BIGGEST LOSER GOLF CONTEST 2016 WINNER ANNOUNCED

After three months of intensive testing, training, and challenging competitions a winner has been crowned in the Eric Jones Golf Academy's 2016 “Biggest Loser Golf Contest.” Pocketing a cool $1,000.00 Grand Prize winner’s check, Sam Chi of Castro Valley dropped nearly 18 strokes from his average golf score to claim the title.

“It was fantastic experience.” said Chi. “I’m a relatively new golfer, and the things Eric and Andy taught us were amazing.”

Similar in format to the popular TV show “Biggest Loser” the contest was set up to see who could lose the most within a given time frame. Instead of losing pounds, the goal was to find out who could lose the most strokes. Sam went from shooting in the 100s to shooting in the low 90s in just three months.

“I know so much more about golf now.” he continued. “Not just about the golf swing, although we did a lot of work on my swing. But more importantly about how to practice and even how to play. That’s what has helped the most.”

The contestants trained with Coaches from the Eric Jones Golf Academy twice a week at Redwood Canyon golf course. After an initial assessment the players were given a personalized plan for improvement. Each week they worked on their plan and were introduced to new skills and drills. Measuring performance was a continual part of the process.

“When I first started I couldn’t make 10 putts in a row from six feet. I couldn’t even make four in a row.” said Sunni Moon, who also participated in the contest. “A month later I made 10 in a row and it was easy. Now I have a killer short game.” Sunni shot her career low round of 79 just days after conclusion of the contest.

“I never would have guessed that putting would have such a big impact on my score.” said Moon. “I always just wanted to hit the ball farther. But now I know that instead of taking driver lessons I should have been taking putting lessons. I’m so happy to be a good putter now!”

The Biggest Loser Golf Contest was run by the Eric Jones Golf Academy at Redwood Canyon golf course in Castro Valley and supported by Touchstone Golf, which operates the facility on behalf of the East Bay Regional Park District, and Volvik, maker of the most colorful golf balls on Tour.

“We’re an innovative company.” said Jon Claffey of Volvik. “We love supporting innovative programs like this that help golfers get better.”

Volvik supplied each contestant with a dozen golf balls as well as hats and gloves. They also provided practice balls for the players to use while training. One of the keys to better scores on the course was providing golf balls that were custom fit to the players based on swing speed and skill level.

“After three months of using Volvik balls I’ve made the switch.” said Dudly Thompsen, a 10-handicap who finished a close second. “At first I wasn’t sure. But after using Volvik’s colored balls I find that they help me see the ball better and hit more consistent shots. Plus the compression matches my swing speed, so my game is more reliable.”

“This was a close contest.” said Jones, who is the 2014 PGA Teacher of the Year in Northern California. “The top three contestants were all within just a few percentage points of each other in terms of who had improved their game the most. It all came down to the last day and the final tournament.”

Contestants accumulated points for winning weekly challenges, meeting milestones, number of rounds posted, and frequency of play and practice. They also competed in a season-ending final tournament. The biggest factor in determining the winner, however, was the percentage improvement in scoring.

“The key to the contest was the Initial Assessment.” said Jones. “That’s what enabled us to pinpoint the best way for each player to improve and then to measure that improvement at the end of three months.”

The initial Player Assessment - a unique system developed by Jones - establishes statistical measures for every part of the golfer’s game.

“This Assessment is something we do for a lot of our first-time students” said Andy Morris, director of Programs for the Eric Jones Golf Academy. “It’s takes 2 to 3 hours or more to complete a thorough Assessment. “But by the end of the Assessment it is almost always obvious what the golfer should prioritize if they want to shoot lower scores. And they can see it in their assessment scores.”

“Just like Biggest Loser where the contestants have to weigh in to establish their starting point, our Assessment process measures a player’s performance level in a variety of categories.” Morris continued. The Assessment measures performance in short putts, approach putts, lag putts, chipping, pitching, lob shots, short irons, mid-irons, long-irons, and driving.

“We knew everybody’s strengths and everybody’s weaknesses at the outset.” said Jones. “From there it was simply a matter of prioritizing according to game impact and then structuring the appropriate training program to help each golfer get better as fast as possible.”

“It’s made golf a lot more fun for me. I just know more about what I am doing and why I’m doing it.” said Chi. “The fun part is having a goal and to knowing you’re doing exactly what you need to do to get there. And the results keep showing up in my scores. I know by this time next year I’ll be shooting in the low 80s.”

The Biggest Loser Golf Contest will launch again in the spring of 2017. Until then Jones has created a monthly Adult Training program to teach the same scoring and game improvement principles.

“We call it Sunday School.” said Jones. “We meet once a week on Sunday morning at 10:30. The idea is to provide a weekly training program for golfers of any ability level that will teach them what they need to do to get better. On purpose.”

There is nothing random in the improvement process for students in the Sunday School program. The Assessment establishes the baselines, and the training sessions focus on improving results.

Golfers interested in the Adult Sunday School training program or the 2017 Biggest Loser contest should contact Andy Morris at amorris@ericjonesgolf.com, or Redwood Canyon Golf Course at 510-537-8001.

Touchstone Golf is a recognized leader in the golf course industry, providing comprehensive Management Services to golf course owners. Touchstone customizes management engagements to address the specific needs of each property, placing emphasis on meeting strategic objectives of the owners.

Volvik is the #1 Color Golf Ball On Tour with over 70 professionals using Volvik's ultra high-performance color golf balls. Since 2012, players using Volvik golf balls have earned over $5 million on the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, Champions Tour, Web.com Tour, Ladies European Tour, LAGT and Symetra Tour with 10 victories and 63 Top 10 finishes. Volvik has more colors and number of colored golf balls in play on the world's professional tours than any other manufacturer in the history of golf. Volvik has developed a reputation based on perfect quality control and innovative development, quickly becoming one of the most significant and trusted golf ball manufacturers in the world. Volvik is dedicated to the production of specialized 3- and 4-piece multi-layer golf balls that feature patented dimple technology for optimal performance that satisfies the needs of golfers of every skill level.