🎯 Free Live Lesson with GOATY — Real-time AI voice coaching. Point your phone, swing, get coached instantly. Start Free Live Lesson →
Short Game

Golf Short Game Drills: Around the Green Consistency

Most rounds are won or lost within 50 yards of the hole — master this zone and your scores drop immediately.

The short game — everything within 50 yards including chips, pitches, bump-and-runs, and bunker shots — is the fastest path to lower scores for recreational golfers. Tour professionals get up-and-down (hole out in 2 shots from around the green) 60-65% of the time. Amateur golfers average around 30%. Closing that gap saves 5-8 strokes per round on its own.

Home › Golf Drills › Golf Short Game Drills: Around the Green Consistency
Drill 1

The 9-Shot Challenge

Choose three lies (tight, rough, downhill) and three targets (front, middle, back pin positions). Hit one shot from each lie to each target — 9 total shots. Score a point for every shot within 6 feet and half a point for within 10 feet. A perfect score is 9. This game creates the varied scenario practice that actually transfers to the course.

Reps: 9 shots, track your score weekly
Drill 2

Bump-and-Run vs Lob Decision Drill

For every chip shot during practice, make yourself choose: bump-and-run with a 7-iron or 8-iron (lower trajectory, more roll), or a lob with the wedge (higher, softer landing). Hit both shots and compare results. Over time, you learn which option is more reliable from which lie — and the choice becomes automatic on the course.

Reps: 5 pairs of comparison shots from varied lies
Drill 3

Towel Gate Drill

Place two towels 18 inches apart on the fairway, with the gap aimed at your target. Chip all balls through the gap. This builds precise directional control and eliminates fanning or cutting the face. When the ball rolls through the gate, your path and face were matching. This is simple and highly effective for chipping direction control.

Reps: 20 chips through the gate
Drill 4

Random Lie Generator

Drop 5 balls randomly around the practice green — in rough, on the fringe, in a divot, on a slope. Don't set them up. Play them from wherever they land, choosing the best shot for each lie. This simulates actual on-course conditions far better than identical lie practice.

Reps: 5 balls x 4 repetitions = 20 varied shots
Drill 5

Pressure Short Game

Set a game: you must hole out (chip and one putt) 3 times before you can stop. If you fail to hole out, add an extra hole out requirement. This creates the competitive pressure and consequence that transfers to actual round performance far better than casual practice.

Reps: Until you achieve 3 hole-outs

How GOATY AI Measures This

Short game success requires the same ANCHOR stability (spine angle, head position) that GOATY measures in the full swing. Golfers who maintain their posture through short game impact — not standing up to see the shot — make dramatically more consistent contact.

See These Drills Working in Your Swing

GOATY AI analyzes your real swing and shows you exactly which of these drills will have the highest impact for your specific faults. Personalized coaching, no guesswork.

Start Free Lesson with GOATY