Trahan's PPGS-anybody?

Bigborgel

I've been using Don Trahan's "Peak performance golf swing" for the past 3-4 years now. Ever since I developed some low back pain. The limited turn has pretty much done away with any back issues. Unfortunately, I also find brings other negative issues along with it, ie, tendency to get too steep and a loss of some distance because it is primarily an arm swing with less body rotation. The near vertical swing with irons does yield some really deadly accurate shots into greens however. I realize that this post is a near rehash of an FGI post I made several months ago, but we need to up the traffic on here. I'd still like some input as to other things this swing has brought on members here. Hey, where's Kelco?

kelco9

Sorry, I don't really have anything to add. I think Don's swing is great even though I don't really use it anymore. I still have elements of the PPGS in my swing in that I use a much shorter backswing and reduced turn than I did before going to the PPGS. However, I have abandoned the "skinny horse," outward pressure stance that Don uses to isolate the arms, and I am somewhere between Don and other swing methods in terms of the wrists. I don't keep the wrists as consciously inactive as Don promotes, but I also don't actively c0ck them as some methods teach. I certainly make no attempt to go to parallel in my backswing. That being said, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to go back to a full on PPGS swing, particularly if my back started acting up. It is appreciably easier on the back. And like you say, when I was using the PPGS, I was deadly accurate with my short irons. Without bragging too much, I was played a round with a random guy on a particularly tough course, and on the 18th hole I hit a 150-yard 8-iron to about a foot. It was the fifth short iron I had stuck inside about 3 feet that day. The guy looks over and says "It's like throwing darts." (Some days you eat the bear, and some days the bear eats you.)

Sneakylong

I think he offers a simple swing method. Into the catchers mitt toe up and then vertical. I pretty much do a version of his swing naturally. I don't actively bump, thus I have a steep / vertical down swing. I think I release early which causes more toe droop at impact. Pro's like him have that natural shallowing move in the downswing. Without the shallowing move the shaft moves across the toe line at the parallel point in the down swing.

I don't do the heavy right set up or the wide knees either. I do a 50/50 weightless shift in the back swing and let the momentum shift the weight in the downswing. More of a Jim Flick / Bob Toski arm leads / body reacts swing. I do try to have minimal left knee movement though. I think his no wrist cock is a little over done. The wrists have to cock IMO. Even Steve Stricker has some wrist cock. My left wrist is slight cupped at the top, but matches the cup at address which the late Jim Flick advocated. So I don't worry about that.

All in all he offers an easy to understand method IMO. And just like other swing methods you don't need to apply everything. Nothing wrong with taking bits and pieces and fitting them into your own swing.