Practice Drills/Games

[JohnQVegas]

Looking for ideas for drills/games to do when on the range, short game area, putting green, etc. Want to spend the first 3-4 weeks of this year honing my game before going out to the 1st tee, so want to make it fun but worthwhile. Any ideas would be helpful!

[mvmac]

Seve always had fun

[Farm_kid]

Here is my thought for making it fun.  Don't worry about the drills.  Instead focus on the "experience" of being at the course.

If you have the time, go and hit putts for 15-30 minutes, when that gets boring, then go check out the gear in the pro-shop for a little bit.  Then go back out and chip until that gets dull.  Then eat lunch at the food counter.  Then go out and bomb a bucket on the range.  Then go back in and watch the PGA tourney or golf channel chatting up with whoever is there.  Then go back out and work the pitching wedge.

[JohnQVegas]

So, no one has any ideas for drills or games to play to work on short game or putting?

[mvmac]

A good drill is to get an alignment stick and place it 5-10ft away and hit putts where the ball just rolls over the stick.  Good for practicing rolling the ball at the right speed.  In terms of a game find a straight putt and see how many you can make in a row.  Straight putts are great to practice.

For pitching and chipping the fun is in experimenting.  Play some shots with the handle back, neutral and forward and see how that changes contact and trajectory.  Try to have the ball end up at a specific target but one rolls out and another lands and stops.

You can also do something like I'm doing in the vide below, pitching into a bucket

[1puttit]

I think the more you can simulate "playing golf" with your practice, the better off you'll be. Don't mindlessly hit putt after putt or chip after chip as all you're practicing is *that* shot. You also want to put some pressure on yourself to simulate the pressure during a game

Up & Downs

Chip a ball to a hole and then putt out. Chip from a different location/length/lie/hole on the next chip. You should not have two similar chips in a row.  Your goal is to get up & down at least 50% of the time. I'll chip 10 balls with the goal of getting at least 5 up & down. If I don't make my goal I have to start all over again and can't move on until I do.

Putting Circle

Take 10 balls and make a circle around a hole 3/4/5/6ft away. Go around the circle and make all 10 in a row. If you miss you have to start over again. Try to find a practice hole that has a little slant to it so you get to practice a variety of breaks.

[Harmonious]

There are several versions of "short-game handicap" tests online.  I have used Dave Pelz', but there are many others.

One Pelz example,  the 30 foot chip test.  Chips 10 balls from the fringe to a flag 30' feet away.  Score 4 points for each ace, 2 points for each ball inside 3', 1 point for 3-6', no points for anything outside 6'. A total score of 16-20 is tour quality. A score of 11-14 is in the 5-12 handicap range, etc.

Try a couple of the tests (chipping, short pitches, longer pitches from rough, etc.) each day and mark your progress over the weeks. Knowing what it takes to be "tour quality" or "5 cap" quality in each area of the short game is both challenging and motivational. And seeing your improvement over time will do wonders for your confidence the next time you are faced with those pesky short game shots.

[Farm_kid]

Harmonious,

I really like the drill you suggest.  I bet if you turned most drills into statistics and then tracked them over time, it really would make practice more fun.

How about this idea (based on the ideas from above and combined)

10 balls

9 distances (Putts; 10', 15', 20', 25')  (Chips; 10', 20' forward pin, 20' back pin, 30' forward pin, 30' back pin)

The goal is to track how many up & downs you can get.  For putting, the goal is to not 3-Putt!

I think you would get plenty of short putt practice opportunities inside of 10' trying to avoid 3 putts and trying to get up and down.

Time:??  Anyone have an idea on how long to putt and chip the ball about 180-200 times?

You could use one side of a regular golf scorecard to record your results.  Put a date on the card and use the same card for 8 practice sessions (4 practices on the front and 4 on the back-9)

[boogielicious]

JohnQVegas,

I play one drill/game a lot.  Just take one ball to a practice green.  Putt it off the green to a different spot each time and try to get up and down from that spot.  I have a practice green and a muni near work and I go 'around the world' on it (rotate the start spot 360 degrees around the green).  There are a bunch of different lies, down hill, uphill, deep rough, fringe, etc. so the variety helps.

Sometimes I just use one wedge and the putter.  Other times I will use different wedges or club to chip, pitch etc.  this helps you because you can simulate almost any situation you will encounter and will know how to approach it on the course.

[Wingover718]

Hello all, This is my first post on the Sand Trap as I joined this week. [quote name="Harmonious" url="/t/55470/practice-drills-games#post_677104"]

There are several versions of "short-game handicap" tests online.  I have used Dave Pelz', but there are many others.

[/quote] I got a lot out of Pelz Short Game Bible. But, I never actually put the short game handicap to work. I know what I will be working on my next time out. It's too bad winter finally showed up.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by Wingover718

Hello all,

This is my first post on the Sand Trap as I joined this week.

I got a lot out of Pelz Short Game Bible. But, I never actually put the short game handicap to work. I know what I will be working on my next time out. It's too bad winter finally showed up.

Welcome to the site, glad to have you

[westcyderydin]

I like what somebody said before.  While practicing, just enjoy the experience.

Around the green, only use 2 balls to practice.  You get to hit a wider variety of shots, you concentrate on each shot a lot more than if you just drop a bucket of balls on the ground and swat all of them up there, and then you won't be one of those guys taking up half of the practice green (if not more) by scattering 50 balls all over the place.

And then if you have somebody to practice with you can play a pretty fun game... Player 1 chooses a spot to chip from and what hole to hit at...then he goes first.  Whoever gets closer to the hole gets a point.  If you make it you get three points and then play to 10.  Then the next turn player 2 chooses the shot and you go on like that.  I play that sometimes with friends.  We also usually make it -1 point if you miss the green but you can make up your own rules.  It gets pretty competitive and its fun.

[parmasheen]

The only way to know for certain you're improving is to score your practice drills.

Here's 2 of my favourites.

10 ball - Range game for your game off the tee.

Pick out a 30 yard fairway on the range. Hit 10 balls and write down how many landed on the fairway, how many missed left, how many missed right.

When you can hit that 30 yard fairway 7 out of 10 every time, reduce it to 25 yards, then 20 yards

When you can hit a 20 yard fairway 7 out of 10 every time you're ready to start trying to hit it 7 out of 10 with a fade or draw.

If you hit a road block and simply can't hit the fairway 7 times out of 10 go book a lesson and show your pro' your miss pattern.

Par 18 - Improving your Up & down game.

Take 9 balls and throw them off the green into 9 different spots - in the bunker, fringe, collection area, 15 yards short, etc.

With your scoring clubs and putter try and get up and down with each ball, keeping score with each ball.

A good score for this game is 22. This game is popular with tour pro's who will score, on average, 20.

If your score stalls at a level your unhappy with note what part of your game is holding you back (wedges or putting), book a lesson and ask your pro' for help.