Suited to a Tee : There Are Ways to Beat the Crowds on Southern California Golf Courses

The scene is a common one at public golf courses throughout the Southland.

They’re full, and people are passing the time on putting greens and driving ranges or in pro shops and restaurants while waiting to hear their names called by the starter.

The wait can be as long as several hours.

It doesn’t matter. Golfers are passionate about their game and patient when it comes to waiting for a tee time.

At some courses, people will sleep in the parking lot while waiting for the starter to show up, so they can make a reservation for the following week.

That’s dedication.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

A wise player, armed with a calendar, a watch, some rain gear and with little regard for holidays and major sporting events, can walk up to the starter’s window at many courses and get an immediate starting time.

In fact, at Industry Hills, where there are two courses, one can generally play at any time on weekdays during December and January. The $42.50 price tag, which includes a golf cart, might have something to do with the availability of tee times.

Still, in an unscientific survey of golf starters, it was discovered that play was slow on several holidays, early in the week and during inclement weather. But there was one special holiday that stood out at most of the courses: Mother’s Day.

Mom is in control on that day, and even though many golfers will get their fix with an early-morning round, Mother’s Day is still the champion golf-deterrent.

“Yeah, that’s definitely the day that slows us down the most,” said Dan Hornig, general manager of Los Angeles Royal Vista in Walnut. “It’s also slow on the afternoons of Thanksgiving and Christmas day, but nothing like Mother’s Day.”

Jim Dodds, course manager at Woodley Lakes, Encino and Balboa also calls Mother’s Day his slowest holiday. “I guess that’s the one day where something comes before golf,” he said.

There are, however, a few courses where even Mom has trouble interfering with the activities of dedicated golfers.

At city facilities such as Rancho Park and Griffith Park, which are among the most heavily played courses in the world, players need reservation cards to get tee times a week in advance--and they won’t give them up on the morning of Mother’s Day.

“It’s pretty full here all year round,” said Penny Siebrandt, starter at Rancho Park. “The only time we might slow down in reservations is in the late afternoon when you can’t get in a full 18 holes, but there are always people willing to go out and play as many holes as they can before it gets dark.”

After Mother’s Day, the holidays that affect play the most are Christmas, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, July 4 and New Year’s Day. Although play is heavy in the morning, at most courses it drops off sharply in the afternoon.

Mando Herrera, starter at Montebello for 11 years, keeps the course open half a day on Christmas and closes it on Thanksgiving. “On the other holidays, they just play early so they can have the rest of the day with their families,” he said.

At Griffith Park, even days such as Christmas and Super Bowl Sunday fail to reduce crowds, but starter Geoffrey Treat says there are other good times to play.

“Someone coming in after 8 on a Monday morning is going to get on pretty quick,” he said. “Tuesdays and Wednesdays are also pretty good. Then, as you get close to the weekend, you have to start waiting again.”

Twilight rates are used at many courses to offset the obvious slowdown when players won’t be able to play a full round. For a reduced price, golfers can play as many holes as they like in the late afternoon and early evening. It’s a good time to practice, but disheartening for a player who gets a hole in one because it isn’t official unless the round is completed.

Although golfers are known to put up with any kind of weather, in Southern California rain keeps a lot of them home.

And if it’s cold, too, so much the better for those willing to put up with it.

“That’s a great time to come to our course,” said Mez White, head pro at Recreation Park in Long Beach. “It’s a little cooler here near the ocean, and the threat of bad weather keeps some people away.”

Gary Estrada, starter at Diamond Bar, says bad weather also turns away players at his course, which drains so well that during last year’s heavy storms, it never closed.

There was a time when major sporting events had an impact, but modern technology--that is, the VCR--has made this a virtual non-issue.

The Super Bowl can be an exception, especially when it’s held at the Rose Bowl because then Brookside has to close as parts of its courses become parking lots.

“We might be slow on Super Bowl Sunday,” Recreation Park’s White said, “but by slow I mean that the wait is a short one.”

Montebello’s Herrera said: “We have a lot of professional athletes at our course, so we have people come here just to watch sports on TV after their round of golf.”

There was a time that telecasts of major golf events like the Masters and U.S. Open might clear a course, but now any decrease in business is minimal. Golfers would rather play than watch.

After putting all of the information into a computer, it would appear that absolutely the best time to play on short notice, without a crowd, is on a cold, rainy Mother’s Day in the late afternoon when twilight rates have gone into effect.

Tee Time

The 10 best times to get a tee time:

1--Mother’s Day

2--Cold, rainy days

3--Christmas afternoon

4--Thanksgiving afternoon

5--Monday mornings

6--Twilight hours

7--July 4 afternoon

8--Memorial Day afternoon

9--Super Bowl Sunday, during game

10--December, January at Industry Hills.