California tee time brokers will face new legal restrictions after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation banning the unauthorized resale of tee times at publicly owned golf courses.
The new law comes more than two years after The Korea Daily first reported on the resale of public golf course reservations by some Korean American brokers, an issue that eventually prompted changes to Los Angeles’ reservation system and drew the attention of federal prosecutors.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1954 on Sept. 27. Authored by California Assemblymember Christopher Ward, a Democrat, the law prohibits third parties from advertising, selling or transferring tee times at publicly owned golf courses through online reservation platforms without written authorization from the course operator.
The law applies to public golf courses owned by local governments, including cities and counties. Until now, California lacked a law directly prohibiting tee time brokerage. AB 1954 explicitly makes unauthorized online resale illegal.
California Tee Time Brokers Drew Scrutiny in Southern California
Efforts within the Korean American golf community played a key role in bringing attention to the practice.
The Korea Daily first reported that some Korean American brokers were securing large numbers of desirable tee times at Southern California public golf courses and reselling them at a premium through KakaoTalk and other channels.
At the time, more than 10 Korean American brokers were believed to be operating in Southern California, charging premiums of about $30 to $50 per tee time. The Korea Daily also joined a KakaoTalk group chat used to sell tee times and documented indications that actual transactions were taking place.
As the controversy grew, members of the Korean American golf community stepped up efforts to stop the practice. Concerned that brokers could damage the reputation of Korean American golfers as a whole, members of the Southern California Golf Club, or SDGC, collected evidence, reported brokers to authorities and pressed the City of Los Angeles to reform its reservation system.
Korean American golfers also filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the city had failed to adequately address the brokerage problem despite being aware of it.
Los Angeles subsequently overhauled its golf reservation system, including requiring deposits for reservations and imposing penalties for no-shows.
New Law Makes Unauthorized Tee Time Resales Illegal
Joseph Lee, president of SDGC, said the most significant aspect of the legislation is that it explicitly makes the brokerage practice itself illegal for the first time.
“The biggest significance of this law is that broker activity itself has now been defined as illegal,” Lee said. “Open brokerage operations will likely decline significantly.”
Lee said he also hopes the law will change the perception among some golfers that paying a premium to purchase a tee time is simply an accepted practice.
The tee time brokerage controversy also led to a federal criminal case.
Federal prosecutors last September charged identical twin brothers Se Youn “Steve” Kim, 42 and Hee Youn “Ted” Kim, 42, who allegedly operated as tee time brokers, with tax-related offenses and other charges.
Prosecutors alleged that the brothers obtained and resold thousands of tee times at golf courses across the country between 2021 and 2023. In Southern California alone, they allegedly targeted at least 17 public golf courses.
Lee said the Kim brothers’ case, which SDGC members helped document and report to authorities, was cited as background in the California Legislature’s analysis of AB 1954.
“The fact that concerns raised by the Korean American community ultimately contributed to state legislation is extremely meaningful,” Lee said.
