Course Program

Chip Close: Leave Inside 3 Feet

Avoid 3-putt, for a 22-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Lakeland

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 21.98 drills68% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

21.9

Duration (single session)

3 hr 28 min

or

1 drill/day: 8 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Accuracy28%
Distance Control22%
Alignment16%
Aim14%
Precision14%
Dispersion3%
Scoring3%

Overview

Program Structure

Chip Close: Leave Inside 3 Feet. Chip close and pick landing spot. Focus on Accuracy, Distance Control, Alignment, Aim, Precision, Dispersion, Scoring. For a 22-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Accuracy

Shot

Chip

What you will improve

  • Accuracy
  • Distance Control
  • Alignment
  • Aim

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 | Fairway | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Up to 5 players 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 3 target zones on the green, 5 feet apart in a straight line from closest to farthest from the hole.

2

Place balls at the edge of the fairway on two slopes: uphill and downhill, each about 15 yards from the hole.

3

Hit 18 chip shots from the uphill slope and 18 chip shots from the downhill slope.

4

For each slope, hit 6 shots to each zone, in order.

5

Start with the uphill slope: hit 6 shots to Zone 1, then 6 to Zone 2, then 6 to Zone

6

Move to the downhill slope: hit 6 shots to each zone in order.

7

Count a shot as successful if the ball stops inside the target zone.

8

After all shots, count your total successful shots and enter your score in the app out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3129272318141074
02

Chip | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal parallel piles of 4 balls and stop chip shots inside 9 Stop Zones. Count the number of successful stops.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Parallel Piles | 9 Stop Zones
1

Set up 10 piles of 4 balls each in two rows (5 piles per row), spaced 2 yards/meters apart. Put the rows 5 to 10 yards/meters apart and place the piles 5 to 30 yards/meters from the hole.

2

Mark 9 stop zones on the green using buckets, string, or tees. Space them out so each zone is different.

3

Prepare to hit 36 chip shots, divided into 9 groups of 4 shots. Each group targets a different stop zone.

4

From any pile, hit 4 shots at the first stop zone. Move to the next stop zone and hit 4 shots at it. Keep going until you’ve aimed 4 shots at each of the 9 zones.

5

Count every ball that stops inside the right zone as a success.

6

When done, count up all successful stops out of 36 attempts and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3230282520161285
03

Chip | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players 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

Set up 3 target zones on the green at 6, 12, and 18 feet from the hole.

2

Place 36 golf balls between 5 and 30 yards from the hole in the flat deep rough.

3

Split the 36 balls into 3 groups of 12, with each group aimed at one zone.

4

Hit from the same rough spot, aiming at the same zone, until you finish 12 shots for that zone.

5

Count a ball as a success if it lands and stays in the right zone.

6

Add up all successful chips. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141174
04

Chip | 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 chip shots inside the Bullseye. Count the number of balls in the inner and outer Bullseye.

26 minFocus: Short Game
Diagram for Chip | Parallel Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Set up 10 piles of 4 balls each in two rows. Each row has 5 piles.

2

Keep piles about 2 meters apart, rows 5–10 meters apart.

3

Place piles 5–30 meters from the hole, not on the green.

4

Mark two circles around the hole on the green: a small one (2 meters out) and a big one (5 meters out).

5

Take turns hitting balls from different piles, trying to stop balls in the circles.

6

Hit 36 balls total: 18 try for the small circle, 18 for the big circle.

7

Count how many balls finished in each circle.

8

Add these for a score and enter your total out of 36 tries.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282623201612853
05

Chip | 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
Diagram for Chip | Fairway | Above/Below Feet
1

Put 36 golf balls into 3 piles of

2

Place each pile 5 to 20 yards from the hole.

2

At the green's edge, set up 3 target zones in a line, each 4 feet apart. Mark them Zone A (closest), Zone B (middle), and Zone C (farthest).

3

Keep ball positions the same: first pile on a slope above feet, second pile on flat ground, third pile on a slope below feet.

4

Hit 12 chip shots to Zone A from the above feet position.

5

Hit 12 chip shots to Zone B from the flat position.

6

Hit 12 chip shots to Zone C from below feet position.

7

Count how many shots land and stay in the intended zone.

8

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

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score302825211612853
06

Chip | Perpendicular Piles | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 10 equal perpendicular piles of 4 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 | Perpendicular Piles | Bullseye 2x
1

Make 10 piles with 4 balls in each pile, for a total of 40 balls. Put these piles in two lines that cross each other, with 5 piles in each line.

2

Place the piles on grass, 5-30 yards from the hole. The lines should be 5-10 yards apart, and each pile should be 2 yards apart.

3

Around the hole, make two circle target zones using string or tees: a small Bullseye (6 feet from hole) and a bigger Bullseye (15 feet from hole).

4

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

5

For each set, chip towards the Bullseye zones, switching piles each time.

6

Balls stopping in the small Bullseye count as higher score. Balls in the big Bullseye also count, but less. Both are counted as a successful chip.

7

When finished, count all balls in the small or big Bullseye out of 36 tries, and enter the total in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score3028262218141074
07

Chip | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 perpendicular lines 20 balls per line 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 | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Bullseye 2x
1

Arrange 36 balls in 2 lines of 18 each to form an L shape.

2

Keep each ball 1 foot apart in each line. Keep 5-10 yards between the two lines.

3

Place two circles around the hole on the green: one with a 6-foot radius, and one with a 15-foot radius.

4

From 5–30 yards away, chip 18 balls from the first line, aiming for the circles.

5

Chip the other 18 balls from the second line, aiming for the circles.

6

Alternate hitting 3 to 5 shots between the two lines.

7

Shots inside the small circle = full success. Shots inside the big circle only = partial success.

8

Count how many balls stopped in each circle and get your score. Enter your total successful shots out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36
Handicap+9+5+151219273654
Score282624201612963
08

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

Next Step

Ready to start this program?

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

Chip Close: Leave Inside 3 Feet | Lakeland