Drill library · On course

The Forward-Tee Nine

On courseHandicap 10+110 minrandom / pressurecourse strategywedges & chippingputting

Why this drill

Playing the forward tees isn't practice made easy — it's practice relocated to where scoring actually happens: wedges in hand, birdie putts underfoot, and the unfamiliar pressure of chances you're supposed to convert. Tour players rehearse low rounds; this is the club golfer's version.

Setup

Nine holes from the most forward tees, one ball, normal bag, a quiet hour so nobody wonders. A target score two or three strokes under your usual nine.

The drill

Play the nine chasing the target. Short holes mean short irons and wedges into nearly every green — the exact shots your leak tracker flags — and makeable putts whose weight you'll recognize from the rounds where a good card was going. When a birdie chance arrives, notice the grip pressure and play the routine anyway: converting-when-expected is a skill, and this is its practice tee. Card everything. The discomfort of "should score" is the drill working.

One thought to take with you

Expected birdies weigh the most — breathe, routine, roll it.