It’s an open secret for years: the broker Dig out the serve time Public golf courses in Los Angeles and major slot machines are sold online to profit from taxpayer-owned entertainment.
Golfers complain about extreme difficulties, with impossible connections, playing on original and affordable municipal courses such as Griffith Park and Rancho Park.
This issue broke out last spring when evidence from brokerage media broke into social media. The Times interviewed two agents who shared how they sold their coveted serve times.
Amid the uproar riots, Los Angeles’ Department of Recreation and Parks has introduced a pilot program to curb predators. Golfers must pay $10 per person to reserve tee time and will be forfeited if the reservation is cancelled.
Nearly 10 months later, the fee — initially experiencing doubts and troubles — proved that the fee was successful, according to golfers and park officials.
“I think charging a $10 fee will make a difference, but it does make a difference,” said Reggie Kenner, 77, Manhattan Beach. “Now, you can occasionally do classes that you can never book before on a nice class. ”
“It’s still hard, but it’s natural because a lot of players play golf like this on weekends,” said Jongseo Joseph Lee, president of Socal Dream Golf Club, who goes golf twice a month in city classes.
Lee conducted extensive research on the broker and filed a complaint with park officials before the public frenzy, a plaintiff who failed to stop Tee Time Bokering among bureaucrats, engaged in an unsuccessful class action lawsuit against the city.
He added: “I can say it’s better than in recent years.”
Betty Brix performs three times a week in city classes and serves as chairman of the Golf Advisory Committee, which advises and oversight for recreation and park staff who manage 12 golf courses in Los Angeles, which he said has “has been greatly improved.”
“Every time I try to get it, I get kickoff time,” she said.
The Parks Department marked a victory in the battle with the agent, but the victory of not declaring that such a practice has been completely eliminated.
“The process for Tee Time Brokers to book, advertise, resell and rebook Tee Tee Tees has been greatly reduced,” spokesman Romondo Locke said in a statement.
Under the previous system, golfers did not pay to secure bookings. Every morning at 6 a.m., the serve era is open for nine days. Within seconds, the best time, like Saturday at 8 a.m. in Rancho Park, West Side, disappeared.
A network of brokers – many of them in the Korean community – swallowed up several major slots and then peddled them on social media, especially on the Korean app Kakaotalk. They sold Tee Times for $40 per person, according to pricing posted on social media.
Last March, golf professional and social media influencer Dave Fink promoted Tee Time Black Market to his 200,000+ Instagram followers, #FreetheTee became the cry of the rally and a Require public responsibility.
Ted Kim, an agent, told The Times that he scored points on Los Angeles golf courses and other public courses in Southern California, selling several thousand dollars a month. But he denied violating any law and he did not respond to recent news seeking comments.
As Kim admits, the agent will book a reservation under the golfer’s player card, otherwise they will transfer the serve time by making a carefully planned handover: cancel the reservation within an odd number of hours and then rebook in the name of the client.
Kevin Fitzgerald, former chairman of the Golf Advisory Committee, said the data reviewed by park officials appeared to confirm the handover plan.
Fitzgerald said cancellations will happen at obscure times, such as 2:48 a.m.
“Suddenly, a rebook will be done in three seconds without coordination, which is impossible,” he said. “In lower traffic hours, you expect to take some time to rebook without disappearing in a few seconds.”
Under the plan set out in May, golfers pay $10 for each person who makes reservations (essentially a deposit). Individuals who retain the group must appear on the day of the game. The $40 deposit for four then applies to the total entrance fee or green fee in the course, canceling the fee. Green costs are usually around $32 to $50 per person, but are discounted for older and juniors and in less popular times.
From May 2024 to October 2024 (the first six months of the pilot program), the number of tee times booked fell by nearly 95%, while the same period in 2023 dropped from 339,732 to 17,739.
On the booking platform, nearly 400 golfers had more than 60 canceled profiles, and the pair of 13 golfers plummeted after charging.
“Because there was no reaction to cancel the kickoff time, they were able to hoard all available time periods and sell them through third-party media,” said Entertainment and Parks spokesman Locke.
Fitzgerald, former chairman of the golf advisory committee, said when the pilot program started last spring, he “gets a lot of calls saying ‘It’s outrageous and helpless.’”
“But within a month, the phone was totally the opposite.” “I heard the following: I didn’t like paying a deposit, but I got Tee time on Saturday’s first time in Wilson’s course, which was six years.”
The golfer also described the drawbacks of the $10 fee. If something happens that causes golfers to miss serving time, they will lose money. Others say that golfers charge cumbersome. And, if there is no four-person reservation, other golfers are not allowed to participate in the game.
“I may be booking less tee time now,” Luis León said. Golfers and content creators. At first, he said the slots were more available, “but this doesn’t seem to last because it’s nearly impossible to spend a good time in places like Rancho Park and Griffith Park.”
“It’s unfair to say it’s totally smooth, and it’s not burdened,” Fitzgerald said.
There is still frustration over how cities deal with brokerage issues.
Lee, who filed the class action lawsuit, accused the city of being slow in formulating simple reforms to maintain the integrity of public golf courses. The lawsuit also claims that a city park staffer has accepted money from an agent, suggesting corruption is a factor in the tee time plan.
The Ministry of Recreation and Parks said in a statement that “there is no sign or reason to believe that any city employee is engaged in this type of activity.” Nevertheless, the Ministry of Parks acknowledged that despite the promise of doing so, there has been no formal investigation into Tee Time Brokering.
“In view of the positive results of the pilot program, no formal investigation is required,” Locke said in a statement.
Brix and Fitzgerald, current and former chairman of the Golf Advisory Committee, asserted that there was no evidence of misconduct by park staff.
“That’s the most frustrating part of it,” Brix said of allegations of misconduct. “What they have to do is provide a good experience for Los Angeles city golf. ”
Time at Los Angeles City Golf Course is still in record demand. In 2024, the city conducted more than one million bullets in 12 courses, a 28% increase from 2019. Golf income subsidizes some other urban park plans.
Recently, the Golf Advisory Committee recommended that the city permanently make the pilot program permanent, but adjust its structure to allow for a “up to” $10 booking fee. This will make park officials more latitude to reduce the ideal time period, such as 4pm, to set lower booking fees
“I don’t think the system is completely fixed because I don’t think anything is completely fixed, but I think it’s as good as the large system we have,” Brix said.
