Course Program

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots

Set up for high shot, for a 22-handicap player, ~20 minutes at Waterville Valley Golf Club

Short GameAll teesProgram HCP 21.94 drills51% match to course practice profile

Program Snapshot

Handicap range

10 to 45

Average HCP

21.9

Duration (single session)

1 hr 44 min

1 drill/day: 4 days · 26 min/day

Ideal tee

All

Skill Distribution

Alignment31%

Accuracy30%

Distance Control28%

Precision9%

Dispersion3%

Overview

Program Structure

Open up and let it fly: alignment for flop shots. Check clubface and set up for high shot. Focus on Alignment, Accuracy, Distance Control. For a 22-handicap player, in ~20 minutes.

Skill

Alignment

Shot

Flop

What you will improve

Alignment
Accuracy
Distance Control
Precision

Program details

Sessions: 4 focused drills
Recommended: 2–3 sessions / week
Total duration: 1 hr 44 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

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot 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 Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Flat

Set up 3 target zones on the green, spaced about 4 feet apart in a row.

Place all golf balls together in a pile 10 yards from the green, outside the deep rough.

Hit 36 flop shots from the rough, aiming 12 shots at each zone.

Hit 12 shots to Zone

Count each shot that lands and stays in the correct zone as a success.

Add how many successes out of 36, and enter the score in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	31	29	26	22	17	13	9	6	3

Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the sloped deep rough and other extreme grass types; one bucket from the uphill slope and one bucket from the downhill slope.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Diagram for Flop | Deep Rough and Other | Uphill/Downhill

Split 36 balls into two groups of

Make two target zones on the green, each about 5 feet wide: Zone A (left), Zone B (right).

For the first 18 balls, hit from uphill rough and try to land in Zone A.

For the next 18 balls, hit from downhill rough and try to land in Zone B.

All shots should be from the same spot in deep rough, 10 to 15 yards from the green.

Count balls that land and stay in the correct zone.

After 36 shots, enter the number of successes (out of 36) in the app.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	30	28	26	22	18	14	10	7	4

Flop | Fairway | Flat

Short Game

Up to 5 players hit flop shot two buckets of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) from the flat fairway.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Set up 3 target zones on the green at 5, 12, and 20 yards from where the balls will be hit. Mark each zone with cones.

Place 36 balls in 3 groups of 12 balls each.

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 5 yard zone.

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 12 yard zone.

Hit 12 balls to try to land them in the 20 yard zone. Enter your score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Do not change your ball position or stance during the test.

Count each ball that lands and stays inside the right target zone as a success.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	30	28	24	20	16	12	9	6	4

Flop | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Short Game

Align a bucket of balls (avg. bucket is 40 balls) into 2 perpendicular lines 20 balls per line and stop flop shots close to multiple targets. Count the number of successes.

26 minFocus: Short Game

Diagram for Flop | Perpendicular Ball Lines | Multiple Targets

Set up two lines of 18 balls each. The lines should cross at a right angle. Each ball is 1 foot apart.

Put two targets on the green, 5 to 10 yards apart. The targets are set 5 to 20 yards away from the ball lines.

Hit 36 flop shots: 18 shots from the first line, 18 shots from the second line.

For each line, split the 18 shots into 3 groups of 6 balls.

For each set of 6 balls, aim at one target. Try to land the ball within 10 feet of the target.

Take turns aiming each set at a different target.

Count each ball that lands within 10 feet of the target as a success.

After all 36 shots, add up successes and enter score in the app, out of 36 attempts.

Scoring benchmarks

Repetitions36

Handicap	+9	+5	+1	5	12	19	27	36	54
Score	31	29	26	22	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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