Golfers and other community members expressed outrage Monday and demanded answers from city officials about a booming black market that has taken over scarce tee times at golf courses in the city of Los Angeles.
The only city official at the all-volunteer golf advisory committee meeting offered only brief comments and did not answer questions from speakers about why the city has not stopped the practice of brokers buying tee times and charging up to $40. as a reserve. fee.
“This is an unconscionable violation of the public trust. We are here to serve the public, and a very small segment of the public is being served, and I am angry about that,” said Karen Thornton, president of the Griffith Park Advisory Board. Two city-run golf courses, Wilson and Harding, are part of Griffith Park.
Thornton said she and her advisory board colleagues had previously urged the city's golf program director, Rick Reinschmidt, to fix the problem.
“We haven't seen any substantial changes,” Thornton said. “We are going to fight alongside the golfers until this is resolved,” prompting a burst of applause from the crowd.
Chuck Ruiz, of the city's golf division administrative staff, spoke briefly about an ongoing investigation into tee-time corridors.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Meetings of the golf advisory committee, part of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, are usually serious affairs. But on Monday, people filled a small conference room in a gray bungalow along the Los Angeles River, many standing and some spilling out the door.
Reinschmidt was not present.
Chuck Ruiz, a member of the city's golf division administrative staff, said that regarding “the resale of tee times, the department is very aware of this issue and at this time we are investigating this issue with our vendor. booking engine.
The findings of an ongoing investigation, Ruiz said, will be shared with the city's Parks and Recreation Board, whose commissioners are appointed by Mayor Karen Bass.
Steve Brown, a golfer at Los Angeles municipal courses since 1976, urged officials to “dig deep” and even arrest and prosecute those who may be committing crimes.
“I have nothing against my Korean brothers who love golf; it's just not right for everyone else,” Brown said. “This is a big problem that needs to be solved.”
Steve Brown, standing, addresses the golf advisory committee to discuss access to the course.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Within the Korean golf community, it is well known that brokers use senior memberships to reserve morning and afternoon tee times and resell them, according to several interviews conducted by The Times.
It's impossible to know exactly how many tee times runners are earning or how much Korean runners are contributing to the shortage of golf spaces.
At city courses, spots open at 6 a.m. for golf nine days in advance. And every morning, within seconds, reservations disappear on the city's online booking platform, GolfNow. Golfers say that without using a broker, they obtain tee times primarily through last-minute cancellations or a wait list, where they must be present in person for anywhere from five minutes to several hours. Sometimes the list does not appear at all.
Urban courses at Griffith Park, Rancho Park and Hansen Dam offer unparalleled convenience and affordability, and typically charge around $35 per person, plus on weekends and holidays. The rate is the same for non-residents.
Joseph Lee, president of SoCal Dream Golf Club and an active member of Los Angeles' Korean community, condemned the racers and vowed to expose how they are monetizing a public good.
“We will pursue them to the end and keep them informed,” Lee said to applause at the meeting.
However, Anne Matthews, a longtime member of the golf advisory committee, questioned whether the existence of runners has been proven.
“Is there evidence that these people exist and that this is happening?” Matthews said.
Dozens responded: “Yes.”
“The demand for golf is overwhelming,” Matthews continued. “So this problem will persist even if we get rid of these middlemen, which is absolutely the right thing to do.”
Attendees packed the city's golf advisory committee meeting Monday.
(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
Several committee members agreed that changes are needed to the dismissal system. They expressed interest in measures to protect against intermediation, such as randomly posting canceled tee times, implementing a lottery, or requiring advance payment to secure an online tee time.
“We want to make the system available to anyone in Los Angeles who wants to play,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, chairman of the golf advisory committee. “I'm convinced that the golf division, I'm convinced that the third-party provider wants to do everything they can to protect the system.”
Boyle Heights resident Nick Luna compared private tee time brokering to former Los Angeles City Councilman José Huizar, who accepts bribes from developers.
Huizar is one of three council members convicted of federal corruption charges in recent years.
“Unfortunately, I have seen corruption firsthand,” Luna said, noting that he lived in the Huizar district and attended a ribbon cutting organized by the disgraced former councilman. Luna said any city employee involved in brokering should suffer consequences, including losing his job.
Golfers came to the golf advisory committee meeting after golf influencer Dave Fink used his Instagram page with 200,000 followers to draw attention to brokering. Fink addressed city officials on Monday and explained why he was so outraged.
“The brokers have basically privatized public golf. And it's been heartbreaking for all of us regular people who depend on these public parks to play this beautiful game,” Fink said at the meeting. “I used my online presence to alert others to this wrongdoing. And I'm glad that, thanks to the power of the community, we have already been able to implement some changes.”
Dave Fink, a golf influencer, used his platform to raise awareness about brokers selling tee times at public golf courses.
(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)
Fink learned about the runners from cinematographer and fellow golfer Josh Hill, who interviewed the players at Griffith Park one weekend to see how they achieved precious tee times.
“I finally found a person who was willing to talk to me and let me know that they used a broker to get time. And that was the only way to get a schedule, basically, a Saturday and a Sunday. And I got pretty angry,” Hill said at the meeting. “We have to find a way to implement a plan that actually solves the problem.”
The golf advisory committee took no formal action Monday but planned to call a special meeting, in a larger location, to discuss the scope of the problem and possible solutions.
Community members asked that a representative from GolfNow, a subsidiary of NBC Sports Next, be present to answer questions at the next meeting.
