Frequently Asked Questions

The scoring system chooses from a wide range of DISC styles and selects the most appropriate style for each area of the game. By picking a specific DISC style for each area, the system can produce the profile in hundreds of different versions. This flexibility contributes greatly to the accuracy of the profiles.

While we doubt we've produced a profile for a golfer that is 100% word-for-word perfect - and this is not a realistic goal - the feedback from participants indicates a very high degree of accuracy with their profiles.

There are five important things you can do to get the most benefit from your profile:

1. Review your profile with a golf professional or knowledgeable person who can provide additional insights for improving your mental game. We strongly
recommend sharing this profile with instructors you work with.
2. Acknowledge that improving your mental golf game will contribute to making you a better player - just as improving your physical game will.
3. Make notes in the spaces provided on each page of your profile report. These notes will reinforce the key points you choose to work on.
4. Make notes on the ongoing progress you make in the improvement ideas section.
5. Commit to reviewing your profile regularly. The more often you review your profile, the fresher the information will be in your mind.

The ability to identify how some golfers shift mental styles from one area of the game to another is a unique strength with our profiling system. The most common shift in styles is players moving to a more analytical style when they are playing shots. Even creative types who tend to go with their "gut feel" in most activities often shift to an analytical, "go through the checklist" style when playing shots. For many players (but not all), this diminishes their ability to use their natural athletic ability.

Another common variance in styles occurs when people who have very competitive and risk-taking personalities shift to a more conservative style with their Course Management Strategies. By adapting to a more cautious style, these players will make higher-percentage shot selection choices than they would with their natural bold personality traits. Most Phil Mickelson fans probably wish he would shift to a more cautious DISC style with his course management strategies.

Just as many people shift styles in their work lives depending on the task at hand, golfers often do the same thing with their games.

The majority of players will not have the same style for all five areas. Golf is not just one activity - many different activities make up someone's overall golf game. As players shift from one area of the game to another, it makes sense that they might use different DISC behavioral styles.

For example, 2002 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year Jonathan Byrd profiles as a determined and competitive D (Dominance) style for Preparing for the Round, then shifts into a more analytical C over D (Caution/Dominance) style for Playing Shots and for Working With Instructors. Jonathan works hard to understand the nuts and bolts and the intricacies of his swing and says he has to be careful not to become overly analytical on the course.

The key is to understand your present thinking style for each area and learn how to maximize the potential of this style or if needed, to adjust your style to be a more effective player for that area of the game.

There isn't any one best style. Many great champions have excelled with very different golfing personality styles. Here are just a few examples:

• Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros won multiple major championships with different mental styles. Faldo is quite analytical and precision-minded while Ballesteros is at the other end of the spectrum - a creative, "see the shot and hit it" type of shot-maker. If either tried to use the other's style neither would have been nearly as great. In fact, some analysts feel Seve has become far more analytical than he was in his prime and that this has contributed to his game becoming a mere shadow of what it used to be.
• Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson caddied together as youngsters but developed very different golfing personalities. Hogan was very driven and task-oriented while Nelson was more outgoing and relaxed. Certainly Hogan's style was not better than Nelson's or vice versa - each excelled with the style he was comfortable with.
• Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite grew up playing together as juniors and college teammates, but had different golfing personalities. Their coach, the legendary Harvey Penick, coached them according to their individual personalities rather than trying to make both conform to a "best" mental golfing style.

If you question how you compare to a "best" style, obvious questions might be "What is Annika's style?" or "What is Tiger's style." One might think, "they're the best players in the world so they must have the 'best' mental golf style." Annika and Tiger have incredible talent, mind-boggling work ethics, and each received great mental coaching in their early days from people who clearly knew their personalities - Annika from Pia Nilsson and Tiger from his Dad.

These facts have more to do with making these two the best in the world than either having the "best" mental golf style. They use and constantly refine the "best" mental style that works for them.

All one has to do is analyze the mental golf styles of just a partial list of the all-time greats - Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead, Mickey Wright, Kathy Whitworth, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Nancy Lopez, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam - to realize just how diverse mental styles can be for world-class players.

Each case is different so the best answer is "it depends." The Improvement Ideas on pages 8-21 of the profile reports are written in the spirit of helping players to understand and improve their mental golf traits rather than expecting players to drastically change their golfing personalities.

There are times, however, when golfers need to make considerable shifts in their mental approach for certain areas of the game. For example, players with a very aggressive D (Dominance) Course Management style, who often suffer the consequences of playing too many risky shots, would obviously benefit by shifting to a more conservative course management style.

Also, golfers who aren't analytical by nature but who become very analytical when standing over the ball about to swing often suffer from trying to process a checklist of mental swing keys. These golfers would almost certainly benefit by shifting to a more instinctive and spontaneous, "see the shot and trust my swing" mental style for playing shots.

We highly recommend making notes in the Improvement Ideas section as a way to determine what changes you need to make. Just as people tend to think more clearly about their lives when they keep journals, changes you need to make in your game might become obvious to you as you make notes.