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: 24 October 2009
Plus Another Chip and Pitching Tip. Ya'€™ll did a good job the other day catching and pointing out the two big mistakes I made in the daily article. The key is I would like to say they were... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 22 October 2009
Chipping and pitching are those scoring shots close to and around the green that save you strokes. Getting a tough pitch or chip up and down (U... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 21 October 2009
Comments: 1
Whatever happened to the concept of finishing facing the target? In golf we call that finishing square because the body, in facing the target, looking straight at it, is perpendicular to the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 20 October 2009
Doug C from Ontario, Canada, on his way to Florida, stopped by Birkdale Golf Club in Hendersonville NC, to take a lesson. I'€™d never met Doug, but when I walked up to the range I was sure... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 19 October 2009
You are on the range warming up before the round. You are not hitting the ball very solid, and not close to your normal ball flight shape. Many players panic big time if this happens... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 18 October 2009
Comments: 1
I often get asked what the recommended ball position for the PPGS is. On page 39 of the Foundations Manual in the opening paragraph covering Ball Placement/Position it states, '€œWhere you... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 17 October 2009
I was playing a round of golf yesterday with a long time student and a friend of his who was a casual golfer. I kept seeing a number of things that, even though we were playing CPO (cart... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 16 October 2009
Right Leg Setup Position I got a call from Jack, one of my most regular and knowledgeable PPGS students. He wanted to discuss the position of his right leg and knee at address and then throughout... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 15 October 2009
We start the play of every hole from the tee box. Sometimes these tee boxes are tucked up close to and tight against the side of the hole. These tee boxes make it very difficult for most... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 14 October 2009
I was reading some blogs after an article I wrote about alignment and a lady wrote in asking a question. She said that her husband, who is a really good player, constantly tells her that her... Read More