Play Ready Golf · Free drill pack

My 4 favorite driver drills

Off the tee, the drive that costs you isn't the one in the rough. It's the one that never comes back. These four score the penalty, not just the fairway.

Here's the first one, the drill from my video. Run it today, then grab the other 3 below.

01 · Driver

Wide Fairway 10

10 minRange or simDriver, 10 balls

Ten drives into a fairway you pick. The fairway scores, the rough is free, and a penalty costs you.

Why this drill

Shot Scope's averages: a 15 handicap takes about two and a half penalty strokes a round. A scratch golfer takes about a half. This drill scores the penalty, so you learn to keep the ball in play.

Set it up

  1. 1Pick a target line out where your drives land.
  2. 2Pick two markers about 60 yards apart, one on each side of that line. Flags, signs or trees all work. That's your Level 1 fairway. From Level 2 on, make it 50.
  3. 3The 15 yards outside each edge is rough. Anything past that is a penalty.

On a sim, use offline yards. Level 1: fairway within 30, rough to 45, penalty past 45. Level 2 and up: fairway within 25, rough to 40.

Play it

  1. 1Hit 5 drives at your first target line. Full routine on every ball.
  2. 2Switch to a new target line and a new fairway. Hit 5 more.
  3. 3Score every drive as it lands.

Score it

+1Fairway0Rough−1Penalty

Add them up. Your score runs from minus 10 to plus 10. Higher is better.

Your target

Level 1+1 or better60 yard fairway
Level 2+4 or better50 yard fairway
Level 3+6 or better50 yard fairway

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

After Level 3, make it harder

DiameterShrink the fairway to 40 yards, then 35.
DiceThen switch target lines every 2 balls instead of every 5.

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

This is every tee shot you hit. Fairway or not, the scorecard counts it.

Get the other 3

Send me the rest of the pack

02Safe Side SelectorBefore every drive, you pick the side you can miss on. A miss on the other side costs you 2.
03Tempo 3-Ball SetsDrives at 70%, 85% and full effort, to find out which one finds the most fairways for you.
0414-Hole Fairway CardFourteen tee shots, like a real round. One ball per hole, and every one goes on the card.

Each one comes with the setup, how to score it and three levels to climb.

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 penalty strokes by handicap.