Play Ready Golf · Your drill pack

My 4 favorite chipping drills

Around the green, a bogey turns into a double when the first chip doesn't do its job. These four train the shot you only get one try at, and every one gives you a score to beat.

Run all four once this week at Level 1. That's your baseline. Then beat it.

How the levels work

Get a baseline

Run each drill once at Level 1 and write your score down.

Two in a row

Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.

Turn one dial

Past Level 3, change one thing: Distance, Diameter or Dice.

01 · Chipping

Up-and-Down Basics

15 minChipping greenWedge, putter, 1 ball

Five chips from five different spots. Putt every one out and count your strokes.

Why this drill

Shot Scope's averages: a scratch golfer gets up and down 54% of the time. A 20 handicap does it 31% of the time. This drill measures that number directly.

Set it up

  1. 1Pick 5 spots around the green. Make them all different: short and long, and from different sides of the hole.
  2. 2Use one ball. You get one try from each spot.

Play it

  1. 1Chip from your first spot.
  2. 2Putt it out. Every stroke counts until the ball is in the hole.
  3. 3Move to the next spot and repeat until you've played all 5.

Score it

2Up and down3Chip and 2 putts4+Bad chip or worse

Add up your strokes for all 5 spots. Lower is better. A perfect score is 10.

Your target

Level 117 or better5 spots
Level 214 or better5 spots
Level 312 or better5 spots

Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.

After Level 3, make it harder

LieMake 2 of the 5 spots rough lies.
DistanceThen no spot inside 10 yards.

One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.

This is the whole job around the green: two shots, ball in the hole.

02 · Chipping

3-Club Chip Rotation

15 minChipping green3 clubs, 3 balls, 4 tees

Chip to one hole with three different clubs and find out which one gets you closest.

Why this drill

Lou Stagner found that for mid and high handicaps, putting from just off the green is about a tenth to a quarter of a shot better than chipping, and the worst putt finishes 5 to 7 feet closer than the worst chip (Arccos data). The club you grab matters.

Set it up

  1. 1Pick 3 clubs, like an 8 iron, a pitching wedge and a sand wedge.
  2. 2Pick one spot just off the green and one hole.
  3. 3Push tees in a circle 6 feet from the hole, about two putter lengths.

Play it

  1. 1Hit 3 chips with your first club, then 3 with the next, then 3 with the last.
  2. 2Run through all three clubs twice. 18 chips.
  3. 3Notice which club finishes inside the circle most.

Score it

+1Stops inside 6 feet0Stops outside

Your score is out of 18. Higher is better.

Your target

Level 16 of 186 foot circle
Level 29 of 186 foot circle
Level 312 of 186 foot circle

Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.

After Level 3, make it harder

DiceMove to a new spot every time you rotate clubs.
DiameterThen shrink the circle to 4 feet.

One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.

Different clubs roll out differently from the same spot. Knowing which one to grab is half the shot.

03 · Chipping

Random Chip Distances

15 minChipping greenWedge, 10 balls, your phone

Your phone picks the distance for every chip, so you never hit the same shot twice.

Why this drill

The course gives you 8 yards, then 22, then 14. Never the same chip twice. This drill trains all of them.

Set it up

  1. 1Pick a hole with room all around it.
  2. 2Push tees in a circle 6 feet from the hole.

Play it

  1. 1Before each chip, look at the seconds on your phone's clock. Multiply the last digit by 3. That's how many yards from the hole you chip from. If it's 0, look again.
  2. 2Pace it off. One big step is about a yard.
  3. 3Hit 10 chips.

Score it

+1Stops inside 6 feet0Stops outside

Your score is out of 10. Higher is better.

Your target

Level 13 of 103 to 27 yards
Level 25 of 103 to 27 yards
Level 37 of 103 to 27 yards

Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.

After Level 3, make it harder

LiePlay every chip from the rough.
DiameterThen shrink the circle to 4 feet.

One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.

No two chips on the course are the same. Your practice shouldn't be either.

04 · Chipping

First Ball Scorecard

10 minChipping greenWedge, putter, 1 ball, 8 tees

Eight chips from eight spots, one ball and no do-overs. Your first try is the only one that counts.

Why this drill

On the course you get one chip, not three. This trains the one that counts.

Set it up

  1. 1Pick 8 spots around the green: different distances, angles and lies.
  2. 2Mark two zones around the hole with tees, sized for your level. 20 handicap: 15 and 25 feet. 10 handicap: 10 and 20 feet. Scratch: 6 and 12 feet.

Play it

  1. 1One chip from each spot, then putt it out.
  2. 2No warm-up, no second chips, no resets.

Score it

+1Inside the tight zone0Inside the wide zone−1Outside both

Add them up for your net score out of 8. Higher is better.

Your target

Level 10 or betterYour zones
Level 2+4 or betterYour zones
Level 3+6 or betterYour zones

Hit your target two sessions in a row, then move up a level.

After Level 3, make it harder

DiameterShrink your zones to the next row up.

One change at a time. Drop back to the Level 2 target and climb again.

The first chip of the day on the course is a first ball. Practice it that way.

Want this run for you?

These are 4 of 119

These 4 are from the 119 drills in the Play Ready Golf app. Every one has the score and the levels built in, and the app builds your practice week around your biggest leak, then rebuilds it after every round you log.

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Data: Shot Scope up and down rates. Lou Stagner, Arccos data, on putting from off the green.