Three Clubs and a Putter
Why this drill
Strip the bag to three clubs and the course becomes a different exam: half-swings, punch shots, hybrids off tees, 7-irons bumped from forty yards. Nothing builds shot-making imagination and proves how little of scoring is equipment faster than nine holes of enforced improvisation.
Setup
Nine quiet holes carrying exactly three clubs plus a putter — a classic pick is hybrid or 5-wood, 7-iron, and a wedge. Choose before you see the first hole and no swaps.
The drill
Play the nine at full seriousness, scoring normally. Every gap in the set forces a decision: the 150-yard shot with a wedge means swinging bigger, with the 7-iron means gripping down and flighting it — both are real golf shots your full bag has been hiding from you. Note each invented shot that works; those become range-session material. Most players finish within two or three strokes of their normal nine, which permanently changes how they think about the other eleven clubs.
One thought to take with you
Pick the shot the club can hit, not the shot the yardage demands.