How an unlikely crew took on a shadow tee time system at LA's public golf courses

For years, many players within the Los Angeles golfing community found it increasingly difficult to book tee times at the city’s public golf courses. Then, an unlikely crew of golf enthusiasts united to expose a shadow system of brokers who were snatching up coveted tee times and reselling them at higher rates.

Now, their fight to keep golf in L.A. accessible and affordable is paying off. Here's how it happened.

Shadow broker system

The Los Angeles golf community was rocked on March 4 when Dave Fink, a golf influencer, posted a viral video on Instagram detailing how brokers were snatching up prime tee times at Los Angeles’ public golf courses and reselling them. News and outrage spread quickly, and the story broke in the Los Angeles Times.

According to L.A. Times reporter Ashley Ahn, who interviewed multiple brokers, they communicate with their clients through a Korean app called Kakao Talk, "so that inherently selects [a] predominantly Korean client base of golfers.”

It is still unknown how the brokers are able to secure tee times before other golfers can book them directly online. Ahn says a broker she spoke to said “he uses three to five devices with a group of friends, and that's how he secures the times at 6 a.m.”

The broker told Ahn that he started out during the COVID-19 pandemic to help his grandparents, who struggled with technology. “So it started out as a way to help Korean seniors who didn't know how to book a tee time online,” she said.

High demand for public golf in L.A.

The city of L.A. operates a busy and sprawling public golf course system. According to L.A.’s golf division, the city’s public courses hosted more than 1 million rounds of golf last year.

And these public courses offer lower tee time rates than most private courses. L.A.'s Trump National Golf Course during prime time on a weekend costs upward of $1,000. Meanwhile, the most coveted time slot at Wilson and Harding, the public course in Griffith Park, costs $55 dollars. So these affordable tee times are highly sought after, and many L.A. golfers were furious when they learned about the tee time brokers.

Golfers unite against the brokers

Nearly half a year before Fink posted his viral video, in October 2023, members of SoCal Dream Golf Club, a club for Asian and Korean golfers, wrote to L.A. city’s golf supervisor, Rick Reinschmidt, to alert him of the brokers. “We felt very awkward because...we reported about the tee time brokers many times. But he didn't do anything,” said Joseph Lee, a leader of SoCal Dream Golf Club.

However, Reinschmidt stated in an email that the golf division did take immediate action. “The city canceled all tee times and suspended all player accounts,” he said, adding that public accounts they suspected of being associated with the shadow booking system were also canceled.

Still, Lee felt the city was not doing enough to clamp down on the brokers, and when Fink’s video took off, Lee reached out to the influencer right away. “He has influence and….I have proof, and I have resources,” he said. “If we cooperate with each other, then we can…[track] all those rats and take them down.”

Tee time tipping point

The tipping point came during the city’s Golf Advisory Committee meeting on March 18. The committee is an independent body of unpaid volunteers that works closely with L.A.’s golf division, submitting reports and recommendations to city leaders for consideration.

Fink put a call out on his Instagram, urging golfers who were angry about the broker situation to show up at the upcoming committee meeting. Both Fink and Lee were among the dozens who attended. The overwhelming sentiment was that the players wanted golf to be more affordable and accessible for Angelenos. They offered potential solutions and pleaded with L.A. golf officials to change the booking procedures to fight the shadow broker system.

Changes to the booking system

Since the Golf Advisory Committee meeting in March, the city of L.A. has responded by implementing a pilot program. Now, when someone books a tee time for a public golf course, they have to pay a $10 deposit on their greens fee, discouraging people from snatching up tee times they won’t use.

“Tee times are not filling up as quickly as they were prior to the implementation of the deposit, helping to increase access to available tee time,” Reinshmidt said in his email.

Fink said he’s also seen the situation improve. “I get messages every day from people that say, ‘Hey, I live down the street from Rancho Park. I have not been able to get a tee time for 10 years. And for the last two weeks, I've gotten tee times on Saturday.’”

Learn more: Listen to Imperfect Paradise: Tee Time Takedown.

Listen • 47:54

Listen • 47:54

‘Free the Tee’: Fighting Back Against LA Golf Course Scalpers

Many players within the Los Angeles golfing community found it increasingly difficult to book tee times at the city’s public golf courses for years. An unlikely crew of golf enthusiasts united to expose a shadow system of brokers who were snatching up coveted tee times and reselling them at higher rates. Their fight to keep golf in L.A. accessible and affordable is paying off. Host Antonia Cereijido reports.