Are you losing power and slicing your shots? You might be guilty of the dreaded 'chicken wing' swing fault. Photo: AFP
If you’ve ever finished a golf swing and noticed your lead arm bent sharply with your elbow pointing out toward the sky, you’ve got what coaches call a chicken wing. It’s one of the most common faults in amateur golf and it does a lot of damage.
When that lead arm collapses and pulls in instead of extending toward the target, you lose power, your clubface gets inconsistent, and you start seeing pulls, slices, and thin or fat shots.
Fixing it starts with feel, not force. One of the best ways to retrain your body is with a towel drill. Take a small towel and tuck it under both armpits, then make slow half swings. The goal is to keep that towel in place from the takeaway all the way through to your finish.
If it drops early, it means your arms have disconnected from your torso and the chicken wing has crept back in. Done slowly, this teaches you what a connected swing should feel like.
