Daily Video Blog

Authored by: Brady
Posted on: 21 March 2026

Don Trahan's analysis of his own swing with different clubs reveals golf's most misunderstood concept: it's your arms that swing on plane, not the club.

Most golfers focus on getting the club on plane, but Don's demonstration shows this is wrong. At address, your arms start below the plane—especially the trail arm (right arm for righties, left arm for lefties). This is correct and necessary.

During takeaway, Don rotates the clubhead first, moving the toe toward "the catcher's mitt" and "up the tree." This rotation naturally lifts his lead arm onto the plane, where it stays throughout the backswing. At the top, his lead hand and forearm align perfectly on the plane while the clubhead passes through it.

The downswing shows his lead arm maintaining plane contact until just before impact. After impact, physics takes over—the trail arm moves onto the plane while the lead arm comes off it, demonstrating equal and opposite reaction.

Don's vertical swing style... Read More

Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 10 April 2010
The 2010 Master started out as a pretty good day. The wind was gusting a little bit, up to 20mph. The players dodged some pretty bad weather. There were some storm, including some tremendous... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 April 2010
The 2010 Masters started with the ceremonial tee shots by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. They're two former great champions and, since Gary Player has stopped playing, I'm really hopeful... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
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It's absolutely appropriate we talk about The Masters today. I guess we need to talk about the number one hot topic this year, what's Tiger going to do. Since he announced playing in The... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 April 2010
We all know that the peak Performance backswing is defined by its limited turn, meaning that we turn the shoulders to where the forward arm turns to the toe line and that's the end of the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 6 April 2010
I received this email question from Larry, one of my regular students. He asks, “When you say you're all about up, I sometimes get confused and think maybe I'm not the only one.‚  My brain... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 5 April 2010
I got home just in time to see the playoff for the Shell Houston Open Championship between Anthony Kim and Vaughn Taylor. The announcer said this playoff was of significant interest and... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 4 April 2010
Rob S. flew into Charlotte to see me for an afternoon golf lesson. In the interview session with him, I found out he in his mid-40s, works out a lot and is in extremely good shape. Hr does... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 3 April 2010
I was walking past the living room to go to the kitchen and I heard the Shell Houston Open on TV. My wife was watching it, keeping up with DJ to see if he was going to make the cut today. I heard an... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 2 April 2010
The first 30 years I played golf, finishing square or facing your target was an absolute must. You wanted to hit a good golf shot you had to finish square to your target. In baseball we say... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 1 April 2010
Comments: 1
I had a lesson with JG and in the pre-lesson interview he told me that he was in his mid-40s, has been a 0 to 3 handicap for over 30 years, and had been working on a big turn rotational... Read More