Practice Games for Elite Juniors

Everyone gets the same amount of hours in a day. Elite junior players maximize these hours through highly targeted practice games that focus on developing underlying skills. Here are five of the best practice games that Titleist Performance Institute recommends elite juniors should incorporate into their routines.

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3 in a Row

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This is a great game to develop a sense of control and accuracy with your long clubs.

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First, select your driver, 3 wood and hybrid (or 3 iron). Next, mark a horizontal grid on the range or Trackman that corresponds to 10% of the distance you hit the club. For example if you hit your driver 250 yards mark a grid that is 25 yards wide. If you hit your hybrid 200 yards mark a grid that is 20 yards wide.

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Leapfrog

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Leapfrog is a game designed to develop distance control with your wedges.

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First, pick a 25 yard increment anywhere from 50 - 125 yards. For this example we'll use 75-100 yards. To start the game hit your first shot 75 yards or more and continue hitting shots progressively farther until you get to 100 yards. If at any time a shot finishes less than your previous shot start over.

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Record the total number of shots you are able to fit in between the 75 and 100 yard increment and record that as your score.

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Same Shape 5 in a Row

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This is a great game to help you develop confidence in your 'Go to Shot' on the course.

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First, take a five iron. Set up a target zone on the range or Trackman corresponding to 10% of the club's distance. For example, if you hit your five iron 170 yards the zone will be 17 yards wide.

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Select a shot shape (draw or cut). Hit balls until you land five in a row in the grid. Repeat with the other shot shape until you find a shape you can trust and your 'Go to Shot'.

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9 Hole, Par 4

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This is a great drill to check how good your short game is and improve up and downs from a variety of different situations.

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First, select a hole on the putting green. Take two balls and chip/pitch them towards the hole and then hole them out recording your score for the two balls (for example 5).

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Repeat this for a total of 9 random places all around the green (nine holes). Record your score and compare to a perfect 9 hole score of 36.

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Through the Bag

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This is a great game to develop feel around the greens and the ability to effectively use different clubs to create different shots.

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First, set a circle around the hole at 3 feet. Next, hit two shots to the hole with all the wedges/irons in your bag (11 clubs and 22 shots total).

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Your score is the number of balls that land inside 3 feet. Repeat once going up the clubs and once going down.

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