The Best Short Game Drills for Beginners
Simple chipping and putting drills you can run at home or on a practice green to shave strokes fast as a beginner golfer.
Most beginners spend their range time beating full shots with a 7-iron. That feels productive, but it rarely moves the scorecard. The majority of strokes in a typical round happen within 50 yards of the hole. Getting comfortable with a few focused drills in that zone is the fastest route to actually enjoying a round instead of just surviving it.
Why the Short Game Should Come First
When you are new to golf, the short game offers a steeper return on practice time than the full swing. A chip from the rough and a 15-foot putt require far less physical coordination than a driver, and small improvements show up immediately in your score. Working on these skills also builds feel for clubface contact, which carries over to longer shots over time.
You do not need a course membership to get started. A putting mat at home, a few chipped balls into a laundry basket in the backyard, or a single session on a practice green can produce noticeable results within a week.
Chipping Drills That Build a Consistent Strike
Chipping is about solid contact and landing the ball on a predictable spot. These drills focus on both.
The Gate Drill
Place two tees in the ground just wider than your clubhead, a few inches in front of the ball. Your goal is to swing through the gate without clipping either tee. This forces you to attack the ball from a slightly inside path and make clean contact instead of scooping. Start with a pitching wedge and a ball 10 feet from the hole. Once you can pass through the gate consistently, shift to a sand wedge or gap wedge.
The Coin Drill
Place a coin flat on the ground and chip from just behind it, trying to brush the coin off the surface at impact. This trains your brain to strike down slightly on the ball rather than trying to lift it into the air. The ball gets airborne when the loft of the club does its job, not when your hands flip upward at impact. Even five minutes of this drill at home on a firm surface will sharpen your ball-striking awareness.
The Landing Spot Challenge
On a practice green, pick a landing spot roughly one to two feet onto the fringe. Chip 10 balls from the same spot and try to land each one within a hula-hoop-sized zone on that target. Track how many you hit the zone. This builds intentional trajectory thinking rather than just swinging toward the flag. For a deeper look at chipping fundamentals, see how to chip a golf ball: a beginner's guide.
Putting Drills for Beginners
Putting is the one area where mechanical differences between players matter less than routine and feel. These drills focus on building both.
The Three-Foot Circle
Push six tees into the green in a circle roughly three feet from the hole. Putt to the hole from each tee in order without stopping. The goal is to complete the full circle without missing. If you miss one, start over. Three feet sounds easy, but combining the light pressure of the reset rule with six different angles reveals any inconsistency in your stroke quickly. Most beginners discover they miss left or right depending on the clock position, which tells them exactly where to focus.
The Gate Drill (Putting Version)
Like the chipping gate, set two tees just outside the width of your putter head on the target line, roughly six inches in front of the ball. Stroke the putt through the tees without clipping them. This locks in a square face at impact better than almost any other single drill. Start with a four-foot straight putt. Once you can run 10 in a row cleanly, move back to six feet.
The Distance Ladder
On a long practice green, putt to a hole from four feet, then eight feet, then twelve feet, then sixteen feet. The goal is not to sink every one but to finish each putt within tap-in range (roughly 18 inches). This develops feel for distance control, which breaks down more putting than poor direction does. For more on reading the line before you even set up, see putting for beginners: how to read greens and make more putts.
How to Practice the Short Game at Home
A full practice green is helpful but not required. These setups work in a living room or backyard.
| Setup | What You Practice |
|---|---|
| Putting mat (5 to 10 feet long) | Stroke mechanics, gate drill, three-foot routine |
| Chipping into a net or basket | Contact, landing zone, coin drill |
| Foam or plastic practice balls on grass | Full short-game chips with wedges |
| Carpet with alignment stick | Putter path and face angle feedback |
Even 10 minutes of putting on a mat before bed will build muscle memory faster than most people expect. The key is consistency over duration.
Pitching: Bridging the Gap Between Chips and Full Swings
Once your chips from close range feel repeatable, you will want to handle shots from 20 to 50 yards. Pitching uses a fuller motion than chipping but is still controlled primarily by your wrists and turn rather than a full shoulder rotation. A good drill is the clock drill: think of your backswing as a clock position and swing to 9 o'clock, then 10 o'clock, then 11 o'clock. Note how far each swing carries the ball. Knowing your "9 o'clock" distance with a pitching wedge gives you a reliable number you can use on the course without guessing. For more on controlling distance around the green, see how to pitch the ball: distance control around the green.
Building a Practice Routine
A short, focused session beats an unfocused long one every time. A simple structure that works for beginners:
- Five minutes of gate putts from four feet (zero full-swing warm-up needed)
- Ten chips with the coin drill, alternating between a pitching wedge and a gap wedge
- The three-foot circle once through
- Four or five clock-drill pitches from the same spot
That is roughly 20 to 25 minutes. Done three times a week, most beginners will feel a clear difference in their chipping and putting within a month.
A note on safety during practice: even short chips involve a swinging club. Be sure no one is standing behind or beside you, and call out before you swing if others are nearby on the practice green.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long should I practice the short game as a beginner? Two to three sessions a week of 20 to 30 minutes each is enough to build real improvement. Short, consistent sessions outperform long occasional ones because you repeat the same motions enough for them to become natural. Quality of focus matters more than total time.
Can I practice chipping in my backyard? Yes, with some care. Foam practice balls are the safest option near fences or windows. Plastic wiffle-style golf balls are a step closer to real feel. Real balls on a tight lawn into a net or thick bush work fine as long as there is a safe backstop and no one nearby in the swing path.
What club should a beginner start chipping with? A pitching wedge or a 9-iron is usually the easiest starting point. Both have enough loft to get the ball airborne without demanding a steep attack angle, and they roll out predictably once they land. Once your contact becomes reliable, experiment with a gap wedge or sand wedge for shots that need to stop faster.
Why do I keep skulling (blading) my chips? A skulled chip usually means the leading edge of the club is striking the equator of the ball instead of the ground beneath it. The most common cause is weight drifting to your back foot at impact, which raises the swing arc. Focus on keeping your weight leaning slightly toward your front foot throughout the stroke. The coin drill is specifically designed to fix this.
Is there a difference between short game practice and just playing more holes? Both help, but they train different things. Playing holes gives you experience with uneven lies, nerves, and course decisions. Focused drills isolate a specific skill and let you repeat it 20 times in a row, which builds technical reliability faster. Ideally, do both: drill a skill during practice sessions, then look for opportunities to use it on the course.