Stop the Chicken Wing – Golf Swing Fault

Today’s guide focuses on the chicken wing, and we’re not talking about the kind you eat but the golf swing chicken wing position that your arms create in the follow through. Learn why it’s important to stop the chicken wing in the golf swing in the article below as well as several golf drills to help you work on follow through.

What is Chicken Wing in Golf?

Chicken Wing is a common arm motion that amateur golfers usually make. If you are often surrounded by expert golfers, someone must have suggested you work on your Chicken Wing. But you either never understood what they meant, or you are still unable to stop making that motion.

Chicken Wing in Golf refers to the position of the player’s front arm. It is called a chicken wing because your arm looks like a chicken wing when you are holding the Iron.

Chicken Wing means that your elbow bends and lifts when you bend your wrist for a shot. And as you may have figured out by now, it is not beneficial if you want to master the art of the golf swing.

Besides, you must be wondering what the relationship of the bending arm is with the goal of the golf swing technique, and too when it bends after you hit the ball. We have an answer for that as well!

You must have heard Newton’s third law of motion which states that “Every Action has a Reaction that is equal in force but opposite in direction.”

That means that the bending of your arms happens because of your incorrect action that happens before you hit the ball. And that should be corrected to make your golf swing more efficient.

Resource: How to Score in the 80’s Golf Training Plan

Why is it important to Stop the Chicken Wing?

The position of the swing is the most important factor in golf. Your swing speed and angle determine your goal. And as stated earlier, chicken wing is the result of an incorrect swing. Therefore, you must fix it!

Having a chicken wing means that you are lifting your elbow and flipping your wrist. When ideally, you should be rolling or rotating it.

As a result, your hit on the ball might be too fat or too thin. Such an impact does not propel the ball as far as it should go. And as a golfer, you must want to avoid that.

If you stop making chicken wing motion, you will notice that your impact position has improved and the clubface correctly comes in contact with the ball.

How to Identify the Chicken Wing motion?

Since the Chicken Wing is a common mistake, many players fail to recognize this issue. Follow to steps below to see if you are making this motion.

1. Stand straight with your arms down.
2. Lift your front forearm parallel to the ground while keeping your elbow at your side.
3. Hold your hand straight, like when you do while shaking someone’s hand.
4. Rotate your arm towards an imaginary target. While doing this, make sure that your arm is pointing left.
5. When you do this, your arm should make an L shape if someone sees you at a straight angle. However, in a chicken wing motion, your elbow does not remain at the side and moves up in the air or goes behind you.
6. After that, bend your wrist and point your fingers at the target. That motion is also incorrect and referred to as the Chicken Wing.

Concisely, a chicken wing motion occurs when your elbow does not remain by your side and your wrist bends, instead of rolling.

Golf Training Plan to Break 100, 90, 80 Golf Scores

How to Stop the Chicken Wing motion?

If you did the above test, you must be wondering that it is not a big issue, or you can easily stop making this motion. However, let us tell you that it is not as easy as it seems. This is because, when you are holding the Iron and swinging it at the required force, things get a little complicated.

But that does not mean it is impossible. It is possible, but with frequent practice and hard work. And we firmly believe that you can do it! So, without further ado, let us talk about the different methods through which you can stop the chicken wing!

Arm on Bicep:

1. Hold a club in your front hand.
2. Hold your front hand bicep at your side using your backhand. While doing this, your back arm will be on your chest.
3. After that, make slow, half-golf swings using your front arm.

By doing this practice, you will not be able to move your front arm because your back arm with be holding it in place. As a result, using slow swings, you will get used to the motion without moving the elbow of your front arm. And your chicken wing will be gone!

Resource: Best Golf Exercises to Practice

Weaken your Grip:

Often, chicken wing is caused because of a strong grip. However, a strong grip does not mean that you are applying a lot of pressure, it means that your position is too strong.

For Example, for a right-handed player, it happens if hands are rotated farther to the right than they should. If you think that is the issue with you, practice this exercise to get rid of it.

All you need to do in this exercise is to move your hands together on the top of the grip. As a result, the club will hit the ball in a more open position, and you will not make chicken wing motion for a straighter shot.

Under-Arm:

Remember we talked about Action and Reaction earlier. This exercise is also based on that principle. In this exercise, you will stop the chicken wing to avoid the consequences of your action. The following are the simple steps in this exercise.

1. Take an object that you can hold under your arm.
2. Put it under your arm and hold an Iron.
3. Swing the Iron while holding the object in place.

Through this exercise, you will be forced to keep your elbow in place to avoid the object from falling. As a result, your chicken wing motion will vanish over time.

Conclusion:

Chicken Wing is a common mistake and nothing to worry about if you got the passion to fix it. By frequently doing the above exercises, you can get rid of the chicken wing motion. To check your progress, record videos while golfing and check them later to observe the motion of your elbow. If it stays by your side, Congratulations! And if it moves, practice more until it stays still.