Four Los Angeles City Council members introduced a motion yesterday that seeks to crack down on what the motion describes as “black-market tee time brokers” who book and resell city golf course tee times for profit.
The motion requests a report back on the operation and management of the tee-time reservation system, as well as ongoing efforts to prohibit the use of automated programs to book tee times — similar to concert and sporting event ticket scalpers. Additionally, it would instruct a review and report on any potential fee adjustments needed to monitor or upgrade the current system.
Or as the motion reads, “while it is too early to understand the effectiveness of these steps, we must be ready to take further action to ensure the booking process is fair to all golfers who wish to play at city golf courses.”
For those who may have thought that the initial two (2) remedies implemented by Los Angeles’ Board of Recreation and Park Commissioners – a $10 nonrefundable deposit per player and a revised code of conduct replete with civil fines and penalties for those who violate its provisions – would be a one-and-done affair with no follow-up to determine their efficacy and/or no follow-up to consider additional remedies, think again. The city’s Golf Advisory Commission and Board of Recreation & Park Commissioners have already requested continued follow-up, and if this motion passes, so too will the city’s legislature.
Los Angeles County, which operates a municipal golf system roughly 50% larger than the one operated by the City of Los Angeles, is not likely too far behind in implementing similar remedies. While the media, both normative and social, have focused exclusively on the City, the problem extends well beyond.
If there is a positive aspect to living in the nation’s most golf starved market, it is this. It may be hard to get a tee time, but with all the media coverage and political scrutiny on the integrity of the platforms that provide tee access, at least we shouldn’t continue to be bombarded with how “underutilized” golf courses are, how their acreage would be better used for other purposes, and how the game is fading in popularity. “Shouldn’t” but no doubt will; that’s a lesson we long ago learned. Perceptions once ingrained are hard to overcome, so we’ll keep all the headlines, TV clips, and Council motions to refresh memories when the need to do so inevitably recurs.
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