If You Could ONLY Do 4 Drills (No Matter Your Handicap), These Would Be the 4

FUNDAMENTALS
Drill #1: The “Pause” Drill
HELPS WITH: Simplifying your club path

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With any club, a simple pause in your backswing is a great way to check to see if you are in the correct positions and ingrain those feelings. This drill helps eliminate any bad movements in the backswing and starts your downswing on the proper path:

-STEP 1: Set-up to a golf ball as if you are about to hit it, then take the club back and pause half-way through your backswing. 
-STEP 2: Notice your club position and what your hands are doing, and make any necessary changes in order to keep a flat wrist and drop the club into the slot (i.e. drop your hands to your belt buckle)
-STEP 3: Finish your half-swing. Then repeat the drill 8-10 times slowly graduating to fuller and fuller swings.

APPROACH SHOTS
Drill #2: The “Ladder” Drill
HELPS WITH: Developing feel for shots inside 100 yards

Taken straight from the Jordan Spieth playbook, the Ladder Drill is perhaps the best way to dial in your wedge distance control:

-STEP 1: On the range, hit a pitch shot about 10-15 yards.
-STEP 2: On the next shot, aim to land it within 1-2 yards of the ball before it, letting each one roll out naturally to a slightly farther distance. 
-STEP 3: Repeat this until you get to about 100 yards, and then start over. 

***NOTE: You can also try this drill with different club lofts for lower or higher shots.

Why This Works: This is a great drill because it develops a few things at the same time - first, it makes you more reactive to your target to prevent you from hitting the same distance over and over on the range. Second, it helps develop “feel” when hitting short or full wedges, and helps you calibrate distance control, which is vital if you want to get into that next Handicap bracket.

SHORT GAME
Drill #3: The “Up and Down” Drill
HELPS WITH: Training your mind to get up & down when the pressure is on

This drill is done on the practice green and you only need one ball, your putter, and your preferred wedge for chipping. In this drill, you are going to play 9 holes on the practice green:

-STEP 1: From off the green, select which hole you are chipping to, chip it as close as you can and then go putt out from wherever you finish.
-STEP 2: Calculate your score considering each hole as a par 2. This means a hole-out is a birdie, an up and down is a par, and taking 3 shots is a bogey.
-STEP 2: The goal is to try to finish 9 holes as close to even par as you can, but set a goal that is realistic to your abilities. If you don’t beat your target score, start the drill over.

***NOTE: if you’re feeling extra spicy, give the game bigger stakes. e.g. “If I don’t finish at par or better, my 3 mile run this afternoon will double to a 6 mile run.”

Pro Tip: For each hole that you select, make sure you are dropping your ball from waist height to practice from random lies. And most importantly, make sure you are going through your routine on every shot. Make your practice as realistic as possible, and these skills will directly transfer to the course.

PUTTING
Drill #4: The “3, 2, 1” Drill
HELPS WITH: Putting speed control and overall consistency

The 3, 2, 1, drill helps establish good speed control when putting from different distances, and it also applies a bit of pressure in order to complete the drill:

-STEP 1: On the practice green, use six tees or ball markers to establish six stations in a straight line - one at 3 feet, 5 feet, 7 feet, 9 feet, 11 feet, and 13 feet. These six stations are going to be divided into 3 groups, group one is the 3 and 5 footers, group 2 is the 7 and 9 footers, and group 3 is the 11 and 13 footers.
-STEP 2: Grab 3 balls and start at the 3 foot station. The goal here is to make 3/3 putts and then move back to the 5 foot station, again aiming to make 3/3 putts - if you miss a putt from either station you have to start over at the beginning.
-STEP 3: If you make 6/6 consecutive short putts, move back to group two at 7 and 9 feet, where the goal is now to make 2/3 putts from each station. If you fail to do so, you’d need to start the entire drill over again from the beginning.
-STEP 4: When you reach the final group at 11 and 13 feet, the goal is to make 1/3 putts from each station in order to complete the drill. If you fail to do so, you again would need to start the drill over.

***Note: This specific putting drill is #5 in this video by Peter Finch, but all 5 are worthy of your time!

Pro Tip: Tour Pros only make 50% of their putts from 8 feet, and they only make 22% of their putts from 10-14 feet. Granted, these stats are during tournament play, but even still, set your expectations accordingly. Simply completing this drill in one go-round is quite an accomplishment.

TODAY’S TRIVIA
Answer to Win a BirdieBall 3’x12’ Indoor Putting Mat
(1 winner chosen on 2/28/25 across all February trivia entries, 1,000 correct respondents minimum)

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