Players line up facing the coach with a club held out in front of them. Walk the line and check the lead hand first, then show the three ways the trail hand can connect: ten finger, interlock, or overlap. Let each player try all three and settle on the one that feels secure, then take ten slow practice swings.
Coaching points
Hold the club in the fingers, not the palm, and keep the pressure light enough that a friend could pull the club out. Pick one grip and stick with it for the whole season.
Gather the group in a circle before anyone picks up a club and walk through the session rules: where to stand, when to swing, how to carry a club, and where the waiting line is. Have each player point to the safe zone and the hitting zone so you know they heard it. Keep this to a few minutes and repeat the key rule every week.
Coaching points
Say it the same way every week: nobody swings until the coach says go, and nobody walks in front of a player with a club. Make the kids repeat it back to you.
Set up three or four small stations before players arrive, each with its own target, balls, and a cone marking where to stand. Split the team into groups of three or four and give each group one station. Run a short practice swing and target game at each before you start the real work.
Coaching points
Keep groups small so nobody waits more than one turn. Count down the last thirty seconds out loud so the rotation stays on time.
Before the first swing, players hold a club out in front of them and the coach walks the line checking the lead hand thumb. The thumb sits slightly to the trail side of the top of the grip, not straight down the shaft. Players set the grip, take it off, and set it again five times, then make ten slow half swings.
Coaching points
Thumb a little right of center for a right handed player. If you can see the full thumb pointing straight down the shaft, fix it before you swing.
Hold a hula hoop tilted like a golf swing with the bottom of the circle just in front of a ball on the ground. Players trace the hoop with their hand to see that the club travels down and forward and bottoms out after the ball. Then they swing a short iron at a tee peg in the grass, trying to brush the ground just in front of it, ten reps each.
Coaching points
The low point of the circle is in front of the ball, not at it. Swing down and through, and let the club brush the grass after the ball.
Players set up with a mid iron and make half swings focused on turning the chest back and then through to face the target. Have them hold the finish with the belt buckle at the target for a count of two. Do ten swings without a ball, then ten with a ball on a tee.
Coaching points
Turn your chest, not just your arms. Finish with your belt buckle facing the target and hold it.
Spread cones or flags at fifty, seventy five, and one hundred yards in front of a hitting line. Each player hits five balls and scores a point for every ball that lands past the first cone, two past the second, three past the third. Keep a running team score to bring energy to the station.
Coaching points
Swing in balance and let the distance come from a full turn, not from swinging harder. A balanced finish counts even if the ball comes up short.
Set players up with a short iron and a line of tees pushed into the turf. Before each swing they say out loud where they want the club to touch the ground, which is just in front of the ball. Hit ten balls off the turf and score each one as solid, fat, or thin, then try to beat the score with the next ten.
Coaching points
Club hits the ball first, then the ground. Make the intention clear before you swing: brush the grass in front of the ball.
Set each player on a tee at the range with a short iron. Before each swing, they pick a spot on the ground just behind the ball and keep their eyes on it until the ball is gone. Hit ten balls focusing only on a steady head, then let them count how many felt solid.
Coaching points
Eyes on the back of the ball until you hear the click. If the head drifts forward, the swing bottoms out early and the shot goes thin.
Lay an alignment stick or spare club on the ground pointing at the target and set a ball beside it. Players make slow swings feeling the club move slightly out toward the target line through the ball instead of cutting across it. Hit ten shots and have a partner call out whether the divot or brush mark starts at the ball or behind it.
Coaching points
Swing out toward the target through the ball. If you pull in across the line, the club bottoms out behind the ball and you hit it fat or thin.
Lay a club on the ground pointing at the target and have players practice a takeaway that keeps the clubhead low and along that line for the first two feet. Pair up so one player swings and one watches the line. Switch after five reps and then hit balls.
Coaching points
Low and slow for the first two feet. The clubhead stays on the line, and the body turns to bring it inside.
Put a tee or small cone about ten feet in front of each player on the target line. Players hit short irons and watch whether the ball starts over the cone, left of it, or right of it. Track ten shots and let them adjust their grip and clubface until most shots start on the line.
Coaching points
Where the ball starts tells you where the face was pointing. Start it over the cone first, then worry about the curve.
Set a hoop or towel on the green a few paces from the fringe and give each player three balls. Players chip from the fringe trying to land the ball in the hoop and let it roll toward a hole or cone. Score one point for a landing in the hoop and two for finishing closest.
Coaching points
Land it in the hoop, then let the green do the work. Short backswing, firm wrists, and finish low.
Set up one spot on the fringe and three holes or cones at different distances on the green. Players try the same shot with a wedge, a nine iron, and a seven iron, and watch how far each one rolls. Then call out a target and let them pick the club that fits.
Coaching points
Less loft means more roll. When there is lots of green between you and the hole, use the lower club and let it run.
Set up a few hula hoops or cone circles at different distances on a practice green or open grass. Players take turns pitching into the circles, earning more points for the farther ones. Play to a score so the group stays competitive and tracks improvement from week to week.
Coaching points
Land it soft and let it roll in. Keep the swing the same size back and through.
Put a target circle of cones or a towel about twenty five yards away on the green. Players hit chips with a wedge, trying to land the ball on a spot they pick first and let it roll to the target. Hit sets of five and count how many stop inside the circle.
Coaching points
Pick the landing spot before you swing, then make the ball land there. Hands stay ahead of the clubhead through the ball.
Same setup as the chip station but with a higher pitch shot: ball in the middle of the stance, a little wrist hinge, and a smooth swing where the body turns through. Players hit five pitches to the target, then move the target five yards farther and repeat.
Coaching points
Turn your belt buckle to the target and let the club swing with the body. If the shot pops up and comes up short, the arms stopped and the body did not turn.
Draw a chalk line or lay a towel edge on the turf and set balls just in front of it. Players hit half wedge shots trying to make the club touch the ground on the target side of the line every time. Hit sets of ten and count how many brush marks land in front of the line.
Coaching points
Ground contact in front of the line, every time. Weight slightly forward and let the hands lead the clubhead into the ball.
Players hit wedge shots to three towels placed at fifteen, twenty five, and thirty five yards. They must hit the first towel before they can move to the next. The first player to land one on all three towels wins the round, then everyone starts over.
Coaching points
Same tempo for every shot. The length of the backswing controls the distance, not how hard you hit it.
Each player starts one step from the hole and must hole out in two putts or fewer to move back another step. If they take three, they stay at that step and try again. Play until everyone reaches five steps or time runs out.
Coaching points
Speed first. If the first putt stops within a shoe length of the hole, the second one is a tap in.
Players start three feet from the hole. After each successful two putt or better they jog to the fringe and back and move one step farther away; a three putt means they repeat the distance. Run it for ten minutes with a partner keeping score.
Coaching points
Breathe, reset, then putt. Control speed when your heart is pounding.
Set tees in a gate just wider than the putter head and a second gate for the ball a foot in front of it. Players roll putts through both gates to a hole six feet away. Count how many out of ten get through clean and roll into the hole.
Coaching points
Putter through the gate, ball through the gate. Straight back and straight through with a steady head.
Set up a few short putting games around the practice green: a circle of tees around a hole, a race to the far side, and a two ball match between partners. Rotate groups every three minutes so everyone plays each game once.
Coaching points
Keep it fun and keep score. The stroke gets better when kids forget they are practicing.
Set players over a six foot straight putt with a partner watching from the front. The putter stays put only if the knees and nose stay still, so the partner calls out any wobble. Hit five putts each then switch roles.
Coaching points
Knees quiet, nose still, and let the putter swing. Peeking early pulls the putt left.
Players hold the putter like a baby they are gently rocking and make slow strokes with no ball, shoulders doing the work and hands soft. Then roll ten putts from six feet trying to keep the same gentle rhythm. Coach watches for jerky or wristy strokes.
Coaching points
Rock the baby, do not shake it. Soft hands, shoulders rock, same speed back and through.
Pick a putt of ten to fifteen feet with some break. Players hit five putts aiming only to stop the ball within a shoe length past the hole, without worrying about the line. Then hit five more adding the read, and compare how many finish close.
Coaching points
Control the speed and the break takes care of itself. Every miss should stop within one shoe of the hole.
On a par three or an approach hole, have players pick the safe part of the green or fairway instead of the pin. Each player says the target out loud, hits, and the group notes whether the miss still left an easy next shot. Play three holes this way.
Coaching points
Aim where a miss still works. The middle of the green beats a pin you cannot reach every time.
Split the group into two teams and set stations for a chip, a pitch, and a putt. Each player plays one ball through all three, scoring a point per shot that finishes inside the target area. Rotate and total team scores.
Coaching points
Play every shot like it counts. Pick a target, commit to it, and finish your routine before you swing.
Play a short loop of holes where each player picks one club and one target per shot that keeps the ball in play, even if it means laying up. Nobody goes for a hero shot. Count how many holes finish at par or bogey or better.
Coaching points
Boring golf wins. Keep the ball in play and give yourself a putt for par on every hole.
Give each player nine balls from about twenty five yards off the green and one target hole. The goal is to get all nine to stop on the putting surface, counting how many hold. Repeat from a second spot and see if the score improves.
Coaching points
Pick a landing spot on the green, not the hole. Land it soft and let it roll.
Videos are linked, not hosted, and belong to Operation 36 Golf and Golf Ireland. Drill write-ups are by Cheat Code Coaching. Durations are what we run them at with a youth team; adjust for your group.
Run these drills with a timer on the field.
Every drill here is already in the Cheat Code Teams Practice Builder for Youth Golf. Drag them into a plan, tap Start practice, and the clock, the whistle and the next drill are on your phone and your lock screen.