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3 practice blocks

Built around the gap that the research points to: approach play and short game first, putting second, driving a distant third. About 60 to 75 minutes total if you do all three.

The three blocks

01 Wedge ladder, 40 to 80 yards

What you need: 15 to 20 balls, a wedge, a rangefinder or paced-off yardages.

Setup: pick three distances, roughly 40, 60, and 80 yards, to a target.

The drill: hit 5 balls to each distance. Score every shot: 3 points inside 6 feet, 2 points inside 12 feet, 1 point on the green, 0 outside it. Track your total out of 45.

Make it a game: beat last session's total. Write the number down, that's the only score that matters here.

02 6-foot putting ladder

What you need: 10 balls, a practice green.

Setup: place a tee 6 feet from the hole.

The drill: putt all 10 balls from that spot. Then move to 4 feet and repeat. Then 8 feet. Track makes out of 10 for each distance.

Make it a game: you can't move to the next distance until you make 7 of 10 at the current one.

03 Up-and-down challenge

What you need: 10 balls, a wedge, a putter, a green with some short-game space around it.

Setup: drop balls in 10 different spots just off the green: some rough, some tight lies, some bunker if you have one.

The drill: play each spot out as if it counted, chip or pitch then putt out. Count how many of the 10 you get up and down.

Make it a game: your benchmark up-and-down rate from Round X-Ray is the number to beat here.

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