If you struggle with a “chicken wing” in your golf swing, I’ve got good news: it can be fixed.
Part of the reason it is so important to take lessons from a great instructor is that the chicken wing is often a necessary compensation for an earlier issue in the swing. In other words, simply trying to eliminate the chicken wing may not fix the problem. You first need to understand why it is happening.
Here are five things you can do to fix your chicken-wing swing.
If you are looking for a quick fix, a split-hand drill can certainly help with the chicken wing. Because the hands are separated on the grip, the lead elbow will almost automatically fold and point down. This is the opposite of a chicken wing, where the elbows tend to separate as the club is pulled away from the ground. It’s a great drill to help you feel what the lead arm and elbow should be doing through impact and into the release.
For the ball to get into the air when it is sitting on the ground, the club needs to hit the ground. Once you truly understand this, the chicken wing becomes a much less likely motion.
As the arms extend down toward the ground, the lead elbow should not pull in toward the body and away from the ground. Instead, the club should continue through the ball and into the turf. Learning to trust the club to strike the ground is an important part of eliminating the chicken wing.
Chicken wings are often a necessary compensation for an over-the-top swing. When the downswing path comes from the outside, or over the top, the club tends to become too steep. In this situation, the chicken wing can actually be a bit of a “saver,” helping prevent the club from digging too deeply into the ground.
If this is your situation, check your grip and downswing path before simply trying to change the release and eliminate the chicken wing.
Another potential cause of the chicken wing is poor posture. A posture that is too squatty, rather than properly bowing forward from the hip joint and allowing the arms to hang naturally, can limit your ability to rotate and create depth in the backswing.
Once again, this can cause the downswing to become too steep, and the chicken wing can then act as a way to shallow that steep motion. Two wrongs can sometimes make a right, but that combination usually won’t be as consistent as it could be.
Keeping the elbows relaxed can really help you avoid a chicken wing. When the elbows, hands, and arms are soft and relaxed, they can fold naturally when they need to.
The lead elbow should fold and point down on the forward swing after the club has struck the ground. This allows the clubface to release rather than creating an inclination to lift the club or hold the face open. A proper grip certainly has a major influence here. But once your setup is good, allow your elbows, hands, and arms to remain relaxed throughout the swing.
