LA County Golf Courses Will Charge Reservation Fees to Stop Tee Time Brokers

The crackdown on tee time brokers at public golf courses continues as Los Angeles County follows the city’s lead in requiring nonrefundable reservation deposits.

In April, Los Angeles city leaders responded to complaints from golfers who said they couldn’t get morning tee times at municipal courses because brokers were scooping them up and reselling them.

The problem was so bad that a group of golfers sued the city in March, saying officials weren’t doing enough to end black market tee times.

The city adopted a new program which came into effect on April 16, and which requires a non-refundable deposit of $10 per round booked for each player. The objective is to dissuade brokers from reselling tee times.

On Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors took similar steps for its 20 golf courses, requiring a nonrefundable $10 reservation deposit and imposing cancellation fees.

Players whose reservations are cancelled within 48 hours of tee time, or in the event of a no-show, will forfeit the reservation fee and be charged an additional $10 fee per player, with proceeds going to the county’s junior golf program.

The reservation deposit and cancellation fee will take effect on August 1st.

According to Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation, the county has the largest and most popular public golf course system in the country, with 13 of the 20 courses offering regulation 18 holes of play.