Not sure where to start? Ask Mulligan
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best
Young Teachers in
America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.
Understanding The Chicken Wing
The chicken wing is a smart reaction to a body that hasn't rotated. It's the only way to get the club head moving in the direction of the target, and one of the best ways to get an open face pointed at the target (by moving the path to the left). Also, if you haven't rotated your body, it is a way of protecting your shoulder from taking too much load, since the shoulder is now in a position where it can't transfer too much speed to the rest of the body.
The chicken wing is a smart reaction to a body that hasn't rotated. It's the only way to get the club head moving in the direction of the target, and one of the best ways to get an open face pointed at the target (by moving the path to the left). Also, if you haven't rotated your body, it is a way of protecting your shoulder from taking too much load, since the shoulder is now in a position where it can't transfer too much speed to the rest of the body.
Hide
Video Transcript
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680
This video is connecting the dots of the chicken wing. So the chicken wing is
2
00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:09.720
one of those things that a lot of golfers have been told that they do and
3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.720
it's really bad and you need to work on it. I typically find that if you build
4
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.960
these other pieces the chicken wing goes away on its own because the chicken
5
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:17.120
wing
6
00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:22.200
I see is more of a compensation than anything else. The chicken wing is
7
00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:28.200
usually described as bending this arm kind of like so. So on the face-on view
8
00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:32.360
what it ends up looking like is like that so my elbow gets this bend it kind
9
00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:37.080
of looks like a chicken wing. Well the the chicken wing is a result of not
10
00:00:37.080 --> 00:00:43.200
having any body rotation and impact because what you'll see is I'll face you
11
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.840
so that you can easily see what I'm describing. Now in order to get this
12
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.360
club to travel in the general direction of the target right because that's one
13
00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:55.400
of my goals is to have that path somewhat close to the target. Well if my body
14
00:00:55.400 --> 00:01:01.440
hasn't turned and I was to extend my arms you could see that it would
15
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:07.240
basically move the club way out that way. So if I don't turn my body and I bend
16
00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:07.400
my
17
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.040
arms now the club is moving in the direction of the target but I didn't have
18
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.110
a very good flat spot and I didn't have the club face square the way that I
19
00:01:15.110 --> 00:01:15.240
would
20
00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:23.040
really want to. So if I rotate and side bend then if I just extend my arms the
21
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.360
club moves out towards the target. If I rotate and side bend and then I chicken
22
00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.000
wing you can see that that would go way to the left and that's actually almost
23
00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.560
impossible to do. So now we have to figure out if we're working on the
24
00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.880
chicken wing we know that we need to have a little bit more rotation and
25
00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:42.560
side bend to wherever just somewhere around 30 degrees of both of those. We
26
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.960
know that we need to have a fair amount in order to have those arms
27
00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:51.680
straightening. So then what would be the biggest barriers to getting that
28
00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.120
rotation and side bend? Well one of the most common is going to be the
29
00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.640
motorcycle. So if I have this club face in a very open position the more that I
30
00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.600
rotate and side bend that's going to actually open the club face even more so
31
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:10.800
I would hit the ball way off to the right. So motorcycling or having a strong
32
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:15.600
enough grip or having a club face that's closed enough is going to allow me to
33
00:02:15.600 --> 00:02:18.440
have this rotation and side bend which is going to help you get away from the
34
00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:21.920
chicken wing. So normally if I see someone who's chicken winging one of the
35
00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:25.920
first things I'm going to do is work on that motorcycle to allow that body to
36
00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:30.680
rotate a little bit better through impact. The second piece would be or the
37
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.400
second most common cause of this chicken wing would be a very upper body
38
00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:35.080
dominated
39
00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.280
swing where I spin my shoulders kind of like that. From the down the line view
40
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:47.160
it ends up looking like this and then I get this club way out here so then if I
41
00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:50.880
was to continue closing the face and have good arm mechanics the club would
42
00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.510
really just travel straight down into the ground. So this chicken wing holds
43
00:02:55.510 --> 00:02:55.720
that
44
00:02:55.720 --> 00:03:01.080
club face slightly open and gets it so that I don't slam the club into the
45
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.640
ground it allows me to fully release the wrist which and stand up which kind of
46
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.240
helps me shallow out this way. So the two major solutions I have for the
47
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.000
chicken wing are one getting that motorcycle or that club face closed
48
00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.320
early so that I can rotate more during the downswing and then two starting with
49
00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:25.560
that lower body having enough of this Jackson 5 side tilt so that my upper
50
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.200
body doesn't spin and the chicken wing is just a result of one of those two
51
00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.760
problems it's not a problem by itself.
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680
This video is connecting the dots of the chicken wing. So the chicken wing is
2
00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:09.720
one of those things that a lot of golfers have been told that they do and
3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.720
it's really bad and you need to work on it. I typically find that if you build
4
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.960
these other pieces the chicken wing goes away on its own because the chicken
5
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:17.120
wing
6
00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:22.200
I see is more of a compensation than anything else. The chicken wing is
7
00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:28.200
usually described as bending this arm kind of like so. So on the face-on view
8
00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:32.360
what it ends up looking like is like that so my elbow gets this bend it kind
9
00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:37.080
of looks like a chicken wing. Well the the chicken wing is a result of not
10
00:00:37.080 --> 00:00:43.200
having any body rotation and impact because what you'll see is I'll face you
11
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.840
so that you can easily see what I'm describing. Now in order to get this
12
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.360
club to travel in the general direction of the target right because that's one
13
00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:55.400
of my goals is to have that path somewhat close to the target. Well if my body
14
00:00:55.400 --> 00:01:01.440
hasn't turned and I was to extend my arms you could see that it would
15
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:07.240
basically move the club way out that way. So if I don't turn my body and I bend
16
00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:07.400
my
17
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.040
arms now the club is moving in the direction of the target but I didn't have
18
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.110
a very good flat spot and I didn't have the club face square the way that I
19
00:01:15.110 --> 00:01:15.240
would
20
00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:23.040
really want to. So if I rotate and side bend then if I just extend my arms the
21
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.360
club moves out towards the target. If I rotate and side bend and then I chicken
22
00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.000
wing you can see that that would go way to the left and that's actually almost
23
00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.560
impossible to do. So now we have to figure out if we're working on the
24
00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.880
chicken wing we know that we need to have a little bit more rotation and
25
00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:42.560
side bend to wherever just somewhere around 30 degrees of both of those. We
26
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.960
know that we need to have a fair amount in order to have those arms
27
00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:51.680
straightening. So then what would be the biggest barriers to getting that
28
00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.120
rotation and side bend? Well one of the most common is going to be the
29
00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.640
motorcycle. So if I have this club face in a very open position the more that I
30
00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.600
rotate and side bend that's going to actually open the club face even more so
31
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:10.800
I would hit the ball way off to the right. So motorcycling or having a strong
32
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:15.600
enough grip or having a club face that's closed enough is going to allow me to
33
00:02:15.600 --> 00:02:18.440
have this rotation and side bend which is going to help you get away from the
34
00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:21.920
chicken wing. So normally if I see someone who's chicken winging one of the
35
00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:25.920
first things I'm going to do is work on that motorcycle to allow that body to
36
00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:30.680
rotate a little bit better through impact. The second piece would be or the
37
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.400
second most common cause of this chicken wing would be a very upper body
38
00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:35.080
dominated
39
00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.280
swing where I spin my shoulders kind of like that. From the down the line view
40
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:47.160
it ends up looking like this and then I get this club way out here so then if I
41
00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:50.880
was to continue closing the face and have good arm mechanics the club would
42
00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.510
really just travel straight down into the ground. So this chicken wing holds
43
00:02:55.510 --> 00:02:55.720
that
44
00:02:55.720 --> 00:03:01.080
club face slightly open and gets it so that I don't slam the club into the
45
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.640
ground it allows me to fully release the wrist which and stand up which kind of
46
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.240
helps me shallow out this way. So the two major solutions I have for the
47
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.000
chicken wing are one getting that motorcycle or that club face closed
48
00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.320
early so that I can rotate more during the downswing and then two starting with
49
00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:25.560
that lower body having enough of this Jackson 5 side tilt so that my upper
50
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.200
body doesn't spin and the chicken wing is just a result of one of those two
51
00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.760
problems it's not a problem by itself.
Have questions?
Ask Mulligan for help
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of
Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.
Understanding The Chicken Wing
The chicken wing is a smart reaction to a body that hasn't rotated. It's the only way to get the club head moving in the direction of the target, and one of the best ways to get an open face pointed at the target (by moving the path to the left). Also, if you haven't rotated your body, it is a way of protecting your shoulder from taking too much load, since the shoulder is now in a position where it can't transfer too much speed to the rest of the body.
The chicken wing is a smart reaction to a body that hasn't rotated. It's the only way to get the club head moving in the direction of the target, and one of the best ways to get an open face pointed at the target (by moving the path to the left). Also, if you haven't rotated your body, it is a way of protecting your shoulder from taking too much load, since the shoulder is now in a position where it can't transfer too much speed to the rest of the body.
Hide
Video Transcript
WEBVTT
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680
This video is connecting the dots of the chicken wing. So the chicken wing is
2
00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:09.720
one of those things that a lot of golfers have been told that they do and
3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.720
it's really bad and you need to work on it. I typically find that if you build
4
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.960
these other pieces the chicken wing goes away on its own because the chicken
5
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:17.120
wing
6
00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:22.200
I see is more of a compensation than anything else. The chicken wing is
7
00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:28.200
usually described as bending this arm kind of like so. So on the face-on view
8
00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:32.360
what it ends up looking like is like that so my elbow gets this bend it kind
9
00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:37.080
of looks like a chicken wing. Well the the chicken wing is a result of not
10
00:00:37.080 --> 00:00:43.200
having any body rotation and impact because what you'll see is I'll face you
11
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.840
so that you can easily see what I'm describing. Now in order to get this
12
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.360
club to travel in the general direction of the target right because that's one
13
00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:55.400
of my goals is to have that path somewhat close to the target. Well if my body
14
00:00:55.400 --> 00:01:01.440
hasn't turned and I was to extend my arms you could see that it would
15
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:07.240
basically move the club way out that way. So if I don't turn my body and I bend
16
00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:07.400
my
17
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.040
arms now the club is moving in the direction of the target but I didn't have
18
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.110
a very good flat spot and I didn't have the club face square the way that I
19
00:01:15.110 --> 00:01:15.240
would
20
00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:23.040
really want to. So if I rotate and side bend then if I just extend my arms the
21
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.360
club moves out towards the target. If I rotate and side bend and then I chicken
22
00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.000
wing you can see that that would go way to the left and that's actually almost
23
00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.560
impossible to do. So now we have to figure out if we're working on the
24
00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.880
chicken wing we know that we need to have a little bit more rotation and
25
00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:42.560
side bend to wherever just somewhere around 30 degrees of both of those. We
26
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.960
know that we need to have a fair amount in order to have those arms
27
00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:51.680
straightening. So then what would be the biggest barriers to getting that
28
00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.120
rotation and side bend? Well one of the most common is going to be the
29
00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.640
motorcycle. So if I have this club face in a very open position the more that I
30
00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.600
rotate and side bend that's going to actually open the club face even more so
31
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:10.800
I would hit the ball way off to the right. So motorcycling or having a strong
32
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:15.600
enough grip or having a club face that's closed enough is going to allow me to
33
00:02:15.600 --> 00:02:18.440
have this rotation and side bend which is going to help you get away from the
34
00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:21.920
chicken wing. So normally if I see someone who's chicken winging one of the
35
00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:25.920
first things I'm going to do is work on that motorcycle to allow that body to
36
00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:30.680
rotate a little bit better through impact. The second piece would be or the
37
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.400
second most common cause of this chicken wing would be a very upper body
38
00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:35.080
dominated
39
00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.280
swing where I spin my shoulders kind of like that. From the down the line view
40
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:47.160
it ends up looking like this and then I get this club way out here so then if I
41
00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:50.880
was to continue closing the face and have good arm mechanics the club would
42
00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.510
really just travel straight down into the ground. So this chicken wing holds
43
00:02:55.510 --> 00:02:55.720
that
44
00:02:55.720 --> 00:03:01.080
club face slightly open and gets it so that I don't slam the club into the
45
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.640
ground it allows me to fully release the wrist which and stand up which kind of
46
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.240
helps me shallow out this way. So the two major solutions I have for the
47
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.000
chicken wing are one getting that motorcycle or that club face closed
48
00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.320
early so that I can rotate more during the downswing and then two starting with
49
00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:25.560
that lower body having enough of this Jackson 5 side tilt so that my upper
50
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.200
body doesn't spin and the chicken wing is just a result of one of those two
51
00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.760
problems it's not a problem by itself.
1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.680
This video is connecting the dots of the chicken wing. So the chicken wing is
2
00:00:04.680 --> 00:00:09.720
one of those things that a lot of golfers have been told that they do and
3
00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:13.720
it's really bad and you need to work on it. I typically find that if you build
4
00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:16.960
these other pieces the chicken wing goes away on its own because the chicken
5
00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:17.120
wing
6
00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:22.200
I see is more of a compensation than anything else. The chicken wing is
7
00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:28.200
usually described as bending this arm kind of like so. So on the face-on view
8
00:00:28.200 --> 00:00:32.360
what it ends up looking like is like that so my elbow gets this bend it kind
9
00:00:32.360 --> 00:00:37.080
of looks like a chicken wing. Well the the chicken wing is a result of not
10
00:00:37.080 --> 00:00:43.200
having any body rotation and impact because what you'll see is I'll face you
11
00:00:43.200 --> 00:00:46.840
so that you can easily see what I'm describing. Now in order to get this
12
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:51.360
club to travel in the general direction of the target right because that's one
13
00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:55.400
of my goals is to have that path somewhat close to the target. Well if my body
14
00:00:55.400 --> 00:01:01.440
hasn't turned and I was to extend my arms you could see that it would
15
00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:07.240
basically move the club way out that way. So if I don't turn my body and I bend
16
00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:07.400
my
17
00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:11.040
arms now the club is moving in the direction of the target but I didn't have
18
00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:15.110
a very good flat spot and I didn't have the club face square the way that I
19
00:01:15.110 --> 00:01:15.240
would
20
00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:23.040
really want to. So if I rotate and side bend then if I just extend my arms the
21
00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:27.360
club moves out towards the target. If I rotate and side bend and then I chicken
22
00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.000
wing you can see that that would go way to the left and that's actually almost
23
00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.560
impossible to do. So now we have to figure out if we're working on the
24
00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:37.880
chicken wing we know that we need to have a little bit more rotation and
25
00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:42.560
side bend to wherever just somewhere around 30 degrees of both of those. We
26
00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:45.960
know that we need to have a fair amount in order to have those arms
27
00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:51.680
straightening. So then what would be the biggest barriers to getting that
28
00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.120
rotation and side bend? Well one of the most common is going to be the
29
00:01:56.120 --> 00:02:01.640
motorcycle. So if I have this club face in a very open position the more that I
30
00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:05.600
rotate and side bend that's going to actually open the club face even more so
31
00:02:05.600 --> 00:02:10.800
I would hit the ball way off to the right. So motorcycling or having a strong
32
00:02:10.800 --> 00:02:15.600
enough grip or having a club face that's closed enough is going to allow me to
33
00:02:15.600 --> 00:02:18.440
have this rotation and side bend which is going to help you get away from the
34
00:02:18.440 --> 00:02:21.920
chicken wing. So normally if I see someone who's chicken winging one of the
35
00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:25.920
first things I'm going to do is work on that motorcycle to allow that body to
36
00:02:25.920 --> 00:02:30.680
rotate a little bit better through impact. The second piece would be or the
37
00:02:30.680 --> 00:02:34.400
second most common cause of this chicken wing would be a very upper body
38
00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:35.080
dominated
39
00:02:35.080 --> 00:02:40.280
swing where I spin my shoulders kind of like that. From the down the line view
40
00:02:40.280 --> 00:02:47.160
it ends up looking like this and then I get this club way out here so then if I
41
00:02:47.160 --> 00:02:50.880
was to continue closing the face and have good arm mechanics the club would
42
00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:55.510
really just travel straight down into the ground. So this chicken wing holds
43
00:02:55.510 --> 00:02:55.720
that
44
00:02:55.720 --> 00:03:01.080
club face slightly open and gets it so that I don't slam the club into the
45
00:03:01.080 --> 00:03:06.640
ground it allows me to fully release the wrist which and stand up which kind of
46
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.240
helps me shallow out this way. So the two major solutions I have for the
47
00:03:11.240 --> 00:03:15.000
chicken wing are one getting that motorcycle or that club face closed
48
00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.320
early so that I can rotate more during the downswing and then two starting with
49
00:03:20.320 --> 00:03:25.560
that lower body having enough of this Jackson 5 side tilt so that my upper
50
00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:30.200
body doesn't spin and the chicken wing is just a result of one of those two
51
00:03:30.200 --> 00:03:34.760
problems it's not a problem by itself.
Have questions about this video?
Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.
Ask Mulligan
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