From a 20 to a 10 Handicap: An 8-Week Golf Practice Plan

Getting to a 20 handicap usually happens faster than golfers expect. You learn how to get around the course, limit disaster holes, and occasionally string together a solid stretch of bogeys or pars.

But the jump from 20 to 10 is different.

This is where most golfers hit a plateau. It’s not for lack of trying. Many times, the issue comes from practicing the wrong things in the wrong way. The difference between a 20 and a 10 handicap isn’t just ten shots on the scorecard. It’s how often certain mistakes show up, how predictable contact becomes, and how well big numbers are avoided.

At this stage, improvement doesn’t come from hitting more balls. It comes from:

• Knowing which parts of your game matter most
• Structuring practice around those areas
• Using feedback to make sure your work is actually translating to the course

We’ll start by showing you what statistically separates a 20 handicap from a 10. Then we’ll walk you through a clear 8-week practice plan, built around specific focuses, drills, and realistic practice time so you know exactly what to work on and why.

What’s the Real Difference Between a 20 and a 10 Handicap?

When golfers think about handicaps, they usually think in terms of scores. But scores are just the result. The real differences show up in a few key performance areas.

Across multiple published datasets from Shot Scope, Arccos, and aggregated amateur tracking data, the gap between a 20 and a 10 handicap consistently shows up in four places: tee shots, iron contact, short-game efficiency, and putting consistency.

Here’s a simplified look at how those differences typically show up on the course:

Performance Area	20 Handicap	10 Handicap	Why It Matters
Fairways Hit	~40–43%	~48–50%	More balls in play means fewer recovery shots and penalty strokes
Greens in Regulation	~22–25%	~35–40%	Roughly 2–3 more greens per round for a 10 handicap
Up & Down Rate	~20–22%	~30–32%	Fewer missed greens turn into doubles
Putts per Round	~36	~34	Fewer three-putts and better lag putting
Double Bogeys or Worse	Frequent	Significantly fewer	Big numbers are the fastest way to stall progress

The Four Areas This Practice Plan Focuses On

Instead of trying to “fix everything,” this plan focuses on the four areas that actually separate a 20 from a 10 handicap.

You’ll notice that we start with tee shot control but that’s not because the driver is the most important club in the bag.

However, if you’re tee shot is out of bounds on every tee box even if you’re an amazing putter you’re going to struggle to make your way to a 10 handicap.

1. Tee Shot Control

While distance is important to move from a 20 to a 10 handicap the goal of this practice is going to be hitting more fairways, keeping the ball in play. It’s about start line, clubface control, and setting yourself up for a green in regulation.

2. Iron Low Point Control

Better players control where the club bottoms out. This leads to more solid contact, better distance control, and more greens hit.

3. Short Game Contact & Launch Control

Inside 50 yards, the difference isn’t creativity. It’s predictable contact and knowing how the ball will launch and roll. This is how bogeys replace doubles.

4. Putting Consistency

It’s great to sink a couple of long putts, but the goal here is more about creating a simple repeatable stroke. You’ll learn speed control, starting the ball on line, and eliminating three-putts.

8-Week Practice Plan: From 20 Handicap to 10 Handicap

This 20 to 10 handicap practice plan is structured so you always have:

• One primary focus
• One featured drill that reinforces it
• Enough repetition to actually see change

There is enough material here to cover eight total weeks of practice, with two 45-minute sessions per week. You’ll lightly maintain other skills while keeping one clear primary focus each week.

Below is a basic overview of the entire plan and what you’ll work on while going from a 20 handicap to a 10 handicap. Each phase has a different focus so your skills develop across your entire game.

Weeks	Primary Focus	Key Skill Being Trained	Drill of the Week
1–2	Driver Control	Keeping tee shots in play	Transition Speed Drill / Swing Path Barrier Drill
3–4	Iron Play	Low point control & compression	Towel Drill / Line Drill
5–6	Wedges & Short Game	Distance control & shot selection	3-Shot Wedge System / Low–Mid–High Short Game Shots
7–8	Putting	Face control & speed control	Forearm Connection Drill / Ladder Drill

Having a HackMotion to work with during the process will make things a bit easier. You’ll be able to see if you are staying on track and watch progress along the way. It’s like having a coach with you throughout the process.

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Weeks 1–2: Driver Control (Keep the Ball in Play)

Before you can worry about distance, the ball has to stay in play.

As a 20 handicap, most of your lost strokes off the tee come from penalties, punch-outs, and recovery shots. A 10 handicap still misses fairways, but those misses stay playable. These first two weeks are about learning how to deliver the driver with control so you can actually play the hole the way it was designed.

Week 1 Focus: Faster, More Controlled Transitions

You’re not trying to swing harder everywhere. You’re training your hands to move faster at the start of the downswing, then letting the club release naturally.

Drill of the Week: Split-Hand Transition Speed Drill

This drill trains you to apply speed in the correct part of the swing instead of forcing it late.

Using a light alignment stick allows you to move fast and stop fast, which naturally improves sequencing and weight shift without overthinking mechanics. When you pair this with HackMotion, you can also make sure increased speed doesn’t come with excess flipping or loss of wrist control.

Week 2 Focus: Driver Swing Path and Start Line Control

Once you can create speed more efficiently, the next step is delivering the club on a predictable path. If your swing path changes day to day, face control becomes guesswork.

Drill of the Week: Swing Path Barrier Drill

This drill gives you instant feedback on whether your swing path matches the geometry of the driver swing.

By setting up a simple barrier, you’re forced to move the club on a more functional path instead of swinging steep and out-to-in or excessively shallow. HackMotion helps reinforce this by pairing path awareness with consistent wrist and clubface delivery.

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Weeks 3–4: Iron Contact (Low Point Control + Compression)

With irons, the biggest separator between a 20 handicap and a 10 handicap is simple: your strike becomes predictable.

When you consistently hit ball first (and the ground after), your distances stabilize, your misses get smaller, and you hit more greens without needing a “perfect” swing.

These two weeks train the skills that make that happen.

Week 3 Focus: Compression (Better Strike + Forward Shaft Lean)

If you tend to hit thin, hit it high on the face, or feel like your irons randomly fly short, this is where you start fixing it.

Compression isn’t a magic trick it’s just delivering the club with the handle slightly forward so you strike the ball more solidly.

Drill of the Week: Towel Compression Drill

This drill gives you immediate feedback if you release too early or “flip” into the ball. The towel acts like a barrier behind the ball if you hit the towel first, you’re losing shaft lean and bottoming out too early.

HackMotion fits perfectly here because it helps you train the wrist conditions that support compression (without you guessing what you did).

Week 4 Focus: Low Point Control (Divot After the Ball)

Compression gets much easier when your low point is consistent. If you hit fat shots, thin shots, or feel like you “guess” where the ground is, this week is for you.

Drill of the Week: Line Drill (Low Point Control)

This is one of the best drills in golf because it’s simple and brutally honest. Your job is to strike the ground on or just after the line.

HackMotion helps here because low point isn’t just weight shift it’s also how your wrists manage the radius of the swing. If your lead wrist adds extension early, your arc widens too soon and the low point shifts back.

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Weeks 5–6: Wedge Distance Control & Short-Game Scoring

By this stage of the plan, you’ve improved tee shot control and iron contact. Now we shift attention to where scores are actually saved: wedges and short game.

These two weeks are about:

• Predictable wedge distances
• Fewer wasted shots inside 100 yards
• Turning missed greens into routine pars

Week 5 Focus: Wedge Distance Control

Drill of the Week: 3-Shot Wedge System

Instead of guessing yardages, you’ll build three repeatable wedge shots that cover most scoring distances.

• Shot 1 (Short): Stand closer, minimal wrist hinge, torso-driven motion
• Shot 2 (Medium): Slightly farther from the ball, connected arms, moderate hinge
• Shot 3 (Long): Full backswing and follow-through at a slower overall tempo

Week 6 Focus: Short-Game Shot Selection (Low, Mid, High)

Drill of the Week: 3 Short-Game Shots

This week is about choosing the right shot, not the fanciest one.

• Low Shot: Stand closer, shaft more upright, wrists stable and “down”.
• Mid Shot: Neutral setup, small hinge early, turn through with the body.
• High Shot: Slightly wider stance, open face, maintain lead wrist extension.

The priority is learning when to use each shot and committing to it. This video explains exactly how to complete each of these shots so you have more selection in your shots.

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Weeks 7–8: Putting Consistency & Speed Control

At this point in the plan, the biggest scoring gains come from eliminating three-putts and turning makeable chances into routine conversions.

Better putters are not necessarily better green readers. They control face angle, strike, and speed more consistently.

These two weeks focus on building that reliability.

Week 7 Focus: Wrist Stability & Face Control

Drill of the Week: Forearm Connection Putting Drill

This drill trains your arms, body, and putter to move together, reducing excess wrist motion that causes inconsistent starts and poor speed.

By placing a soft object between your forearms:

• Excess wrist breakdown is immediately exposed
• The stroke becomes more connected
• Speed is controlled by body motion instead of hands

This is a foundational drill for building a repeatable stroke under pressure. Wear your HackMotion while working on this drill to check for imperfections in wrist angle through impact.

Week 8 Focus: Speed Control & Distance Awareness

Drill of the Week: Putting Ladder Drill

This drill develops elite speed control, which is one of the biggest separators between a 20 and a 10 handicap.

You’ll train your ability to:

• Roll the ball progressively farther
• Make small, controlled changes in stroke length
• Avoid big distance misses that lead to three-putts

This is a skill-based drill, not a technical one.

10 Tips for Succeeding with This Practice Plan

Editing this practice plan to work for your individual needs is fine. However, it moves at this pace and in this order for a reason.

Here are ten tips for succeeding and seeing the results you’re looking for.

1. Stick to the weekly focus instead of jumping ahead: Each week builds on the last. Trust the order rather than chasing the skill you like most. If it feels slow it’s because you are trying to develop mastery not just awareness of the individual skills.
2. Use HackMotion during drills, not during every swing: Measure wrist motion while training a specific skill, then remove it and blend the feel into full swings as you would on the course.
3. Match your intent to the drill of the week: If the week is about low point control or wrist stability, judge success by strike quality, not ball flight or distance.
4. Resist the urge to hit full shots all the time: Partial swings, slow rehearsals, and exaggerated feels are what actually change wrist patterns.
5. Let wrist mechanics guide contact, not added effort: Better compression and control come from wrist position and sequencing, not swinging harder.
6. Use the maintenance sections exactly as written: They preserve earlier gains without overwhelming your main focus for the week.
7. Track small wins, not perfect outcomes: Fewer fat shots, tighter wedge dispersion, or fewer three-putts are signs the plan is working. Try not to focus too much on scoring while you are working through the practice plan.
8. Use HackMotion to verify consistency across sessions: The goal is repeating the same wrist behavior week to week, not chasing new numbers.
9. Avoid over-practicing one skill in a single session: When fatigue sets in, wrist control usually breaks down first. If you’re tired pick up the rest of the session another day.
10. Treat the optional third session as skill reinforcement, not grind time: Light reps, slow swings, and feel-based work are more valuable than volume. If you have a few extra minutes go for it but don’t push.

Additional Short Game Drills

When you start getting your tee shots in play and your irons are more consistently hitting greens, the short game is where you’ll want to focus the majority of your time.

You can and should add additional practice sessions focusing specifically on becoming more efficient around the greens.

To make those practice sessions more dynamic, here are three additional short game drills to help you.

Plane Chipping Drill

This drill trains you to move the club on a neutral plane during chipping, which is essential for consistent contact and predictable launch.

By giving you immediate feedback when the club moves too far inside or outside, it helps eliminate glancing strikes and inconsistent lows around the green.

Bunker Wrist Extension Rehearsal

This drill teaches the correct wrist conditions for greenside bunker shots, where maintaining loft is critical for getting the ball out cleanly.

By training lead-wrist extension at setup and through the swing, you improve your ability to use the club’s bounce and produce consistent height and carry from the sand.

Trail Arm Only Chipping Drill

This drill isolates the trail arm and wrist to improve club control, radius management, and strike quality in the short game.

It helps prevent the club from dropping behind you in the backswing and encourages a more stable, connected delivery through impact.

Final Thoughts

This practice plan to go from a 20 to a 10 handicap works because it focuses on the skills that actually separate a 20 handicap from a 10: control off the tee, predictable contact, reliable wedges, and consistent putting. The structure keeps your practice intentional, and the drills give you clear purpose every session.

If you want confidence that your work is translating into real change, HackMotion gives you feedback on the wrist mechanics that control the clubface and strike. Follow the plan, train with intention, and let the process do the work.