Michael Thompson showed how a cupped left wrist can help from tight lies. (Ehrmann/Getty Images)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

ARCHIVE: Travis Fulton's tips from every 2013 winner on the PGA TOUR | Mental game: Thompon's attitude

On a tough Sunday afternoon at The Honda Classic, Michael Thompson used his stellar short game to win his first PGA TOUR event. Thompson is starting to make a name for himself as someone who knows how to play the most difficult courses. 

To have a great short game, you must be able to manage those tight lies around the greens. One of the things that worked to Thompson’s advantage on those tight Bermuda lies this week is that he naturally cups his left wrist at address. 

With a slightly cupped left wrist, the clubshaft has minimal forward lean, which promotes some bounce on the clubhead and moves the swings low point closer to the ball, allowing for a shallower divot.

One of the most common errors with greenside shots from the fairway is the leading edge gets stuck in the ground. At the TOUR Academies, so many times we see the club shaft excessively forward with the ball too far back in the stance when faced with these same tight scary lies. 

This setup will flatten or slightly bow the lead wrist, which exposes the leading edge and moves the swing's low point more past the ball. This combination at slower speeds inevitably leads to some sticky impact positions. Furthermore, this dynamic will often result in the ball coming off very hot, leading to eventual deceleration with the body.

With Thompson’s setup the clubface has more loft and bounce in play. This setup leads to a much shallower divot, promoting a more favorable launch angle and acceleration through the ball.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

Matt Kuchar swings his arm in a flat angle, but his shoulders are steep. (Franklin/Getty Images)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

Kuuuuuuch! Even with a little snow and cold weather in the desert, Matt Kuchar continued his great play with yet another win on the PGA TOUR. Kucher is a player that, at first glance, doesn’t do a whole lot the conventional way, from his putting style with the belly putter to his very flat backswing.

At the TOUR Academies, we get a lot of questions about the shape and appearance of Kuchar’s backswing. Matt and his swing coach Chris O’Connell have done some great things with Kuchar’s game over the years. The most apparent was Kuchar’s dramatic change in his backswing, that saw his lead arm swing much more in (and around) his body.

These movements resulted in the lead arm -- to the eye -- appearing very flat because the lead arm at the top of the swing was under the right shoulder. Most TOUR players will see their lead arm cover the right shoulder at the top, where again Kuchar's is well under it. Counter these movements with Kuchar’s tall frame and extreme forward bend at address, and you have yourself what many call the flattest backswing on the PGA TOUR.

The reality is that Kuchar is still able to maintain efficient clubhead path and clubface numbers at impact from this position at the top. One would think because he looks so flat, that he would swing extremely from the inside on the downswing. However, Kuchar doesn’t, because he is still able to hit down on it through impact with a swing direction that is square, or even maybe a bit to the left.

The counter to Kuchar’s flat left arm movements is how he uses his shoulders and hips during the backswing:

1. Kuchar's shoulder turn is what we refer to as a steep shoulder turn. Again, he is very bowed forward at address, and then turns around this angle so his shoulders are tilted well towards the ground, rather than the horizon. A good rule of thumb is if you swing flat with the arms, then the shoulders need to turn steeper so you can maintain an orientation to the ground that allows you to hit down on it. Conversely, if your shoulders turn flat to the horizon, then the lead arm needs to work more up and down to gain the similar leverage and angles back to impact.

2. In addition to the change of the lead arm and shoulder plane, Kuchar also had to learn how to use his hips differently. You may have noticed how Kuchar really stays in his spine angle as a result of keeping his hips back during the swing. If you were to slide a chair under Matt’s rear end at address, he would push that chair slightly up off its legs as a result of his right hip moving up and back during the backswing, and then again through impact because of the left hip clearing and staying back on the chair. These movements really allow for Kuchar to stay in his spine angle through impact and still get the clubhead to exit relatively left through impact.

So even though Kuchar’s lead arm is flat at the top of the swing, his shoulders and hips are steep, resulting in a combination that still achieves efficient alignments through impact.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

One of the things I like about John Merrick’s golf swing is how he uses the clubface. Merrick keeps it very square during the backswing, leading to very little clubface rotation throughout his swing.

Clubface angle can be measured when the shaft is halfway back during the backswing and parallel to the ground. At this point, a square clubface is when the toe is slightly down so the angle of the clubface (grooves) is not pointing straight up but rather down at a slight angle.

This clubface angle is an important one because it sets the stage on how Merrick and so many other PGA TOUR players deliver the clubface through impact. Players who set the clubface square during the backswing need less clubface rotation coming down through impact in order to square the face. These players can often times be more instinctive on the downswing because of the lack of concern to square the clubface.

In order to achieve a square clubface going back, here are two tips:

1) Stronger grip: Make sure your hands are on the grip where the “V” you form between the thumb and first finger points towards the right ear/shoulder. The more you move your hands to the right on the grip (for a right-handed golfer), the less likely you will be to open the clubface during the backswing. Conversely, the more you move your hands to the left on the grip, the less likely you will be to close the club face during the backswing. The grip for you is one that achieves a square clubface, which for most amateurs needs to be a little stronger. 

2) Left-hand knuckle count: Once the shaft reaches parallel to the ground during the backswing make sure you can see roughly the same knuckle count on the lead hand as you did at address. If you can see two knuckles at address on the lead hand, then you should see these same two knuckles at this half-way checkpoint during the backswing. This will teach you the right amount of rotation during the backswing in order to achieve a square clubface, just like John Merrick.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

Snedeker's full swing has continually improved under coach Todd Anderson. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

It’s fun to watch the game when a player gets into a groove where the game appears to be easy. We all know the game of golf is anything but easy, but when you watch Brandt Snedeker play right now it appears to be exactly that.

Snedeker is a player that if you were forced to draft a putter in fantasy golf, the Vanderbilt grad might be at the top of your list. His decisive approach countered with a compact and square putting stroke have always been a lethal combination. But what’s appealing to me these days is his ball-striking. Snedeker and his coach Todd Anderson have done some great things to get his full swing to match the level of his skills with the flat stick.

One of the things we can learn from Snedeker’s swing is how he takes the club up the plane during the backswing. What I like about it is how he hinges the clubhead up and rotates the lead forearm. These movements are critical because they promote a good shoulder turn and position the shaft on plane with a square clubface. This position really sets the stage for the club to come down on a good plane angle and path into impact. 

One of the most common errors amateurs make with their backswing is they don’t hinge the clubhead up but rather drag it to the inside and well under the initial plane. This usually leads to a lack of rotation in the lead forearm, creating a steeper plane with the shaft at the top of the swing. As a result, the shoulders don’t turn as well, setting the stage for the club to come down on a much steeper plane angle and inevitably an out-to-in path through impact.

So as we continue on with the 2013 season and watch Snedeker continue to make things look easy, watch closely how he hinges the wrists and rotates his lead forearm to the top of the swing. Take a picture of this position at the top if you can and begin to work to get your shaft and clubface in these alignments and watch just how easy the downswing can be.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

Phil Mickelson won last week in Phoenix using his new pencil grip. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

It seems that whenever I see a player go to the “pencil grip,” it always seems to help. Most recently, the pencil grip helped Phil Mickelson capture his 41st career victory on the PGA TOUR at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

Mickelson’s success last week in Scottsdale proves that even good putters need to shake things up to get back on track with the flat stick. What’s great about the pencil grip is it puts the trail hand in a position where it takes it out during the stroke.  It’s alignment to the putter shaft won’t allow for a “scooping” action that changes the path and face at impact. Instead, the hands become more passive, encouraging more shoulders during the stroke.

With this grip, Mickelson also has his lead hand in a different position. Historically, Mickelson always had a lot of forward press in his set-up and impact, positioning the lead hand very flat. With the pencil grip, he seems to have less forward lean in the shaft, allowing the lead wrist to be slightly cupped versus completely flat. This dynamic can allow the path and face to agree more at impact, leading to better starting direction.

So the question becomes can the “pencil” grip help you? With the perceived stigma a thing of the past and belly and long putters soon to go away, the pencil could be the answer for those looking to do something different to improve your putting.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

(Stan Badz/PGA TOUR)

You know sometimes, I think we are too critical when judging the performance of certain athletes. Tiger Woods is one of those guys that, not too long ago, was playing at a level that we have never seen before. Since that time, a lot has happened to Tiger, both on and off the course. He's revamped his swing three times, leading to much discussion and critique.

No matter who you are in this game, when changes take place in the golf swing, it takes a lot of time for them to develop and show up on the golf course. Tiger and his swing coach – Sean Foley have done a terrific job of laying out a plan to get Tiger’s distance and accuracy back in the full swing. This week at Torrey Pines, Tiger ranked first in Total Driving, which is very bad news for the rest of the field.

Tiger’s athletic ability to swing a golf club is something that most of all us can’t relate to. We can’t turn like Tiger during the backswing, create separation like Tiger on the downswing, and et cetera. However, what we can do is learn from his approach to getting better. Throughout Tiger’s career, his approach to getting better at the game of golf is second to none.

Here's a few things to apply to this approach.

1. The first step to getting better at golf is to understand what you need to do to get better. In order to do this, an evaluation of your game needs to take place with video and ball flight data. From here, the instructor’s job is to lay out a plan with good information -- in the right order -- to specifically address these needs.

2. Once the new concepts are identified, then the golfer needs to go to work with repetition learning how these new skills are changing ball flight. Ideally, this is to be done with some supervision so you don’t get off track. Self-discovery from the student is paramount during this time, leading to ownership of the new skills.

3. As the new skill set is coming along, it’s then critical to transfer these things to the golf course. This can be the most difficult step, and it's easier to achieve with a well-defined practice plan that has the same variables and interference as the golf course; for example, consequences, competition, people watching, weather, etc. This step -- more than the previous two -- is why Tiger has been successful with three different golf swings.

4. Finally, the new skills are ready to show up on the golf course. At this time, confidence has grown, and you should be able to be more instinctive on the golf course with the new skills. Once you feel the new skills are automated, you can then begin to work on developing the next set of skills.

The reality is, you can’t rush this process. It takes discipline, reps and time to develop new skills, so let’s all get to work.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

I get a lot of questions about Brian Gay’s golf swing on how he doesn’t really appear to be hinging his wrists during the backswing. Much like Steve Stricker, Gay is a player that doesn’t aggressively hinge his wrist to create an apparent angle between the lead forward and the club shaft. This lack of wrist hinge is one of the reasons why Gay doesn’t create a lot of clubhead speed but yet last week in California his driver was going further than in the past.

Recently, Gay started working on his game with Grant Waite and Joe Mayo in an effort to get his game back on track. One of the things they have done is maximize the efficiency of Gay’s limited clubhead speed with his driver. To do this, Gay had to change his attack angle with his driver to more “up” through impact versus “down."  As a result, his driving distance increased significantly last week from last year’s average. 

In order to maximize distance off the tee, your attack angle needs to be slightly up through impact and not down. Most amateurs hit fairly down on it with the driver, which increases the amount of spin, which robs them of precious yards.  Although the PGA TOUR average is a mere 1-degree down with the driver, changing that to 1-degree up can mean more distance without increasing club head speed.

To encourage a positive (up) attack angle with the driver here are two things to consider:

1) Ball position adjacent to the lead shoulder: The lead shoulder is the low point of the swing arc so tee it relatively high and well forward in the stance so you promote hitting the ball closer to the low point.

2) Shoulders closed: One of the most common errors with the driver is to open the shoulders. If your shoulders are open then you are promoting a swing direction to the left which is not conducive to an upward attack angle. Therefore, most players need to feel closed with a swing direction to the right.

Although this topic can be a little confusing it highlights the importance of the attack angle through impact which can be often times overlooked. Therefore, I encourage you to learn what your attack angle is with your driver and then determine where you need to go to maximize your clubhead speed.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

Not a bad start for Russell Henley, who in his first week on the PGA TOUR won the Sony Open in Hawaii and was just terrific down the stretch on Sunday, birdieing the last five holes to win by three.

One of the things that Henley has worked on over the last year is making his golf swing less "armsy." This can be a very common habit for many players resulting in bad timing and loss of power through impact. The fix lies in the ability to tie the arm swing more to the movement of the body -- both during the backswing and through impact.

Many times this week you could see how Henley kept his lead arm attached to his chest. It almost appeared as if his left arm couldn’t move unless his torso turned. When a player gets armsy or disconnected you will see the lead arm come off the chest and move independently of the body.

A good drill to help feel and exaggerate this is to make a straight line with your lead arm and club shaft at address. From there, attach your lead arm to the side of your torso creating a bit of pressure in the armpit. Maintain this pressure point and straight line and hit some half to three-quarter shots off a tee with what feels like very passive hands. The lead hand is really the key because it allows the lead arm and club shaft to stay in line. You may notice if the lead hand becomes overly active it will disrupt this straight line immediately sending the club head around the trail hip with no shoulder turn. When kept in-line, the shoulders will have to turn in order for the club head to travel around the body.

This is a simple way to feel the body more as the engine of the swing. Once you accomplish the smaller swings, then allow for a bigger swing where the wrists fully hinge during the backswing and re-hinge after impact. A good wrist hinge will allow the club head to work more up and down but again, you will notice how the club shaft and lead arm maintain a sense of alignment and tied to the body. 

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

The first tournament of the year is finally in the books and Dustin Johnson is back on top after capturing the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. 

You get the feeling that with Johnson fully healthy again this could be a very special year for the long-driving young American.

Not only does Johnson display great power, he can be extremely accurate. One of the positions that sets the stage for this potent combination is when the club shaft gets halfway back during the backswing and parallel to the ground. At this point, Johnson’s club shaft sits relatively parallel to his stance line. This alignment and relationship to the stance line is important for accuracy as he is able to get the entire shaft on plane immediately. 

One of the most common errors for amateurs at this point in the swing is to get the clubhead too far behind the hands. This gets the clubhead under the plane and requires more compensation to re-establish the proper swing plane.

With the club shaft on-plane early in the backswing, Johnson also fully assembles his wrist hinge. At this point, his right wrist is bent towards the back of the wrist with the left wrist towards the top of the wrist. In addition, you will also notice how his right elbow is bent to support the wrists, creating significant angles between the club shaft and both forearms. These angles are critical in the creation of power.

This position during the backswing is one that most all of us can learn from and achieve. With a solid wrist hinge and the club shaft on-plane, you, too, can get off to a good start in the swing to produce power and accuracy.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.

Chris Condon/PGA TOUR

Brandt Snedeker ranks first in Strokes Gained-Putting on the PGA TOUR.

By Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction, PGA TOUR Academy

All I want for Christmas is a putting stroke like Brandt Snedeker. In fact, go ahead and throw in his overall approach to putting under the tree as well. It was this approach that propelled Snedeker to the 2012 TOUR Championship and FedExCup title.

What I like about Snedeker’s approach to putting is just how committed and streamlined everything is. Most of the time, Snedeker looks as if he is just playing a casual round of golf with his buddies, with no stress or expectation levels. He just steps up to the putt, aims the face, gets comfortable with the body, takes a look and then lets it go. It seems so simple, but for those of us that have played this game competitively, we know this can be very difficult to do.

To get to this level, you have to work on your approach and overall routine. Go to the practice green and play 18 holes, with every hole as a par 2. Play this course over and over, with a goal of establishing a personal best. Learn from these rounds and establish an approach to putting that you can rely on.

In addition to Snedeker’s approach to putting, his stroke is also a big component. At the TOUR Academies, we get a lot of questions about Snedeker’s putting stroke because it is not the long, fluid stroke that we have been accustomed to over the years from great putters. Rather, Brandt’s stroke is like his routine: It's short and quick -- but very effective.

Regardless the type of stroke, one of the things that make Snedeker such a good putter is his ability to align the face to the intended target at impact. When you can do this, then you can hit the putt solid and start the ball on-line.

So as we wrap up year No. 4 of my blog on PGATOUR.COM, I challenge all of you to take a page out of Brandt Snedeker’s approach to the game and work on your putting this offseason.

Travis Fulton is the Director of Instruction at the TOUR Academies at TPC Sawgrass and the World Golf Village. For more information on the TOUR Academy, click here.