Course Program

Up-and-Down Contest

Up-and-down contest, for a 26-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Temple

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 26.36 drills60% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

26.3

Duration (single session)

2 hr 36 min

or

1 drill/day: 6 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Scoring28%
Aim26%
Alignment17%
Distance Control11%
Dispersion7%
Precision6%
Trajectory4%

Overview

Program Structure

Up-and-Down Contest. Turn into birdies and up-and-down contest. Focus on Scoring, Aim, Alignment, Distance Control, Dispersion, Precision, Trajectory. For a 26-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Scoring

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Scoring
  • Aim
  • Alignment
  • Distance Control

Program details

Sessions
6 focused drills
Recommended
2–3 sessions / week
Total duration
2 hr 36 min
or
1 drill per day
6 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 | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones

Short Game

Scatter a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 8 equal piles of 5 balls and hit-and-land chip shots inside landing zones. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Scattered Piles | 3 Landing Zones
1

Put 40 balls into 8 piles, with 5 balls in each pile, between 5 and 30 yards from the hole.

2

On the green, mark 3 zones in a straight line, each zone 6 feet apart.

3

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

4

For the first 12 shots, aim to land the ball in Zone

5

For the next 12 shots, aim for Zone

6

For the last 12 shots, aim for Zone

7

Choose any pile to hit from, switch piles if wanted.

8

Count each shot that stops in the right zone as a success.

9

After all 36 shots, enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
02

Chip | Scattered 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 | Scattered Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Put 36 balls into 9 piles. Each pile has 4 balls. Put piles 5 to 30 yards from the hole.

2

Mark 9 target zones on the green.

3

Try to hit 4 balls into each zone. Do this for all 9 zones.

4

Always use the same ball setup. Only change which zone is the target.

5

Count each ball that stops inside the correct zone.

6

Add up all the successful shots out of

6

Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141074
03

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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, one bucket with balls below feet level.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Above/Below Feet
1

Make two groups of 18 balls; one for balls above feet, one for balls below feet.

2

Put 3 targets in a straight line on the green, about 6 feet apart.

3

Hit 36 chip shots total: 18 with balls above feet, 18 with balls below feet.

4

Split each set of 18 shots into three groups of

6

Each group of 6 goes to a different target.

5

With balls above feet, hit 6 shots to each target, keeping ball position the same.

6

With balls below feet, do the same: 6 shots to each target.

7

Count any shot that stops within 3 feet of the target as a success.

8

Count how many successful shots you had. Enter your score out of 36.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825201512964
04

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

Pick a spot in the rough, on an uphill slope, 5–30 yards from the hole.

2

Put a target at the hole.

3

Hit 18 chip shots uphill, trying to stop the ball close to the hole.

4

Move to a downhill spot in the rough, also 5–30 yards from the hole.

5

Hit 18 chip shots downhill at the same target.

6

Every 4 shots, check the results and adjust if needed.

7

Count a success for every ball that finishes close to the hole (like within 3 feet).

8

Use the same setup for every shot.

9

After 36 shots, add up your total successes. Enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
05

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
06

Chip | Rough | Above/Below Feet

Short Game

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

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

Gather 36 balls and split into 2 groups of 18 balls.

2

Pick one target (pin) on the green.

3

For the first 18 shots, place the ball above your feet in the rough 5–20 yards from the hole.

4

Chip all 18 balls, trying to get close to the target.

5

Move to the other slope so the ball is below your feet, same distance.

6

Chip the last 18 balls at the target.

7

Count each shot that stops within 3 feet of the hole as a success.

8

Enter the number of successes out of 36 in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129262218141063

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 | Temple