Drill library · Short game

Par 18

Short gameHandicap 5–3030 minrandom / pressurewedges & chippingputting

Why this drill

Nine up-and-downs, each scored as a par 2: chip plus putt. Par 18 is the standard-bearer of short-game tests because it measures the only thing that matters — did the ball get in the hole in two — under a number you cannot argue with.

Setup

One ball, your wedges and putter. Choose nine different stations around the green before you start: short-sided, uphill, downhill, off a tight lie, out of the fringe collar, one from greenside rough — an honest mix, not nine easy ones.

The drill

Play each station like a hole: chip on, putt out, holing everything — no gimmes, ever. Par for each hole is 2; card your actual number. A chip-in is a 1 and you will remember it all week. Total the nine. Twenty-two or better is solid club-level scrambling; a tour short game lives under 20. Keep the card and play the same nine stations next week — the trend is the truth.

One thought to take with you

Play each station to make it, not to get it close — the ambition changes the shot.