill 3
01

Chip | Parallel 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 | Parallel Piles | Quadrants
1

Set up 10 piles of balls in two lines. Each line has 5 piles. The lines are 5 to 10 yards apart. Each pile in a line is 4 yards apart.

2

Put the piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole on any type of grass.

3

On the green, make 4 quadrants with string or tees. Each quadrant is about 6 feet wide.

4

Hit 36 chip shots. Hit 9 shots to each of the 4 quadrants.

5

Choose a pile and chip 9 balls, aiming for one quadrant.

6

After 9 shots, switch to the next quadrant. Do this for all 4 quadrants.

7

A chip that stops inside the right quadrant counts as a success.

8

After 36 shots, count how many balls stopped in the target quadrants and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612963
02

Chip | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Up to 5 players compete to stop a chip 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 Chip | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Make 10 piles of balls, in 2 lines with 5 piles in each line. Space the lines 5 to 10 yards or meters apart, and piles in each line about 4 yards or meters apart.

2

Place piles between 5 and 30 yards or meters from the hole, but not on the green.

3

On the green, mark 9 stop zones using buckets, string, or tees. Put them in a clear 3 by 3 layout.

4

Hit 36 chip shots, in 9 groups of 4 shots each.

5

For each group of 4 shots, pick one stop zone to aim at and chip 4 balls towards it from any pile.

6

Repeat until 4 shots have been aimed at each of the 9 stop zones, making 36 shots in all.

7

Count only shots that stop inside their chosen stop zone.

8

Enter the number of successful shots out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
03

Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal perpendicular piles of 4 balls and stop chip shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Multiple Targets
1

Make 10 piles of 4 balls each from 40 balls. Arrange the piles in 2 lines with 5 piles in each line. Lines cross each other.

2

Put the piles on grass 5 to 30 yards/meters from the hole. Space lines 5 to 10 yards/meters apart and piles 2 yards/meters apart.

3

On the green, put 3 targets in a line, about 8 feet apart. Call them Target A, Target B, and Target C.

4

Hit 36 chip shots, 12 to each target.

5

Hit 12 shots at Target A, then 12 at Target B, then 12 at Target C. Use any pile for any shot.

6

Count a shot as a success if it stops within 10 feet of the target.

7

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201612963

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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Thread Needle: Narrow Landing Zone | Newport Golf Club