David’s Golf Drills · approach
Random Green Challenge
Make approach practice feel more like golf: a changing distance, a club choice, and one chance. Random Green Challenge turns a range or simulator session into an honest test of your stock shots.
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Irons and wedges; visible targets; launch monitor optional
20–40 balls, or an eighteen-shot game
Club selection and first-attempt approach control
Why random targets make approach practice more useful
A bucket of balls hit with one iron can help you become comfortable with that club, but it removes much of the decision-making that happens on the course. Real approaches ask for a new distance, a new club choice, and one attempt. Random Green Challenge puts those decisions back into the practice session.
After every logged shot, the app selects another target from your chosen distance range. The task is simple: read the number, choose the club, play one ball, and record the result. You do not get a second or third ball to tidy up the first attempt before the target changes.
That structure can reveal a different problem from fixed-target practice. A golfer may strike repeated 100-yard wedges well yet struggle to produce the same shot after a 150-yard iron. Practicing the change of task is a way to test whether a stock shot is available when it is needed, rather than only after several calibration swings.
What problem the result pattern can reveal
A repeated short pattern may suggest you are choosing clubs from your best-ever carry instead of your usual carry, though contact and conditions can also play a part. A repeated left or right pattern points to another question about aim, delivery, or target choice. The app preserves the outcomes so you can investigate the pattern instead of relying on memory.
It does not diagnose a swing fault or promise a certain number of greens in regulation on the course. A simulated green, a range target, and a real green are different tests. Use the same scoring definition within a session and compare sessions played under reasonably similar conditions.
Set up your random-distance session
- Choose a practical range
Open Advanced settings. The default range is 80–160 yards, in 10-yard steps. Adjust the endpoints and step to the targets, clubs, and safe practice space you actually have.
- Decide what counts as a green
On a simulator, use the visible green result. At a range, choose a recognizable target area before the shot. Made means on the green or agreed target area; it does not mean holed.
- Select carry recording if useful
Record carry distance is optional. Keep it on if a launch monitor or simulator supplies numbers, or turn it off for simple directional logging. You can leave the carry unset on an individual shot.
- Start and play the number
Tap Start session, read the target, and choose the club you would use for that shot. Use a brief pre-shot routine, hit one ball, and observe where it finishes.
- Log, then accept the next target
Set measured carry on the slider before tapping the 3×3 result pad. The next target appears after logging. Use Undo for an accidental entry and Skip if a target cannot be practiced in your setup.
- Finish and review the whole block
Stop when you choose. Twenty to forty scored balls is one session idea, but the app does not require that total. Add notes about the range, ball, target size, and any conditions that affected the test.
| Long left | Long | Long right |
| Left | Made | Right |
| Short left | Short | Short right |
This is an instructional diagram, not an app screenshot. In chipping and pitching, Made means on target; in Random Green it means on the green; in Aim putting it means made.
Carry and green result answer different questions
Carry is how far the ball flies before landing. The directional result describes where it finished relative to the target. A 140-yard carry that misses a 140-yard green to the right should be recorded as carry 140 and Right. A matching distance alone is not a green hit.
The carry window in Advanced settings controls how the app interprets a number-only voice entry as short or long. It does not decide left, right, or Made. An explicit outcome plus measured carry gives a clearer record when both are available. Keep your definition stable rather than broadening the target whenever a shot misses.
A quick hands-free tutorial
In a supported browser, turn on Hands-free during the session and allow microphone access if you want voice entry. You can say “short left,” “137 left,” or “made 146.” The app can also recognize commands such as repeat, skip, undo, and hands-free off. Check the confirmation, especially around other golfers or simulator noise.
If speech recognition is unavailable, use the on-screen slider and pad. Voice is a convenience, not a requirement. Avoid assigning a guessed carry to make the record look complete; the drill still works when only the observed outcome is logged.
How to practice at a range or on a simulator
On a simulator, use the displayed carry and target result, and keep the wind or difficulty settings consistent when comparing sessions. Random Green Challenge supplies the practice distances; it is not an automatic connection that controls another simulator’s target system. Set or interpret the simulator target as your setup requires.
At a range, choose targets you can judge accurately. A narrow range with clearly marked flags may justify a smaller distance range or a larger step. If a requested distance falls between markers, use an identifiable target zone rather than pretending you can measure an exact landing with the naked eye.
For a skill you have not established yet, return to a fixed-distance drill first. The chipping and pitching pages give you a place to calibrate one stock shot. Then use this random session to practice recalling that option among changing numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Does the target change after every ball?
Yes. Log the result and the app supplies the next random distance. That is the defining difference from the fixed chipping and pitching drills.
Does the app need a launch monitor?
No. Use observed directional outcomes at an appropriate target. A launch monitor adds measured carry information.
Should I keep using the same club?
Choose the club that suits the new distance. If every target can be reached with the same shot, widen the range or use different settings when you want to practice club selection.