Shank Safari

Back in August, the internet’s most stylish golf instructor, Liz Breed aka Shank Haney, hosted a group of 6 golf explorers in the Cotswolds near London for a 2 day training camp.

From navigating shitty lies, to reading undulating greens, picking good targets and developing a robust pre shot routine, the rugged hills of South West England offered the perfect destination for honing your game. We checked in with Liz to get her review of the trip.

What makes the Shank Safari different to a normal coaching session?

The way that I think about rounds of golf, through the lens of performance and playing for a score, offers people a really tangible way of improvement.

Not every 15 handicap is plotting their way around a golf course in a way that allows them to play their best golf. And maybe this is my narcissism in me, but I'm really glad that I could show people how they can play better golf. Not necessarily by swinging it better, but use what they have, and that take that skill set to play better golf.

Why Cleeve Hill?

I wanted people to push themselves out of their comfort zone and Cleeve Hill was the perfect place to do that. Some of my participants had never even been to the UK, let alone played golf over there.

So for them to get a taste of real countryside, real UK rugged golf, I think that just calls to so much courage and bravery from the participants' perspective. Sometimes the winds were blowing 30 miles an hour. Sometimes it would randomly just start pissing rain. And sometimes it was bright and sunny and you can wear shorts.

Sounds tough, do I need to be an experienced golfer to come on one of your trips?

Everybody was kind of between a 10 handicap and an 18 handicap. And I think that was the perfect group of people for this particular challenge. It was really fulfilling for them to see how they can plot their way around a golf course a little bit better.

It's supposed to be intense, it's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to put you in the mindset of a professional golfer. So when you spend all of your days out on a golf course: what are you thinking about, how are you surviving, how are you getting through these really intense elements and trying to play the best performance golf that you can? That was the whole theme and intent of the trip. Everybody's skill level was kind of luckily in the same spot.

But it wasn’t all alignment drills and step count. An expertly curated range of gifts, the tranquil comfort of the Cloud Hill Cottage and a locally sourced meal cooked by 2 private chefs, ensured this was truly a trip to remember.

Liz now looks ahead to the second instalment of her coaching trips in Portland, Oregon. Where, in partnership with MatchStick Golf, her group of golfers will take on the fairways of Wildwood GC as well as the gem of the North Oregon Coast: Astoria Golf & Country Club.

This recent addition ‘The Expedition’, is now fully booked, but keep an eye on Liz’s socials to be the first to know about the next adventure. We have it on good authority that another one is coming up soon.