Villegas gets lateral en route to Honda Classic victory

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Camilo Villegas now has three PGA TOUR victories.

All week, Camilo Villegas seemed to be in full control with his full swing and short game to conquer the very difficult PGA National.

There are certainly a lot of things you could pick from Villegas game to talk about, as the Colombian is one of the more flashy players on the PGA TOUR with some interesting characteristics. Of course, I could talk about the greens-reading process Villegas made famous by getting down on one leg with the other one extended from behind; however after some thought, I really didn't want anyone to pull a hamstring or not be able to get up from this crazy position. So, I decided this week to stay with the full swing and discuss a key move that I think we can all learn from the 2010 Honda Classic winner.

Listen to Travis Fulton

PGA TOUR Golf Academy's Travis Fulton breaks down the keys to Camilo Villegas' win at PGA National on the PGA TOUR Network (XM 146, SIRIUS 209). Click to listen

This specific move takes place during the initial downswing and is a key component that so many of us struggle with. When analyzing Camilo's swing you will notice the first thing that moves on the downswing is his lower body. In weeks past, we have discussed how to separate the lower body rotation from the upper body to help increase power at impact. For example, at impact your hips should be 20-40 degrees open and the shoulders approximately 0-10 degrees open.

What helps this separation is to start the downswing with a slight lateral weight shift in the lower body. This weight shift is the true transition from backswing to downswing and positions the body to aggressively accelerate through impact by allowing the upper-bodies mass to be stored to support the creation of speed. A proper shift sees the player move the left hip laterally as initiated by the pelvis "gliding" from right to left.

By starting the downswing with this lateral shift, the golf club has a great chance to respond to correct angle of approach into the ball. This move is critical and is one that is most often abused by the amateur player. If you don't shift to start the downswing, then it is almost a given the golf club will error too steep on the downswing disrupting any chance of differentiation between the hips and shoulders at impact.

A good drill we use at the TOUR Academies is the "bump drill". Position a shaft in the ground about a fist width from the lead hip. This distance from the lead hip will allow for enough range of motion for the lead knee and hip to move towards the target to start the downswing. Here's how you do it:

• Take it to the top of the swing and pause for 1 second.

• Start the downswing by allowing the lead hip to move lateral towards the shaft.

• Once the hip bumps the shaft, then rotate the body to the full finish position.

Again, this is a lower-body weight shift so make sure the upper body is not moving lateral towards the target as well. When done properly, this will start the separation between the upper and lower body to a more powerful and efficient impact position just like Camilo Villegas.

Just Because

Second week of March already. Um...what happened to February?

The NCAA tournament is near and let me tell you it can't get here soon enough. Is it just me or has American Idol found all the talent already in America? I mean come on, this year is pretty bad. Why does every singer look like they are standing on a ledge overlooking a very deep cliff? I must admit, I am bit disappointed in American Idol this year as this usually helps the pain until football season again.

Oh ya, did you hear Brett Farve is not sure if he is going to retire or not? Shocker!

Free agency has started in the NFL and like so many of you, I am watching each move or lack of my team makes. I always enjoy watching the expert analysis this time of the year as they predict what each team needs in the way of free agency and the draft. With so many bad teams in the NFL last year, picking what these teams need is like predicting the weather in Florida during the summer -- everything and anything. Unfortunately, my 'Hawks fall into this category again this summer.

Round 3 of the PGA TOUR in Florida hits the TPC Blue Monster at Doral and the forecast looks good. Spring is finally here -- darn groundhog.

Travis Fulton is PGA TOUR Academy's Director of Instruction. His views do not necessarily reflect the views of the PGA TOUR. To learn more about the TOUR Academy, click here.