My Favorite Practice Drill

• Posted on Grant
• in Drills, Golf Fundamentals, Practice, Short Game
• on December 16, 2013
• Comments Off on My Favorite Practice Drill

All you need is a wedge, a shag tube, 23 golf balls and a practice area to perform my favorite practice drill.

To start the drill, I drop golf balls in a line stretching from about 10 to 50 yards from my target. (If I have more space, I will extend the line back to 100yds.) I space the balls about 4 feet apart.

Drop the balls about 4 feet apart

Once I lay out my practice line, I start the drill. I set up to the ball that is closest to the target, hit that closest ball, and then move back to the next ball.

Moving away from the target, 4 feet at a time

Before I know it, I will come to the end of the line and find myself about 50 yards from the target.

The end of the line

This drill allows me to work on 3 things at once:

1. Judging and playing out of different lies: I always play the ball from wherever it lies, no matter if I happened to drop in an old divot or in a great lie. (Read more about judging lies here.)

2. Touch: Because I start close to the green and work my way back one shot at a time, I develop fantastic touch. This touch gives me great confidence on the course: I feel that I can get up and down from any yardage inside 100 yards.

Since I am only moving back 4 feet at a time, it’s hard to consciously tell any difference in length from one shot to the next. When I come to the last ball that is farthest away from the target, it still feels like I have the same control I had on the first ball that was closest to the target.

3. Full swing: My pitch shots are just a miniature version of my full swing. Therefore, when I am doing this drill, I am grooving how my full swing should feel through impact.

Pick up the balls and repeat with a different wedge. (Please remember to fix your ball marks!)

Always remember that width of stance, and length of back-swing are the fundamental keys to hitting your wedge shots the right distance. (Read more about these fundamentals here.)

I hope you enjoy this drill as much as I do!

GB

P.S. Contact me if you would like a practice shag tube; I have them for sale.