Management of Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, has found that there’s much to be gained by helping golfers lose. Lose strokes from their handicaps, that is.
The club’s new “Biggest Loser” program is a six-month campaign that aims to help players improve their games much in the same way the popular TV show “The Biggest Loser” seeks to tighten participants’ waistlines. Carmel’s professional staff works with students three times per month, tailoring each session to the person’s strengths and weaknesses. Fees vary for the program, depending on which instructor the student works with. (The cost to work with Jason Sutton, PGA director of instruction, is $1,000.)
At the end of the program, participants go through a series of skills-based games that allow them to show off their ability under pressure. The person who reduces their handicap index by the most strokes is deemed the winner, and the top three losers are awarded equipment donated by Titleist.
“They love this,” says Sutton, noting that 60 players enrolled in the first “Biggest Loser” competition. “It gives them motivation to win.”
Moreover, the program has helped foster greater camaraderie among the membership, increased the number of rounds played, and expanded the number of group lessons and individual lessons booked.
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