In this episode of the Tech Caddie podcast, Mike Hendrix interviews Kevin Fitzgerald, the Assistant Director of Public Affairs for the Southern California Golf Association. They discuss the role of the advisory board for Los Angeles City Golf Courses and the intersection of golf and public policy. They also peer into the issue of reservation systems and online brokers in the golf industry and specifically the City of Los Angeles. They highlight the high demand for golf in Los Angeles and the challenges of securing tee times. They explore potential policy changes and technological solutions to address these issues.
The advisory board for Los Angeles City Golf Courses serves as a platform for community input and recommendations on golf-related policies.
The high demand for golf in Los Angeles has led to challenges in securing tee times, especially during peak hours.
The existence of a gray market or secondary market for tee times, where entities buy and resell tee times at a markup, has raised concerns.
Policy changes, such as implementing non-refundable deposits for tee times, and technological solutions, like random release of tee times, are being considered to address the challenges in the golf reservation system.
Dave Fink posted a TikTok video exposing the tee time booking gray market.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
01:24 The Role of the Golf Advisory Committee
06:12 The Gray Market and Secondary Market
09:00 The Challenges of Golf in Los Angeles
13:55 The Player Card and Access to Tee Times
19:30 The Increase in Golf Participation and Revenue
30:43 The Transition to Foursomes and 10-Minute Tee Intervals
36:14 Policy Changes and Technological Solutions
41:28 The Role of the Golf Advisory Committee in Policy Making
42:53 The Importance of Golfers’ Support for Golf Facilities
