Fairways and Greens
Why this drill
A round scored only in fairways and greens hit strips golf to the two numbers that predict every card: keep it in play, hit the green. Score vanishes, process remains — and process is the only thing a practice round can actually practice.
Setup
Nine holes at a quiet hour, one ball, a card marked with two columns: F and G. Total score is not kept — genuinely not kept.
The drill
Play normally, but the only marks on the card are fairway hit (yes/no off every full tee shot) and green hit in regulation (yes/no). Perfect nine is 7 fairways (the par 3s sit out) and 9 greens; a bogey golfer hitting 4 and 4 is on schedule. The scoring change rewires decisions in real time: the hero carry that risks the F, the tucked flag that risks the G, both stop paying. Play the same nine monthly — these two numbers move before the handicap does, and they tell you which practice is working.
One thought to take with you
Middle of the fairway, middle of the green — boring wins by Sunday.