By Jordan Frye
Manager of Media Relations

Have you ever wondered how or why your temperment effects your performance on the golf course? Do you know what your mental golf style is and how it plays into your overall performance?

The answer to these and many other questions can be answered with the use of the Mental Golf Workshop Profile.

With the American Junior Golf Association tournament season less than three months away, the time to renew or begin membership with the AJGA has arrived. By becoming a Junior Plus member, the Mental Golf Workshop Profile, valued at $65, is included with membership.

The profile is used extensively by The Titleist Performance Institute, The IMG Leadbetter Academy and over a hundred other top golf instructors and organizations. Dr. Greg Rose, co-founder of The Titleist Performance Institute, had this to say about the profile - "The beauty of this system is that our players get an accurate and comprehensive report without having to spend hours completing laborious questions. You sure get a lot of the time and money you invest in this process."

For readers of this newsletter who aren't Junior Plus members, you're also encouraged to take the profile. Simply click this link to go to the AJGA account on the profile Web site. The cost is $65.

Developed by former golf instructor and University of South Carolina golf coach Bobby Foster, the Mental Golf Workshop Profile recently underwent several upgrades to improve the report.

"We had accumulated several ideas and thoughts for improving the profile and set a deadline to upgrade the software before I spoke at The PGA Teaching and Coaching Summit in December," said Foster. "We knew there would be over 700 golf professionals from around the world attending who would be given an opportunity to sample the profile at home after the summit. We wanted them to see the improved version and the response from these golf instructors since the summit has been very strong."

Foster enlisted the help of Dr. Morris Pickens, sports psychologist at the Sea Island Learning Center in Sea Island, Ga., in improving the profile. Dr. Pickens works with Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd, Charles Warren and John Rollins, as well as players of all levels, including juniors. Pia Nilsson and Lynn Marriott of the renowned Vision 54 Golf Schools and authors of the best seller Every Shot Must Have a Purpose, also provided input for improvements. Nilsson is Annika Sorenstam's mental coach and both Nilsson and Marriott are Golf Digest Top 50 Teachers.

"Morris, Pia and Lynn are three of the smartest minds in golf and their contributions really helped make our profile a better product," said Foster.

The profile includes several new pages, including one that points out the potential strengths and weaknesses of the golfer's particular mental style and another page to share with the player's instructor regarding the player's learning style. All of the features throughout the profile were enhanced to make them more user-friendly.

In the upgraded Mental Golf Workshop Profile, players are encouraged to understand and use their own unique mental golf style.

"It's important for players, especially juniors, to know their own style instead of trying to become someone they're not," said Foster. "The key to having a great mental game is using the strengths of your mental style to your best advantage and it's not that difficult to do once you understand those strengths through your profile report."

Regarding a player's strengths and weaknesses, Foster refers to potential weaknesses as usually being the result of "overdoing or using a strength inappropriately" rather than being something that the golfer "lacks." For example, one of the strengths analytical players have is an attention to detail to really help them understand the nuts and bolts of their swings. But this strength could very well become a weakness if the player becomes so engrossed in every aspect of his swing that they get information overload on the ball.

"We've found that coaches, instructors and parents can benefit from the profile," said Foster.

The profile can be used to help parents understand their child's style, which may or may not match their own. Understanding the differences or similarities in profiles can help tailor communication styles and expectations between the parent(s) and their child. The golf profile is based on the DISC model, which is one of the most popular profiles used in the workplace for coaching people to higher levels of performance.

The profile includes customized strategies based on the player's mental style to help improve in the following key areas:

• Goal setting
• Managing emotions to best generate positive energy
• Developing an effective pre-round routine
• Managing tension from the inside-out
• Using your visual skills to sharpen focus and concentration
• Committing to your shot before you're over the ball
• Developing a game plan for the course
• How to best work with your golf instructors based on your learning style

Due to the popularity of the profile, which has been used by PGA TOUR players, juniors and amateur players of all levels, coaches, golf professionals and others, Foster is working on translating the profile into other languages as well as developing versions for other sports.

To take advantage of the Mental Golf Workshop Profile, please sign up for the Junior Plus Membership now!