April08.

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At KeyGolf, we get a considerable amount of feedback, both direct and indirect, pertaining to the profile summaries we provide for golfers. The "direct" comes straight from "the mouth of the horse," so to speak. The indirect comes through instructors and others who have picked up on comments from those who have received, and presumably studied, that content.

In both instances, it is starting to be very clear that most folks operate from a set of skewered perceptions that, for the most part, are presumptive and require a bit of centering. If you "google" the keyword "profile," or "profiling," you will harvest a large number of different groups doing something they all refer to as "profiling," loosely, we might add. A careful review will let you know that those different sources are not either the same in substance or intent, and, in some cases, it is evident that the purpose of the profiling is more commercial than substantive.

There are many claimed "issues" being profiled these days - race, religion, nationality, love, match-making, family life, education, brain power, personality (ah, yes, "personality"), and then there is what we do here at Keygolf - specifically profile "Behavior Style," often misunderstood and misrepresented by others, though partially unwittingly, as "personality," or the same as. However, style and personality are two entirely different concerns and work in much different ways, notwithstanding that they may be examined from similar root data.

Sadly, we haven’t found anyone, beyond our team, in the profiling "business" that promotes the understanding inherent in separating between "personality" and "style." Even sadder is the realization that, due to the misuse of the "personality" word, not many even grasp the vital distinction between the two, or the ways in which they are important and serviceable. It is, of course, vastly important to understand personality, since that is the medium we all use to present ourselves to others in any environment in order to gain their endorsement. Everyone not only needs the endorsement of others, but is not likely to survive without it, since the alternative to social connection is thorough, if not complete, isolation.

On the other hand, at least for those who are engaged in solitary, self contained, self-initiated, individually performed activity, like golf, they need confirmation of pure style, since that is the essential driving force in all indivudally performed activity, and that is burned into each person's nature, with or without permission. Mother Nature holds command there. The knowledge of what that is and how it works is our personal guardian against the negative side of any unnecessary effects of stress. And stress is a game wrecker in golf and a definite deterrent in any and all tasks and activities that must be done solo, alone.

That means recognizing, except for the format KeyGolf uses, that most profiling applications look for multiple output - such as a person's way of approaching other people, values, beliefs, fears, pleasures, preferences, desire, goals, objectives, not to mention things like hobbies and special interests - which are formats that will only be able to gather half the information we need for golf and serve half of what we seek to do in the game.

It is vital to see the importance of capturing an integrated picture of all the traits a player owns in order to have a context for the value of what profiling reveals. The vision of some clearly only covers half the value. When personality and style are not viewed comprehensively, we can easily fail to notice that our birthright and our intentions don't necessarily follow the same patterns. As is most often the case, the typical view is more aligned to the personality "pattern" that is shaped without our permission, after we arrive rather than seeing what is formed in genetics. Personality is framed from whatever course our lives may have taken, through the events and relationships that bombarded one's genetic style without so much as a "by your leave." That only made changes to what shows on the surface. It did not usually alter the given style, except for those few who suffer such intense emotional "beatings" that they wind up behind the doors of some institution. For us at KeyGolf, in total, holistic words, we subscribe to a combination of natural beginnings coupled with, and influenced by, the nurturing (for good or ill) that invariably follows, but make no mistake: Nurture as far as golf is concerned, or any other solo activity, is more the enemy than the friend, unless, that nurture has been in complete harmony with our natural, or genetic beginnings. Personality is good to know about, of course, but by itself, defaults actually to less than half of our being, which as we know, gets more action from style than from personality. The golf expression, "Drive for show and putt for dough fits here. "Personality for show, Style for dough."

Default harmony between those two simply does not emerge very often, though nowhere is that dynamic more evident in any life and game than in that of the exceptional one called "Tiger" Woods.

Profiling for golfers, or for anyone engaged in a distinguishable self-initiated, solo set of activities has a simple objective. Show the individual's best self-assessed image reflecting the genetically influenced traits given from birth (at least as near as anyone can come), compared with what that person has been trying to do with that. Then allow that comparison to identify the importance of the process required to harmonize action with original, "factory-installed," ownership rather than anything that may appear from intentions to act based on something that is different from that. Once the original is identified, unless that person's intentions are essentially the same as one's birthright, it will reveal the kind and extent of any self-compromising proposal to change things that can interfere with one’s activities, especially those that are solitary in posture, like golf.

In our approach, KeyGolf looks only for the best estimate, as provided by each respondent, of the traits a person owns and, for the most part, by which that person conducts all activity, even that which may be disguised or masked by reason of taking root in interpersonal activity. The sense of our profiling process has no connection at all to one's values or beliefs, or any of the aforementioned areas. True, one could learn from the responses to our profile instrument, a great deal about approaching all the venues we face in life, but because most profiling is engaged in a subtle overtone of wanting to seem like a sophisticated revelation to pin on a respondent, or simply to make someone "happy," the perception of what profiling is all about gets a very tangled evaluation. Some see it as unimportant and insignificant, so that their particpation is half-hearted or simply deflected. We even find it sometimes used as an excuse for behavior, rather than providing insight into the reasons for it. The instrument we use has nothing to do with that kind of value judgment. We have never seen two profiles exactly alike after more that 40,000 completed, so any fear of "pigeon-holing," "labeling" or "excusing" is not only unwarranted, it is simply impoverished.

Such misperceptions, however, have led to frequent protestations about profiling, as someone may be heard to say, "I don't believe in profiles. I do not like to be put in a pigeon hole." That, unfortunately, is the bad rap that is easily connected to profiles that are subjectively reviewed and evaluated, and given an "interpretation" by a third party. Most profiles begin with finding out how "other people" view you. That is an invitation to put on your mask and present your personality. That may be fine if your goal is to find out how you tend to make connections in social or interpersonal situations. But it is fundamentally flawed if what you are seeking is an understanding of your own given style in order to relate your strengths to what you want to do or achieve. Our purpose at KeyGolf is to allow the profile information to create a framework for instruction and instructors that lets those two forces relate best to the style of a player, and it allows a player to confirm the best personal, natural combination of traits within that person's ownership for the integration and synchronicity that brings to life and game.

There is no one anywhere who can offer more about you, yourself, than you can - at least as a starting point. A professional may be able to ask you questions that will open your pathways to more complete self-understanding, but it is rare that someone has enough insight to take a snippet from your life and identify who you are. They may see your skin, but not your gut. They may view your intentions by watching what your do, but not see meaning in your actions unless they have learned to see through the veil of intent.

So it is very important to know what kind of profile you are enlisting and what purpose it serves, if indeed you have noticed the benefits of doing it at all and are looking for that service. You will need to re-evaluate any notion that profiling will somewhow put you in a box. If you don't know about profiling or think it is in the category of "idiot's delight" or worse, intended to bind you in some sort of category or "pigeon hole," then these comments are not likely to change your point of view, and you would be well advised to simply avoid the whole matter and save yourself the time and trouble. But if what you want or need is the benefit of moving to the next level that is germane to "behavior style" profiling, you will be able to find that in our process. If that's your pleasure, you will get plenty of significant attention and support from us.

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