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: 19 August 2011
Comments: 93
Anyone who knows me also knows my views on the nearly single-minded obsession that many amateurs and professionals have with distance. This is undoubtedly because, as the equipment manufacturers... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 17 August 2011
Comments: 27
Perhaps one of the most talked about shots during last week's PGA Championship came from the First Round when Rory McIlroy's drive on #3 came to rest up against a substantial tree root. As... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 16 August 2011
Comments: 58
Today's daily is in response to a yet another comment I've received on the swing drills I've mentioned recently. Amos, a long-time Surge Nation stalwart, wrote saying that after practicing some of... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 15 August 2011
Comments: 67
In the Surge Swing, I give you parameters in which to base your swing. But, like I've said before, we're all different. Whether it's our body type, our amount of flexibility, or our skill level,... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 14 August 2011
People often ask me, "Surge, where do you come up with the ideas for your daily video tips? You never seem to run out of good ideas". Well, the answer is I get inspiration from just about anyone I... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 13 August 2011
Today's tip stems from a conversation between two of our more prolific commentators on the blog, Neil Halden, a.k.a. Neil of Oz, and Robert Fleck. Neil, who actually hails from Western Australia (... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 11 August 2011
Over the past week or so I've posted some daily videos about good drills that I think will help you with the Surge Swing. They've gotten some good responses, but I think some people might be... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 10 August 2011
The other day I received a really good question from one of our newest members of The Surge Nation, Mike Campanale or CampyM as he is known on the blog. Mike's a lefty in his early 60s and has... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 9 August 2011
You may recall a recent video I did in response to a question from Peter Williams from Melbourne, Australia (Simple Drill to Practice "Up The Tree"). Peter was having difficulty in getting into the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 August 2011
Today I want to talk about something raised by D. Stansbury during a recent comment on the blog. He states that he has bulky arm and shoulder muscles and he has to really concentrate on relaxing... Read More