Golf Swing Elbows - The Chicken Wing

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What Is a “Chicken Wing”?

In a nutshell, a “chicken wing” is one of your elbows bending outward, behind you. This can happen during either the backswing or the downswing. It disrupts many things. In my opinion, some form of the chicken wing could be partly to blame for almost every mishit. It is that prevalent. Based on my discoveries, almost no golfers—including pros—use their elbows correctly.

Why Do Golfers Use Their Elbows?

Golfers use their elbows because they are getting ready to throw the club head at the ball using just their arms and hands. They subconsciously hinge every possible lever and lift their arms to create as much potential power as possible for throwing the club head. None of these movements are consistent or repeatable.

I don’t want to go into all the different mishits caused by this problem. Let’s just get to what will make your swing more athletic, control your chicken wing, and improve your shotmaking.

Read the next paragraph slowly, then simulate the position with a club against a door jamb.

The Impact Position

If you look at a powerful, solid golf shot at impact, the hips are slightly turned—not cleared—and the arms and wrists form a solid triangle. The front wrist is flat, and the back wrist is bent inward. The wrists are firm and holding this shape, being pulled by the body’s turn rather than releasing.

Also, the shaft is in line with the front arm, and the front elbow points back toward the front hip. The back arm is slightly bent inward toward the front arm, with its elbow also pointing back toward the back hip. At this moment, the body is pulling all of this around to the left.

This is the position we want to be in at impact. If we’re not in this position, what happened during the swing? Something broke down, became disconnected, and disrupted everything.

So, who are the “disrupters”? The disrupters are the elbows and hands. We need to control them. How do we do that?

How to Take Control of the Disrupters

  1. Set up with the shaft in line with the front arm and the elbows pointing back toward the hips, pinching the elbows together a little. Maintain that pinching throughout the swing. The elbows should separate only at the very end of the swing.
  2. Once the shaft is in line with the front arm at setup, lock your wrists and keep them fixed in that setup shape throughout the swing. Let your shoulders turn around your spine on the backswing, and let your body unwind to bring the arms and club through the downswing.
  3. You should feel as though you’re squeezing your grip a little and squeezing your elbows together a little at the same time, throughout the swing. This defeats the disrupters. It gives them something productive to do and allows the large muscles to take over.

Start with short swings and shots to feel this work. Make sure the club face stays square. Many of you will want to use your hands to roll it open. Remember: no hands!


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