Worst Ball
Why this drill
Play two balls and always take the worse one, and the course starts asking questions polite golf never asks: can you hit the fairway twice, get up and down after a good chip you had to abandon, hole the three-footer twice? The most demanding practice format in golf, and the fastest mirror of your real weaknesses.
Setup
A genuinely empty course — late evening, off-season — two balls, and permission from the shop if in doubt. Nine holes is plenty.
The drill
Hit two balls from every position and play the next stroke from the worse of the two, all the way into the hole — including putts: hole it twice or the miss stands. Score the nine honestly. Expect roughly a stroke a hole worse than your normal game; single digits breaking 45 at worst ball is real golf. The format's gift is diagnostic: note where the second ball consistently betrays you — second drives, second short putts — and that skill area becomes your next block-practice priority.
One thought to take with you
The second ball tells the truth — the first one might have been luck.