To the editor: For years I have tried, unsuccessfully, to reserve tee times at Los Angeles municipal golf courses by diligently waking up at 5:55 a.m., nine days in advance, to log into the city's reservation system as soon as possible. . I have never managed to get a tee time on a desirable course. (“Brokers Are Buying Valuable Tee Times at Los Angeles City Golf Courses. Golfers Are Desperate and Outraged,” March 16)
Many golfers I have spoken to over the years have suspected some kind of mischief. I complained directly to Rick Reinschmidt, the city's golf administrator, who assured me that there are no robots or special internal mechanisms by which brokers can obtain and then sell desirable tee times.
But when I asked players how they got their reservations, they told me to use a broker.
His article detailing the existence of these Korean brokers clearly states that Reinschmidt must stop them from gaming the system. If Reinschmidt does not do so, then it is up to the Korean community to take action.
Faye Lee, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Thank you for finally shedding light on this situation. Unfortunately, I think this problem is more deep-rooted than some Korean runners.
I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to book a tee time, within 10 seconds of 6am, only to find nothing available until after 2pm, nine days later.
Since each reservation requires the use of a valid player card number, I find it hard to believe that this problem is caused by a few lone Korean agents. At the very least, it looks like someone is using a bot.
Every time my group has an early morning tee time, which is desirable since a round of golf often lasts more than four hours, we see the same group in front of us. This is not a coincidence.
Thanks for exposing this.
Kevin Minihan, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I suggest a new mandate: link golf reservations to individuals using an identification card, such as a driver's license or other state ID, to be shown when checking in for the round.
This eliminates the middlemen.
Peter Preksto, Minco, Oklahoma.
