1-Hour Practice Blueprint - Putting Challenge, Up & Downs & Setup

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Making Best Use of 1 Hour on the Driving Range

Here’s your 1-hour practice blueprint for the day. The goal is to make best use of the limited time you have at the course. Here’s what we’re doing:

1. Ladder Drill (15 mins) – Short and mid-length putting with variability in distance. The game adds in some degree of pressure and challenge to keep it interesting. This is a great game to play with your buddies. Use one golf ball, hitting only one putt at a time with focus. Over time, if you set the drill up with the same distance increments, it’ll serve as somewhat of a benchmarking tool for how your putting is improving.

2. Basic Up and Down Game (15 mins) – Play 9 or 18 holes of simple up and downs. Grab your 7-iron, your putter and one ball. Choose a different starting point and different hole each time. Mix up the distances, but keep them realistic. We’re trying to work on the common chips and putts we’re going to have on the course. Shoot even par and you’re in great shape.

3. Alignment and Stance (30 mins) – On the range, we’re working on ensuring that we’re actually aiming where we think we’re aiming. Be precise. Lay down a club parallel to your target line as a guide, then work your way from your wedges, to mid-irons, long iron, woods, then back again. We need to set up the same way every time if we plan on hitting consistent shots every time.

Enjoy…reach out if you have any questions: cbourque@pga.com