How about Marc Leishman sneaking into the winner's circle to win The Travelers Championship? It was a bizarre finish, as Charley Hoffman finished double bogey-bogey to lose by one.

Leishman is a player that many of you may not know a lot about, but he was the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year in 2009. It will be interesting to see what the big-hitting Aussie can do next. One of the things I like about Leishman's swing is how his driver swing exits up around his lead shoulder. This exit plane is a great indicator that he is hitting his driver on a good attack angle.

TRAVIS' TIP

One of the keys to the driver is to create an attack angle through impact that is relatively level to the ground. This sweeping motion off the tee allows players like Leishman to launch the ball with minimal spin. When this happens, you will often see the golf club exit -- when viewed from the target line  -- around the lead shoulder.

The most common error with the driver is to swing the club on too steep of an attack angle. This angle can create a lot of spin and rob players of power and consistency. When this happens, the club will usually exit more to the left and well below the lead shoulder. As a result, ball flight will usually be high and to the right.

If this is you, focus on allowing the club to exit higher and up around the lead shoulder. This exit plane will promote a more favorable attack angle, with the driver through impact leading to a more powerful and playable draw off the tee.

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.

Another major and yet another young American captures his first major championship. Although no one was really paying attention to Webb Simpson at the beginning of the final round on Sunday, in the end it really doesn’t feel like a big surprise that Simpson is this year’s U.S. Open champion. Simpson is a guy that over the years has continued to improve in all phases of the game. His golf swing has gotten better, his short game has improved, and from the very beginning Simpson has been a pioneer on how to operate the belly putter. This week at The Olympic Club, Simpson needed to be polished in all of these areas with none being more impressive then that nifty little wedge shot he hit from the deep greenside rough on the 72nd hole to save par. TRAVIS' TIP When hitting these delicate little wedge shots from the deep greenside rough, here are a few things to consider. First, it is important to lean the shaft forward with the club face slightly open. With the shaft forward, allow the body to move a little forward with it so the butt of the club is pointing just left of the belt buckle. This will solidify that the ball position is a bit back in the stance. Secondly, pay attention to where your sternum is in relationship to the ball. One of the most common errors at address is the sternum gets too far behind the ball. Where you position your sternum at address will greatly influence where it is at impact. With this shot it is important that the sternum is over to slightly ahead of the ball towards the target. In addition, allow the weight to favor the lead foot – this combination of sternum alignment and weight forward are critical when executing this shot. Finally, during the motion it is helpful to keep the lead arm attached and close to the body. The arm swing should be kept to a minimum, putting more emphasis on hinging the clubhead up quickly. Oftentimes during this shot the arm swing will get quickly disconnected and too long during the backswing creating an environment where the attack angle into impact is too shallow countered with the opportunity to decelerate. Therefore, with a conservative arm swing and an aggressive wrist hinge, you are ready to not only accelerate with the torso but have the necessary built in steep attack angle to make efficient ball contact. 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.

It almost seems unfair watching Dustin Johnson swing the club. The guy has a swing that creates so much speed and power, but yet he makes it look so effortless. One of the things Dustin does so well to create this efficient power by using the ground to compress the golf ball against it.

In order to compress the ball at impact, you must learn to lean the club shaft forward at impact. One of the things that all PGA TOUR players do the same is they all return the club shaft forward in the full swing. Dustin is a player that creates a bit more forward lean at impact because of his closed clubface at the top of his swing.

One of the most common errors during the golf swing is returning the club shaft leaning away from the target. This scooping action can rob you of power because of the additional loft added to the club face at impact. This dynamic is not a desirable one in the full swing, and can lead a player to over swing in order to create additional power.

TRAVIS' TIP
At the TOUR Academies, one of the things we will do to teach a forward-leaning club shaft is hit punch shots. A punch shot is a lower trajectory shot where the initial launch angle will be more penetrating. In order for this happen the club shaft must lean forward, creating a de-lofting effect to the club face.

A punch shot should be viewed as a three-quarter type of shot, not only during the backswing, but also the finish. This condensed and compact structure can help player stay more committed to hitting down and compressing the ball against the ground. In fact, oftentimes I will encourage my students to exaggerate this feeling by trying to keep the arm swing and club shaft down well into post-impact. By sustaining the down will past the ball, it will encourage a forward-leaning club shaft at 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, TOUR Academy The rebuilding of Tiger’s swing seems to be complete as last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, Woods looked more comfortable with his swing then he has in a long time. From the driver to the wedge, Tiger was in control of his ball flight. However, it wasn’t his ball striking that we will remember from win No. 73 on the PGA TOUR, it was that ridiculous flop shot he hit on par-3 16th that found the hole for birdie. How does he do it? Although he seems to make it look easy time and time again, this shot is a very difficult one that requires lots of reps and trust. Here are a few things to consider too help you with this shot. Travis’ Tip The first thing when hitting the flop shot is to open the clubface. Although this is understood by many, what’s important is that you aim your body open enough in order to get the leading edge relatively square to the target line. Remember, the ball will leave roughly at a right angle to the clubface so even though the clubface is open, it still needs to be managed in relationship to the target line. Secondly, allow the club’s shaft to sit closer to neutral and not leaning way forward or back. In addition, allow your weight to favor the lead foot with your sternum over the golf ball. One of the most common errors on this shot is for the sternum to be positioned too much behind the golf ball at address and/or at impact causing fat and thin shots. During the swing, you may have noticed how Tiger took a big arm swing with a wrist hinge during his backswing; however, he kept his body very stable allowing his sternum to stay over the ball. As the club fell to impact, he kept his torso turning to the target maintaining some stability in the lower body by keeping the right foot down and the left knee bent. Tough shot but doable – Practice, practice, practice! 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.

Zach Johnson kept his great year going with a win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.  Just when it looked like Jason Dufner was going to go on and win yet another title, Johnson stepped up and captured his eighth career win on the PGA TOUR.

Johnson displays a golf swing that could be considered a bit different when compared to the fluid motions of Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and others; however, it is a golf swing that is compact, efficient and most importantly understood by the player. Johnson has always seemed like a player who really understands his golf swing — from what he needs to do to hit his patented draw to understanding his misses.

Johnson is considered a “shut” clubface player meaning the club face is closed at the top of his backswing. A closed clubface at the top is when the face is looking more towards the sky versus open where the toe of the club is pointing down to the ground. Over the years, rather than trying to open the clubface so it is closer to square — angle of the clubface matches the angle of the left forearm — Johnson has built his swing around this shut clubface to create the ball flight he likes to see.

TRAVIS' TIP

Oftentimes, I will use Johnson’s golf swing as an example on how well he rotates his body through impact and maintains his wrist angles. For those that struggle with hooking the ball these are two things that will allow the golf club to exit more to the left through impact.

What’s interesting is players that struggle with a hook to the left will counter by swinging more to the right. But oftentimes the fix needs to see the player swing more to the left through impact.   This can be achieved by keeping the hands more passive and by rotating the torso aggressively through impact. This combination will rotate the swing direction more to the left and decrease the amount of clubface rotation through impact, resulting in a straighter shot.

Although this tip may not apply to everyone, those that struggle with a push-hook combination, this pattern that Johnson demonstrates and understands so well is a great visual and progression for you.

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.

If facial expressions is all we had to determine the outcome of the HP Byron Nelson Championship, then Jason Dufner would’ve had us all fooled. Perhaps the greatest poker game face in golf, Dufner held tight most the day until dropping the hammer on the 72nd hole to win his second PGA TOUR event this year. There’s a lot to like about Dufner’s game, but what impresses me the most is how well he rolls the rock. Dufner has an oversized grip on his putter – much like the one K.J. Choi used to win THE PLAYERS last year. I’ve always been a fan of the oversized grip because it can help so many players who struggle with keeping their hands quiet through impact. What’s interesting with Dufner’s putting stroke is he seems to create a little hinging motion in the trail wrist during the backswing and then maintains it through impact. Although minimal, Dufner uses this hinge in the trail wrist along with the size and design of the grip to help build up his lead hand through impact. TRAVIS' TIP One of the most common errors at impact in putting is for the trail hand to flip causing the lead hand to break down. This action can really disrupt the relationship of the path of the putter head and the angle of the putter face through impact. If this sounds like you, then you should consider an oversized grip. An oversized grip can help align the forearms with the putter shaft at address, positioning the hands in better alignment to support the weight of the putter head during the stroke. Secondly, try a small hinge during the backstroke, although this is not for everyone, it can help quiet the hands through impact while leading to better starting direction and distance control. 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.

Kuuuuuuuuutch!  I’m not sure if there could be a better start to the PGA TOUR season as yet another young American found the winner’s circle.  There was no question Matt Kuchar was the most consistent player over four days at THE PLAYERS Championship. All week, Kuchar showed the game and patience needed to navigate the difficult Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

At the TOUR Academies, we get a lot of questions about Kuchar’s golf swing.  It is certainly a bit unusual  seeing that its shape is more around the body and flat as compared to most swings you see on the PGA TOUR. However, it is certainly a swing that can help so many amateurs when understood.

TRAVIS' TIP

One of the things I like about Kuchar’s swing is the path of his hands during the backswing.  Matt does a great job of keeping his upper left arm attached to the side of the body while his shoulders turn.  This allows his hands to travel to the inside and not away from his body. One of the most common errors during the backswing is the lead arm becomes immediately disconnected from the body during the backswing.  This movement is usually countered with the club head moving behind the hands, which results in a faulty plane and eventually compensation on the downswing and/or impact.

What’s important to understand here is that your hands and the clubhead should be viewed as two separate components during the backswing.  Now everything is always relative, but most amateurs need to feel a combination where the hands stay close to the body as described above and over the toe-line with the clubhead working up and slightly to the outside of the hands.

Kuchar does a great job of blending these two components during the initial backswing.  A good checkpoint is when the shaft reaches parallel to the ground -- it should also be parallel and over your toe-line. Again, at this point your upper lead arm should be attached to the body with the toe of the clubface pointing slightly toward 11 o’clock. This is a great position to get your swing started just like Kuchar does.

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 .

As excited as I am regarding Rickie Fowler’s win at the Wells Fargo Championship, I am even more ecstatic about Fred Funk winning for the first time in two years on the Champions Tour at the Insperity Championship. Now of course I am a bit biased, being that Fred has been a student of mine for the last year. However, understanding everything that Fred has went through to get back into the winner’s circle, it truly is an amazing story.

So to you, Rickie, I apologize for this week’s blog but look forward to writing about many more wins to come – perhaps at this year’s PLAYERS Championship.

Like so many here in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., we all watched in anticipation as Funk birdied four of the last five to win by one over Tom Lehman. Over the last year, Fred has worked really hard to get his game back to the highest level. One of the keys to his game was to create an environment with all shots where he could find the bottom of the swing more instinctively.

With putting and his short game, the importance lied in the address position where with the full swing it came into understanding his body motion.

TRAVIS’ TIP

Putting – Many times over the years I have discussed the relevance of the right forearm at address. What’s important is keeping the right forearm is on the same plane angle as the putter shaft. When this occurs, the putterhead has a much better chance to move on a natural arc with the bottom occurring at impact.

Short game – One of the keys to the bottom of the arc in short game is to get the sternum over the golf ball. Like many players, Fred has a tendency to get the sternum behind the ball, which can lead to some inconsistency. With the sternum more over the ball, the clubhead bottoms out consistently past the ball, leading to more instincts around the green.

Full swing – One of the keys for Fred is to keep his head centered during the swing. One of the most common errors for better players is their head moves too much off the ball (righthanded golfer – to the right). Therefore, the key is to feel the lead shoulder move on a steeper angle and/or the feeling as if the spine leans a bit towards the target. This keeps the head more centered and allows once again a more repeatable divot through impact.

This full-swing thought is something you are seeing a lot in today’s game. Much of this comes from the study of biomechanics in the golf swing. Leaders in biomechanics in our industry include Dr. Phil Cheetham, Dr. Rob Neal, Andy Plummer, Mike Bennett and others that have done a great job in enhancing how the pivot is taught. Although the pivot is not everything, it has great value when controlling the bottom of the swing arc.

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 .

It was only a matter of time before Jason Dufner captured his first title on the PGA TOUR. This year, Dufner has been the model of consistency and this week at The Zurich Classic, it was no different.

I guess to the average golf fan, it was bittersweet in some ways as Dufner won his first title overtaking another crowd favorite -- Ernie Els on the second playoff hole -- but it was good to see Jason close the deal and get that well-deserved first win.

Dufner is one of those players that displays a very simple golf swing. When you watch swings like Dufner’s, it doesn’t really seem like much can go wrong. One of the things that makes this possible is how he sets the club at the three-quarter position of the backswing. Dufner does a great job positioning the club so it points towards the target line during the backswing. This on-plane position sets the stage for him to basically just turn and hit it on the downswing.

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Learning to set the club on-plane at the three-quarter position of the backswing can be a very helpful tip for many amateurs. If you can achieve this, the science would suggest that it is much easier to achieve a more repeatable downswing and impact position.

An on-plane position at this point is when the club has that nice approximate 45-degree look to it, where the butt end of the club points towards the target line. Dufner really exaggerates this during his pre-shot with some excessive waggles, and he will sometimes rehearse it to where the butt of the club points outside the target line.

One of the most common errors at this point in the swing is to get the clubshaft too vertical. Although this can be overcome on the downswing, learning to rotate the lead forearm and clubshaft to a more angled position can make things a lot easier. 

Focus at home on making backswings to a three-quarter position pointing the butt end of the club to the target line. Do this a number of times to get the feeling, and then take it to the golf course and turn and hit it like the Dufner.

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 .

After a winless drought and lots of hard work, Ben Curtis is back on top after winning the Valero Texas Open. What's interesting is that over the last two weeks we have discussed two guys -- Bubba Watson and Carl Pettersson -- that haven't really changed their swings over the years and have elected to be their own swing coach. However, this week, we have a winner in Ben Curtis who has done lots of work to his swing and overall game to get back into the winner's circle.

During this time, I have thought a lot about much of the publicity that Bubba Watson and Carl Pettersson have received about their home-bred swings, and how this has perhaps slightly tainted today's coaching model that consists of swing instructors, trainers, sports psychologists, high speed cameras, launch monitors and more. Of course, working in the coaching business, I like to think we can help all golfers, but the reality is that golf instruction and technology is not for everybody.

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So the question becomes: Is golf instruction for you? Here are a handful of things to think about, just as Ben Curtis did when he made the decision to change his swing and work on his game to get back on top.

1. Are you happy with your skillset? Every day at the TOUR Academies, we work to help golfers improve their skillset -- whether it's hit a draw off the tee, take a more consistent divot with the irons, improved bunker play, etc. Educating golfers on what they need to do to improve their skillset can be a great experience.

Key: Good information in the right order.

2. Are you happy with your approach to the game? One of the most important things in golf is managing your expectation level to the amount of time you are putting into it. Only you can decide your definition of fun. Educating golfers on what they need to do to help manage their time is an important issue to the popularity and growth of our sport.

Key: Good attitude with a balanced approach.

3. Are you taking responsibility with your game? There is no bigger distraction to one's game then blaming the golf course or others when it comes to measuring results. The reality is this: Golf is one of the most independent games you will ever play. As a golfer, you need to own your game, but also understand there are trained professionals that can help you in the areas of the game that may be in need of assistance.

Key: Take control of your game and own it.

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 .