It’s a typical practice session. You head to the short game area with a couple of wedges and a pocketful of range balls, hoping something—anything—clicks. Maybe today will be different. Maybe today you’ll finally stop blading it across the green or chunking it two feet in front of you.
Because here’s the truth: you know how to hit a wedge. You’re not new to this. But you’re tired of feeling like every chip is a coin toss—like you’re guessing instead of knowing.
This isn’t about learning the basics. It’s about dialing in what matters. Feel. Control. Confidence. These drills won’t make you a tour pro overnight, but they will make you dangerous from 100 yards and in. And you won’t need a launch monitor, a coach, or a bucket full of excuses. Just a plan.
1. The Staircase Drill
Distance control isn’t sexy, but it wins matches. This drill is dead simple—and brutally effective.
Find a patch of green. Nothing fancy. Hit your first wedge shot just a few feet in front of you—this is your first “step.” The next ball? It needs to fly just a little further. Then the next one further still. The catch? If any shot lands shorter than the one before it, you start over.
The best short game players can build a 10–15 ball staircase between them and the hole. Most can’t get past four. This isn’t about power—it’s about precision. Learning how to feel a 10-yard shot, then a 12, then a 14.
Every inch matters. And when it clicks, it’s like having a remote control for your wedges.
🎥 Watch it in action:
This video from Me and My Golf walks you through a similar drill, breaking down how to train distance control with real-time feedback.
2. The Up & Down Challenge
This one adds something your weekend practice is probably missing: pressure.
Pick five nasty lies around the green—short-sided rough, tight lie, edge of a bunker, standard fairway, deep stuff. From each spot, you get one ball. Hit the chip. Putt it out. That’s your up-and-down attempt.
If you get up and down from one of five, you pass. Next time, aim for two. Then three. Eventually, all five.
It’s stupidly simple. And incredibly hard. Because unlike range reps, this drill tracks something real: your ability to convert. No second chances. No fluffing it up. Just you, the lie, and your nerve.
3. One Spot, Three Clubs
The lie’s nothing special. Bit of green to work with. Mild slope. But here’s the twist: you’re hitting three shots from the same spot—one with an 8-iron, one with a pitching wedge, one with your sand wedge.
It’s not about getting it close. It’s about learning.
You’re studying ball flight, spin, rollout. How does each club behave? How does it land? What gives you control?
This is how you stop guessing. This is how you walk up to a tricky chip and know—not hope—what club you need and what it’s going to do.
Final Thought
There’s no swing thought that replaces experience. No tip on YouTube that beats reps with intent.
These drills aren’t about grinding. They’re about getting honest with your game. Learning what works. And walking onto the course with the kind of quiet confidence that makes people wonder what you’ve been working on.
Because next time you’re 40 yards out with a tight pin and thick grass underfoot, you won’t flinch. You’ll see the lie, choose the shot, and get it done.
💬 Your turn: From 30 yards out, what club are you pulling? Drop it in the comments or join the conversation on Facebook.
