How to Make a Foul Shot Line in Your Driveway

If you want to excel at a skill, practice, practice and practice some more. That’s especially true for shooting foul shots, also called free throws, in basketball. All you need is just a ball and a hoop. You don’t need a gym membership or a local court to perfect your shot; instead, make a foul shot line in your driveway. When the game depends on making your free throws, you will be ready.

Things You'll Need

  • Tape measure
  • Yardstick
  • Chalk
  • Level
  • String
  • Duct or electrical tape (optional)
  • Court-marking kit (optional)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Measure 6 feet on each side of your basketball hoop, directly under your backboard. This procedure is the same whether your basketball hoop is freestanding or mounted on your garage. Using your yardstick as a straightedge, draw, with chalk, a line that is 12 feet long under your backboard. As with all lines you will draw, use a level, if needed, to make sure they are straight.

    • 2

      Draw two 15-foot lines perpendicular to the line under your backboard, one at each end, extending away from the front of the hoop.

    • 3

      Connect the two 15-foot lines with another 12-foot line. When you stand behind the final line drawn, you have a rectangle that includes a regulation-distance foul line on your driveway.

    • 4

      Tie a string to your chalk that measures exactly 6 feet long after it is attached. Walk 6 feet along the foul line and stand at the middle of your line; ask someone to hold the string on the ground at that mark exactly halfway along the foul line.

    • 5

      Start at one end of the foul line and draw a semicircle, in chalk, that stops at the other end of the foul line. You will create a regulation 6-foot arc to complete your standard basketball court key.

    • 6

      Cover your chalk lines with colored duct or electrical tape if you plan to use your foul line temporarily. Use a court-marking kit to paint over the chalk if you want a permanent foul line and key.