The 27.9 times that of earth figure is correct but the wording used to express it is imprecise . What they are speaking off is the gravitational field strength of the surface which is commonly referred to as the acceleration due to gravity at the surface. The value for this on the surface of the sun is around 274 m/s^2 compared to earth's 9.81 m/s^2. Thus the suns surface gravity is indeed 274/9.81 = 27.9 times that of earth's surface gravity.

Jonny

The path to good scholarship is paved with imagined patterns. - David M Raup