Trahan and SS do have huge differences. SS is a shoulder plane swing and uses the shoulders to whip the club through the ball. It sounds like you are using more of the Trahan arm swing idea? Do you pop up at the finish with all of your weight on the lead side like Trahan recommends or do you fire an fall back like SS?
I had a really hard time with SS. I could do it at times but never for very long and when I did get it 'right' my lead hip and knee would hurt and my back would hurt also. I did hit the ball far using that system when I got it right. I actually think that SS was the most difficult swing to perform of any that I tried. I suspect that a large part of that is all of the training that I did for so long on shifting weight and finishing on the lead side. Possibly SS is easier for someone who starts out as a beginner using it...
My mental problem now is with the grip. LOL, I have to figure out if the SS lead hand in the palm works better then a more conventional grip. Also, just how strong do I want the lead hand? With the 3 finger overlap it becomes difficult to keep the trail hand in SA alignment when the lead hand gets a little weaker. It seems that for me there are a lot of grips that work well with this swing it just a matter of sticking with one or another!
I am really happy with the swing overall though. I have modified the posture a bit to protect my back by standing closer to the ball and more upright. Other then that the swing idea is pretty much what Trahan preaches.
