Golf

This is a shooting drill inspired by a post I saw on basketball-coaching@yahoogroups.com by Coach Ray. His email address is ratwod@yahoo.com.

Its a fun way to give the players a LOT of shots and maintain a competitive atmosphere. We use this game for our shootaround or while waiting for a bus.

Below are three "golf courses". If you are blessed with a huge gym with three adjacent courts, you could play them consecutively. Otherwise, you could play a different course each shootaround.

Basic Rules of Play

It isn't necessary for each player to start at hole 1. They can start at any hole just as long as they do all the course. Each player shoots from his "hole" and tries to make the shot. If he does, he just scored a hole in one! If he misses, he must try again from wherever the rebound lands on the floor and rolls to stop. Now, the player is allowed to hustle after the ball and stop it as soon as he can to get the best next shot. So, if he hustles, he can contain the damage of a bad rebound somewhat. The worst shots are those that are short of the basket and land behind it. The next shot may be nearly impossible. Once the shot is made, the player notes his score and moves to the next hole. When all holes have been completed, the player goes to the center circle and reports his score. The low score wins.

Fun Variations

1. Play the game with two man teams. Player 1 must take all the shots required at given hole to make his shot and then it is his partner's turn. When both have scored, both move to the next hole. The game goes faster with 2-man teams because the partner can field rebounds. And, you have fewer cases of any given hole getting crowded.

2. Using 2-man teams, declare the first team to finish as the winner and don't count the number of shots. Players shoot, rebound and score as fast as they can.

This course has the "around the world" concept and presents many useful shooting spots. To add spice, declare that certain shots must be bank shots, swishes (touch no rim) or shot over an obstacle (the coach).

This is more like golf in that it begins with a very long shot with low odds of going in. The rebounds will be quite long and dangerous. Smart players "lay up" the long shots by shooting for the backboard and making the rebound as predictable as possible. That way, the second shot is usually pretty easy. Short shots kill you.

This nine hole course offers a fast flow around the court and ends with a big half court finishing shot.