How to Stop the Chicken Wing in a Golf Swing

The dreaded chicken wing in the golf swing is that ugly, power-sapping move where your lead elbow bends and flies away from your body right after impact. It’s a common sight on driving ranges and golf courses, and it does more than just look awkward - it robs you of distance, accuracy, and consistency. In this guide, we'll break down exactly what causes the chicken wing and, more importantly, give you a clear, step-by-step plan with actionable drills to get rid of it for good.

What Exactly is the Chicken Wing (And Why is it so Bad)?

In a powerful and efficient golf swing, the lead arm (the left arm for a right-handed golfer) should remain relatively straight and extend down the target line through the impact zone. This creates a wide swing arc, maximizing clubhead speed and ensuring the clubface stays stable through the ball.

The "chicken wing" happens when, instead of extending, that lead elbow breaks down. It buckles, bends, and juts outwards and away from your chest, pulling the club sharply inside after impact. Its name is perfectly descriptive - at the finish position, your arm will literally look like the wing of a chicken.

So, why is this move so detrimental to your game?

• Massive Loss of Power: Extension is a key ingredient for speed. When your arm folds, you are manually slowing the club down. Think of it like a figure skater pulling their arms in to spin faster - you're doing the opposite. By narrowing your swing arc at the most important moment, you’re throwing away clubhead speed and hitting softer, shorter shots.
• Poor Contact and Inconsistency: This bent-elbow move changes the low point of your swing. It often causes the club to pull up and out of the ground too early, leading to thin shots or even tops. It destroys any hope of compressing the ball for that pure, Tour-player sound.
• Slices and Pulls: The chicken wing is one of the biggest causes of a slice. When the body stalls and the arm pulls in, the clubface is often left wide open at impact. The club cuts across the ball from out-to-in, putting slice spin on it. A quick "save" can lead to a nasty pull-hook as you desperately shut the face. Either way, you're not in control.

Uncovering the Root Causes of the Chicken Wing

To fix the chicken wing, you have to understand why you’re doing it. It’s not just a flaw with your arms, it's a symptom of a deeper issue in your swing sequence. Here are the most common culprits.

Cause #1: The Over-the-Top Swing Path

This is probably the most frequent cause. An "over-the-top" move is when you start your downswing with your arms and shoulders, throwing the club outside of the proper swing plane. From this position, your club path is cutting across the ball from outside to inside (out-to-in). If you were to continue rotating your body normally with this path, you’d hit a massive pull or a pull-slice.

Your brain, being a very smart survival computer, recognizes this. To prevent disaster, it slams on the rotational brakes - your body stalls - and your arms take over. The lead elbow bends and pulls inward to try and guide the clubface back toward the target. The chicken wing is a compensation, a last-ditch effort to save a bad shot created by an even worse swing path.

Cause #2: A Stalled Body Rotation

Following on from the point above, sometimes the body stalls for other reasons. Many golfers are told to "keep their head down and still," which they misinterpret as not allowing their body to turn at all. If your chest and hips stop rotating through impact, your arms and the club have nowhere to go. They literally run out of room.

Think about it: with no space to swing out toward the target, the only path of least resistance is up and in. Your elbow is forced to bend to get out of the way. A correctly sequenced swing involves the lower body leading the downswing, clearing the left side out of the way, and creating plenty of space for the arms to extend freely past the body.

Cause #3: The Urge to "Scoop" the Ball

This is a big one for higher handicap players. There’s a natural but incorrect instinct to try to *help* the ball get into the air. This results in a "scooping" motion with the wrists at impact, where you try to flick the ball upwards. As soon as you flip your wrists, the structure of your lead arm collapses. The lead wrist goes from flat to cupped, and the elbow immediately follows by bending. Good ball strikers know the loft of the club is designed to get the ball airborne. Their goal is to hit down on the ball, compressing it against the clubface with a descending blow. This demands a flat lead wrist and a forward-leaning shaft at impact - the exact opposite of a scoop.

The Fix: Your Action Plan to Stop the Chicken Wing

Enough of the "what" and "why" - let's get to the "how." These drills are designed to retrain your body and give you the proper feeling of rotation and extension. You don't need fancy equipment, just some space and a golf club.

Drill #1: The Towel Under the Arm Drill

This is a timeless drill because it provides instant physical feedback. It forces you to keep your lead arm connected to your body's rotation, preventing it from flying away on its own.

1. Tuck a small golf towel or a glove under your lead armpit (left armpit for righties). It shouldn't be squeezed tight, just held in place.
2. Take your normal setup.
3. Make half-swings, from waist high to waist high (a "9-to-3" swing). Your entire focus is on keeping the towel in place.
4. To do this successfully, your chest and torso must rotate through the shot. If you stop turning your body, the towel will drop as your arm separates. If your arm disconnects and flies out, the towel will drop.
5. Once you can do this consistently, you can make larger swings. You'll feel how your arms and body are now working together. The towel should naturally fall out late in the follow-through, well after impact.

Drill #2: The Split-Handed Swing Drill

This is a fantastic drill for feeling true extension through the ball and understanding the roles your right and left hands play.

1. Grip your club normally with your lead (left) hand.
2. Instead of placing your trail (right) hand right next to it, slide it down the shaft about 4-6 inches. Your hands are now "split."
3. Make very slow, smooth practice swings.
4. As you swing down and through the impact zone, you will feel an amazing sense of extension. It's almost impossible to "chicken wing" with this grip because your right hand actively helps extend your an straighten your left arm down the line.
5. Pay attention to the feeling of your right arm straightening and pushing the club away from you post-impact. This is the feeling you want to replicate in your normal swing. It promotes a wide follow-through instead of a narrow, folded one.

Drill #3: The Rehearsal Release Drill

This drill trains the proper release pattern, teaching your arms and hands what to do after impact to avoid the chicken wing.

1. Take your normal setup. Make a backswing up to about chest high.
2. From the top, slowly start your downswing rotation. As you move through the "impact zone" (without a ball), focus on this feeling: allow the club head to pass your hands.
3. Your goal is to have the shaft pointing at your belly button. As you continue to rotate open toward the target, your right arm should extend and cross over your left arm.
4. In your follow-through at about chest high, the club should be parallel to the ground again, with your right arm now straighter than your left and fully on top. The palm of your left hand should be facing the sky.
5. This motion feels entirely different from the chicken wing, where the elbow folds and the palm of your left hand points down. Rehearse this slow-motion release over and over to build the correct motor pattern.

Final Thoughts

The chicken wing is a symptom of poor swing mechanics, typically stemming from a misunderstanding of how the body generates power and how the club should be released. By recognizing that it's caused by stalled rotation, an over-the-top path, or an attempt to scoop the ball, you can attack the root problem instead of just focusing on your arm.

The drills outlined here are designed to retrain your body to rotate correctly and teach your arms to extend through impact. And if you're ever struggling on the course or range with this and need immediate, personalized feedback, that's where diagnostic tools can make a huge difference. With Caddie AI, we leverage AI coaching to give you instant analysis and custom drills you can try right away. You can even ask us to break down any golf swing concept like this one, giving you an expert answer in seconds so you can stop guessing and start improving.