Short game (wedges) practice routines

I would like to start spending some serious time practicing my short game (wedges) at my course. How about some suggestions on games, drills, or routines I could implement to maximize my practice time. I would like to concentrate on 0-30 yards.

TIA!

When I have room or some space a little game I play alone for chipping is the following (and you don't even need a green). I chip the first one out in front of me, then take the 2nd ball and try and land it on the first one (typically it rolls farther out) and then take the 3rd and land it on the 2nd etc.. Should make a line of golf balls

I also try to land balls in the ball bucket about 10-20 yds away

3rd game I play is with a 60 degree wedge. I take 3 balls and try 3 different shots to the same hole. Open up the face and fly it to the hole, normal and chip it with some roll and then close the face and bump and run. That's helped me the most with how the ball is going to react off the club face and when it hits the green

I like to chip and putt so I find myself playing games in the front yard and on the putting green quite often

My wife got me the Callaway set for Christmas that has the Flags in it. I usually put one on each side of my yard and try to land it on or close to the flag. One flag I use my Gap wedge and practice the hinge and hold and on the other coming back I usually try to flop it with my sand wedge. This has helped me feel on confident with my chipping and I can tell some improvements when playing.

You folks must have some big yards. I couldn't dream of practicing in my neighborhood.

I go to the chipping green(which has some VERY fast greens) and i get either some shag balls or some balls from the range. I put them all in one spot so i have a chip to 3 flags all downhill(with the fast greens from the THICK rough it is hard to get a good shot). I then hit 7 out of 8 from the rough and 1 out of 8 from the "thinner rough". I have adopted this routine in the past week and my chipping has never been better. Im getting it to 4 ft and then missing the putt. Obviously chipping is not all i need to practice........

I like to play 9 hole up-and-downs. I haven't shot par yet, but that's the goal. On the practice green, start on the fringe or a few yards off and choose a flag, it'll be a par 2. So you want to try to chip up and make the putt for par. A chip-in is the goal, obviously, but you don't want to two putt either. I usually shoot 2-3 over par.

At any rate, it's a fun game that's helped me alot with getting up and down around the green, most certainly saved me more than a few pars.

Since purchasing the Mickelson dvd, my plan is to (which I've only actually gone out and done once so far) go out to the chipping green, make a 3 ft circle around one of the holes with some tees, and concentrate on chipping into that 3 ft circle from various distances.

Man, I can't wait to have a yard with a lawn. There are some kids around here that I'd love to yell at to get off of said lawn.


As for practice routines, I started this recently. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad idea. Worth noting: my putting practice is mostly 3- and 5- footers.

I drop a few balls of the type I play (ones that are too used to play with, but not so used that they aren't a reasonable approximation of their normal selves for chipping) around a chipping green and pick a flag. I usually pick drop locations based on situation type: do I want to practice being short-sided, hitting a lofted shot, hitting a low shot, etc?

You can adjust these points to fit your handicap and desired game.

Chip in: -3.
Within a reasonable putt: -1 (note: reasonable is longer uphill and shorter downhill - reasonable would be 3' on flat land, since I'm very likely to make those). I figure this simulates a likely save. The chip-in is worth more because there's no way even I can miss from the bottom of the cup.
On the green, very likely 2-putt: 0. Since I'm a bogey golfer, a chip that leaves me a 2-putt doesn't really cost me anything, but it doesn't really gain me anything. It leaves me a little disappointed, and I'm trying to get that fewer times.
Off the green, or possible 3-putt: +1.
Really bad (way over, blading, would have chunked into sand trap, etc): +2.

Goal: get to -X for the day. Whatever X is based on how much time I have.

My partner and I chip and pitch balls to each other before a round starts. We stand about 20 yards from each other. After a few shots each, we back up to about 30 yards, then 40 etc. This seems to be a great way to warm up and focus on making solid contact before starting the round.
I am going to ask my pro if they would be willing to put yardage markers at 20, 40, 60 and 80 yards from the center of the green on our practice hole. I think this would be a wonderful way to practice from specific yardages.

I play chip and fetch with the dog. Even a not so bright dog can learn this little game. All you need is one ball and one dog.

I always try to land the ball precisely, somewhere from 10-25 yards away.

The dog fetches and then drops it back near me and I play it as it lies. After she sits, I'll chip it again within 2-3 seconds to keep everything moving.

We play this until she quits between 20-300 balls later, or until one of her friends walks by the yard.

I personally think this is one of the most valuable shots in the game. Many bets are won or lost depending on the quality of the greenside chip shot.