Prevent Chicken Wing: Improve Elbow Separation in Your Swing

This drill helps you train elbow separation and extension through impact, which is a key piece in cleaning up a chicken wing pattern. If your lead arm tends to fold too soon through the strike, or your elbows move in toward each other instead of extending properly, it can be hard to know exactly when it happens. That is why this drill is useful: it gives you immediate auditory feedback. Instead of guessing what your arms are doing, you can hear when the elbows change their relationship. That makes it much easier to build awareness and improve the motion.

How the Drill Works

The setup uses a simple feedback aid: a training device or strap attached with a rubber band just above the elbow area, secured to the outside of your sleeve. The goal is not to force your arms into a rigid position. Instead, it helps you monitor the space between your elbows as you swing.

When your arms stay organized and extend properly through the ball, the feedback stays relatively quiet. If your elbows bend excessively or move closer together in the wrong part of the swing, the device creates a sound that tells you something changed. That sound becomes your built-in checkpoint.

This is what makes the drill so effective. Many golfers try to fix a chicken wing by thinking about “straightening the arms” or “keeping the elbows together,” but those thoughts can be vague. With this drill, you are no longer relying only on feel. You have a clear signal that tells you whether the motion improved or broke down.

Step-by-Step

Set up the band above your elbow. Use a larger rubber band or similar loop and position it just above the elbow on your arm. It should sit securely without restricting movement.
Attach the band to the outside of your sleeve or training aid. Secure the other end so it creates a light tether. You want enough connection to create feedback, not so much tension that it changes your natural motion.
Make a few slow practice swings. Start without a ball and move at a reduced speed. Pay attention to when you hear the band or device react.
Focus on the through-swing. As you move through impact, feel your arms extending outward rather than collapsing inward. The goal is to keep the elbows from narrowing too quickly.
Match the sound to the motion. If you hear the feedback trigger at the wrong time, that usually means your elbows are changing position in a way you do not want. If the motion stays quieter, you are likely maintaining better structure.
Gradually increase speed. Once you can control the motion in slow swings, move to half-speed and then fuller swings. Keep using the sound as your guide.
Hit short shots first. Start with small punch shots or half-swings before taking the drill into full swings. This makes it easier to keep the correct arm structure through impact.

What You Should Feel

The biggest benefit of this drill is improved spatial awareness. You begin to sense where your elbows are relative to each other instead of just hoping the release is correct.

Key sensations

More extension through the strike rather than the lead arm folding immediately after impact
Better width in the through-swing instead of the elbows pinching together
Less hand manipulation as the body and arms keep moving together
Clear cause-and-effect feedback from the sound of the device

Checkpoints

If the feedback stays quiet longer, your elbows are likely maintaining better spacing
If you hear the device activate early, your arms may be bending or collapsing too soon
Your through-swing should feel more outward and extended, not cramped or jammed
The motion should still feel athletic, not stiff or forced

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using too much tension in the setup. The band should provide feedback, not pull your arm into position.
Trying to keep the arms rigid. You are training better extension, not locking out the elbows.
Only focusing on the backswing. This drill is most useful for what happens from impact into the follow-through.
Swinging too fast too soon. If you go to full speed before you understand the feedback, you will miss the point of the drill.
Ignoring the sound. The auditory cue is the value of the drill. Use it to connect what you hear with what you feel.
Overcorrecting into separation. You do not want the elbows flying apart unnaturally. You want proper extension and structure.

How This Fits Your Swing

A chicken wing is usually not just an elbow problem. It is part of a larger pattern in which the club, arms, and body are no longer moving in sync through impact. This drill helps by improving your awareness of one important piece of that pattern: how your elbows behave as the club releases.

When your elbows maintain better spacing and your arms extend correctly, you can move through the ball with more freedom and less compensation. That often leads to cleaner contact, a more stable clubface, and a follow-through that looks and feels more connected.

This drill also works well because it is easier to train than some traditional “squeeze” drills. Holding a ball or balloon between the arms can create awareness, but the added auditory component here gives you another layer of feedback. You do not just try to feel the difference—you can hear it. For many golfers, that makes the learning process faster and more reliable.

Use this drill when you want to sharpen your awareness of elbow structure through impact, especially if you tend to fold the lead arm, lose width, or struggle to sense what your arms are doing in real time. The better you understand that relationship, the easier it becomes to blend the arms and body into a more efficient release.