Series on public golf course inspections ① Crackdown on booking wars using macros

[Anchor]

These days, as the weather gets cooler, many people are likely to be heading out to the golf course.

However, there are many complaints regarding reservations, usage fees, and caddy fees at golf courses.

So, we have prepared a segment to address the issues of public golf courses.

Today, we will first look into the problem of the booking wars, which is like reaching for the stars.

This is reporter Son Ki-seong.

[Report]

I accessed the website of a public golf course in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province to make a reservation.

I specified a tee time and hurriedly clicked, but a failure message popped up.

["It ended in 46 seconds. It's a Monday, a weekday..."]

The golf course's website has regulations posted regarding the restriction of suspected agency users, but it is of no use.

It is a well-known secret in the golf community that groups using macros to sweep up tee times and resell them on matching sites are still rampant.

[Kang Min-seong/Uiwng City, Gyeonggi Province : "I hardly use the official website. After trying a few times and failing, it just becomes ingrained in my mind. I have a preconceived notion, so I don't use it at all."]

According to the revised Performance Act from March last year, those who illegally sell tickets using macros can face up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 10 million Korean won.

[Seo Cheon-beom/Director of the Korea Leisure Industry Research Institute : "The reality is that people who actually need tickets have to pay extra to buy them through those companies, so I believe that macro operators should be eliminated for fair competition."]

On the other hand, the proliferation of pseudo-membership companies that enter into contracts with golf courses and sell some reservation rights has made it even more difficult for the general public to make reservations.

Although strengthened legal regulations that went into effect in March this year following a one-year grace period, macros and pseudo-membership companies are still prevalent, necessitating more thorough monitoring by the authorities.

This is KBS News, Son Ki-seong.