The Up-and-Down Competition
The Up-and-Down Competition is a scoring skills drill from The Adaptive Golfer. Play two rounds of six varied short-game positions, scoring each up-and-down out of a maximum of 12. It trains short game integration, and your result is measured as Practice Strokes Gained against your handicap band.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Here's the Up and Down Competition. It turns your short game into a scored test, so you build skill that actually shows up on the course. Set six balls at six different positions. Use different lies, different distances from ten to forty feet, and different amounts of green to work with. Make at least two of them genuinely hard. A tight lie, a steep slope, or a bunker shot. Easy positions inflate your score without building anything. From each position, chip or pitch using your one motion system, then putt out. Score two points for an up and down in two. Get up and down in two, and that's the full two points. This is the result you are training for. Three strokes scores one point. Four or more scores zero. Play two full rounds of all six positions and record both totals out of twelve. For a mid handicap, aim to score eight to ten out of twelve. Log every rep in The Adaptive Golfer.
How to do The Up-and-Down Competition
- Set six balls at different positions — different lies, distances (10–40 feet), and amounts of green — representing what you actually face on the course.
- From each position, chip or pitch using the one-motion system and the Chapter 10 decision tree, then putt out.
- Score 2 points for an up-and-down in two, 1 for three strokes, 0 for four or more.
- Play two rounds of all six positions and record both totals out of 12.
Choosing six easy positions, which inflates the score without building skill. Make at least two positions genuinely difficult — a tight lie, a severe slope, or a bunker shot.
▲ LEVEL UP
Include one position outside the one-motion framework (requiring a lob wedge or creative recovery), scored at double value.
How The Up-and-Down Competition is scored
Score points up to a maximum of 12.
Here is what each handicap band should be hitting (points, higher is better):
| HANDICAP BAND | TARGET |
|---|---|
| Scratch (0–2) | — |
| 3–7 | 10–11 |
| 8–13 | 8–10 |
| 14–19 | 6–8 |
| 20+ | 3–5 |
Your result is converted to Practice Strokes Gained against your band, so you always know if you are above, at, or below where you should be.
Log each rep and see whether you are above, at, or below your band — not just the target.
The 5-pillar diagnosis tells you whether this drill is even the thing costing you strokes.
A four-week plan picks your drills and recalculates as your numbers move.
As seen in Chapter 25 — Drill 9 of The Adaptive Golfer. The drills, benchmarks, and plans in the app are built on the published methodology.
The Up-and-Down Competition FAQ
Play two rounds of six varied short-game positions, scoring each up-and-down out of a maximum of 12.
A mid-handicap golfer (8 to 13) should aim for 8 to 10 points.
It builds your scoring skills, specifically short game integration.
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Log The Up-and-Down Competition in The Adaptive Golfer and see your Practice Strokes Gained against your handicap band.
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