Golf is a sport that takes practice, practice, and more practice. However, staying at the driving range and putting green day after day can be frustrating and boring for your high school golfers. Try some of these on course drills to spruce up your practices and get your players more engaged with their golf game.
1) The 3-club challenge: This is a classic golf challenge/drill that really works. I do prefer a modified version though, which actually allows for 4 clubs (4th must be putter) because I don’t see any real value in putting with another club. This drill will teach your players how to hit a wide variety of shots (irons off the tee, knockdowns, bump and runs, etc.) due to the limited club selection. It will also teach them course management and that sometimes the “typical” shot is not always the best shot. Some of your players might even score better then they do with a full set!
2) Play it forward: A great way to force your players to hit a wide variety of shots both off the tee and to the green. Play the first 4 holes from the longest tees, forcing players to hit driver and long irons. Then, the next 5 holes are played from the next set of tees up and so forth. The last 5 holes are played from either the most forward tees or the beginning of the fairway.
3) Build your own modified par-3 course: Before practice begins, head out to the course and set up 9 holes as a par 3 course. Move the tees into different spots and distances (maybe a 200 straight shot to an easy pin location followed by a 50-yard pitch shot over a bunker to a tucked pin). The shot variety will mirror that of an 18 hole round but will take less than half the time to play.
Try out one of these ideas during your next practice. Your players will not only learn a lot about their own game but will also have a lot more fun than bashing balls at the range. Do you have other ideas for practice drills? Let us know at chris@highschoolgolf.org.