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: 9 February 2011
You know I'€™m big on a pre-shot routine. Do your practice swing. Feel the swing, then swing the feel. However, at the Phoenix Open, I was taken aback by the pre-shot routine of some of the players... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 8 February 2011
Last week, DJ was talking about slowing down his backswing a little. What he was referring to was his tempo. Tempo is a personal thing. It'€™s not timing. Timing is getting all the body parts... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 7 February 2011
Comments: 3
I got a really good question on the blog about a method of swinging taught in the 1970s. It was called "€œsquare to square."€ The writer wanted me to juxtapose or compare the biomechanics of the... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 6 February 2011
While I'm on my way back from The Phoenix Open, Head Instructor, Greg MacDonell, is lending a hand again with his tips on ball position. Greg excels at illustrating the Surge Swing fundamentals. In... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 5 February 2011
Due to the cold weather (this IS Phoenix, Arizona, right?) we had a late start, so DJ and I sat down and talked about the effect of delays on players. DJ talked about what he has to do to keep his... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 4 February 2011
While we'€™re out here at the chilly Phoenix Open, our head instructor, Greg MacDonnell filled in with a great video on posture. As Greg says, we need to get into an athletically ready position in... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 3 February 2011
Yesterday I talked about helping the older of two brothers with his power blocks and slices. Today, we'll discover the main problem with Brother #2. It really all came down to where he was looking... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 31 January 2011
Comments: 1
I just got back from the Golf Show in Orlando last week and we met some old friends while we were there. They had two sons, young men, who were golfers, and I was asked to help them out. The oldest... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 30 January 2011
Lynn Griffin, our Director of Club Fitting, found a question on the blog about irons that interested him and asked if he could answer it in a video. Of course, I said yes. The question boiled down to... Read More
Authored by: Don Trahan
Posted on: 29 January 2011
Comments: 1
We got a question on the blog recently from '€œNeal of Oz.'€ He said he had a two problems trying to go vertical: he was lifting his head, therefore moving his spine angle, and his club was going... Read More