Been stuck with a 5 handicap too long, please help

30 minutes a day to lowering your handicap. My 7 day plan. [list] [*][b]Day 1, Short Putting[/b] - Everything inside of 5 feet - I start by finding a nice straight and, preferably, level 4 to 5 foot putt. I'll stick a tee in the ground at my chosen point and grab 3 balls and proceed to stroke putt after putt. I LISTEN for the ball to fall in the hole, especially to start with. I want my head to be still and my stroke to be fluid and free of any compensations (no manipulations of the hands and/or wrists). My goal is to make at least 25 in a row and no fewer than 58 out of 60. After a while you'll find that sinking 60 in a row isn't that difficult as long as you don't lose your concentration (another great side affect of this drill). After 60 putts I move on to my next drill. As you improve, bump this number up a bit, try 90 in a row, then 120. I think that my personal best is right around 250 in a row and I didn't miss, I ran out of sunlight. - For my next drill I grab another 4 or 5 balls and circle the hole with them. I'll try to find a hole on a slope with some nice movement all around. I'll start at about 2 feet and move from ball to ball (pulling balls out every 3-4 putts) until all putts are holed. If I miss any of the putts, I put the balls back in their original spot and try again. If I make all putts, I'll do the same drill over with a slightly bigger circle. Rinse and repeat 3 or 4 times with the final circle at about 5 feet. The goal here is to hole every putt on each revolution. - For the last drill of the day, find a 4 footer with a lot of break and grab 3 balls. For the first putt, try to get the ball to just barely drop into the top edge of the cup before stopping. Hit the second putt to fall into the heart of the hole with (what you determine) is the ideal speed. Hit the last ball even harder, have it hit the back of the cup with authority. Repeat 2 or 3 times on various putts (uphill, downhill, left and right breakers). [*][b]Day 2, Short Chips[/b] - Between 7 and 15 yards from various lies - Take 3 balls at a time and a drop them in a 5' circle, drop them and play them as they lie, don't bump them or place them, drop them. Grab the club that you'd be most likely to use from this location on the course and chip all 3 balls. Rinse and repeat twice more (9 total chips) from 2 other locations in the 7 to 15 yard range. If at least 7 of the 9 are not within 3 feet and/or 1 lies outside of 6 feet, do the whole thing over. - Do the same drill but this time vary your club selection. If you think the best club from a given location is a sand wedge, try a pitching wedge instead. By varying your club selection you'll improve your feel and you'll become more creative in your shot making. - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. - Vary the hole locations from shot to shot if you can. [*][b]Day 3, Short Pitches[/b] - Between 10 and 25 yards - Like the above drill, you want to start with 3 balls in a small circle. Again, drop them and play them as they lie. Rinse and repeat twice more (9 total pitches) from 2 other locations within the 10-25 yard range. Your goal here is to get 8 of 9 within 5 feet and all 9 within 8 feet. If you don't make your goal, do it again. - Like with the chipping drill, change up your clubs a bit and do it all again. - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. - Again, vary the hole locations from shot to shot if you can. [*][b]Day 4, Lag putting[/b] - 25+ footers - I start by putting to the fringe from various locations on the green. I like to do this drill with a single golf ball and zig zag my way across the practice green, back and forth. I'll pick a spot to putt to, a dead clump of grass, a leaf or something of the like on or near the collar and stroke putts to it. My goal is to have the ball gently come to rest against the collar of the green. I'm working on my speed here, not so much my direction. - After 10 minutes or so I'll start putting to specific targets. I like to use those flagsticks that they put on the greens to simulate a hole instead of an actual hole (I never like to practice putting where I'm not holing the vast majority of my putts, by not putting to a hole, I can't hole any of them and, thus, no mental "damage" is created via practicing). If I can't find something like that, I'll putt to a few balls that I'll scatter across the green to use as targets. - For my final 10 minutes I'll do a "ladder drill." I'll start by picking a target about 30 feet away on the collar of the green and I'll putt to it. Like the first drill, I want my ball to gently come to rest against the collar. For my next putt, I want it to stop roughly 2 feet shorter than the first. The next putt, 2 feet shorter than the last and so on and so forth. I'll usually do this drill with 4 or 5 balls. [*][b]Day 5, Bunker shots[/b] - Bunker shots between 5 and 20 yards - Hit bunker shots to various locations, from various lies. Hit 3 balls at a time and keep things interesting. Short side yourself, hit from plugged lies, hit shots that need to stop quick, others that need to roll out, hit them from the far side of the bunker from a downhill lie to a short sided pin, etc, etc. Really vary things up. Hit groups of 9 balls, 3 at a time. You're goal should be to have 6 of the 9 inside of 6 feet with all 9 inside of 10 feet, regardless of the location, regardless of the lie. Rinse (this time literally) and repeat... [*][b]Day 6, Short Approaches[/b] - Short wedge shots from 80 to 100 yards - Basically a repeat of day 3, only this time from a bit further out. This time you want 8 of the 9 within 10 feet and all 9 within 15 feet. - Vary your clubs, your trajectory, your spin into the green, and the hole location (if you can). - Alternate between fairway and rough lies. [*][b]Day 7, Skill Review[/b] - Repeat where you need the most work. - Repeat whichever drill gave you the biggest headache over the week. It makes much more sense to practice what you're not good at than to practice what you're already good at. Optionally, take the day off. [/list] Regardless of your success with a given drill, spend at least 30 minutes on all of them. If you finish one, start over until the 30 minutes is up. If you can't finish a drill within the 30 minutes, no big deal. Don't rush it, rushed practice is worse than no practice. If it takes longer than 30 minutes that's fine, spend 45 minutes, an hour, or however long it takes (without jeopardizing your job and/or marital status that is). Given goals are simply a suggestion, alter these to fit your game but, keep them challenging. The harder the goal, the more it forces you to focus on EVERY shot, sound familiar? Also, if you're not doing it already, start keeping your stats. You'll quickly identify the parts of your game that need work. Focus on the "low hanging fruit" and go from there. In addition to the 30 minutes a day that I suggested above, be sure to spend some time on the range working on your ball striking and shot shaping. Vary your trajectory, your spin, the shot shape, etc. Hit every ball with a purpose and a specific target in mind. Every time you are on the range, use alignment sticks. There is no excuse for having an incorrect setup or alignment. In addition to the above drills, I like to carpet putt, a LOT. I'll usually concentrate on 6 to 8 foots to a small target (usually another ball or the leg of a chair). I'll hit 2-3 balls at a time and really focus on making a smooth stroke. I try to do this a few times every day for at least a couple of minutes at a time. I'll do this during commercials while I'm watching TV or while I'm waiting for my popcorn to start popping or whenever else I might have a few minutes to spare... You get the idea. Again, make sure that you're not rushing things. One smooth stroke is better than 3 rushed ones. I keep a few putters in strategic locations throughout my house to help facilitate my carpet putting obsession. Give these drills a few weeks of dedication and I guarantee that you're handicap will drop.