_______________________________
Kathleen Ward
Mayor, City of San Clemente
Attachment 3
City Hall ● 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente CA 92673 ● (949) 361-8200 ● www.san-clemente.org Page PAGE \* MERGEFORMAT 2
April 21, 2026
The Honorable Chris Ward
California State Assembly
1021 O Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Re: SUPPORT – AB 1954: Blocking Illegitimate Reservations and Protecting Equitable Access to California’s Publicly Owned Golf Courses Act Dear Assemblymember Ward,
The City of San Clemente is pleased to support your Assembly Bill (AB) 1954, which would prohibit an operator of a third-party golf reservation service platform from listing, advertising, promoting, or selling reservations for a publicly owned golf course without a written agreement with the course operator.
The City owns and operates the San Clemente Municipal Golf Course as a public, enterprise-funded facility intended to provide affordable and equitable recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. Our course accommodates more than 110,000 rounds annually and serves a broad cross-section of the community, including residents, seniors, juniors, school athletes, and local golf clubs.
Unauthorized third-party reservation services have increasingly impacted our operations by acquiring tee times, often through automated or bulk booking practices, and reselling them at inflated rates without the City’s knowledge or consent. These practices undermine equitable access for our residents, create confusion among customers, and interfere with the integrity of our reservation system. Additionally, many of these platforms utilize sophisticated websites and search engine optimization techniques that mislead consumers into believing they are booking directly with the City.
The City has taken proactive steps to address these challenges, including implementing technological safeguards within our reservation system and evaluating enforcement mechanisms in coordination with the City Attorney. However, without clear statutory authority, our ability to prevent unauthorized third-party resale activity remains limited.
We believe AB 1954 is a commonsense and necessary solution that will provide local jurisdictions with the authority to protect public access to municipal golf facilities and pursue appropriate action against unauthorized platforms operating without an agreement.
We appreciate your leadership on this important issue and look forward to working with your office to ensure fair and equitable access to publicly owned golf courses.
Respectfully,
Rick Loeffler, Mayor
CELEBRATING 90 YEARS OF INCORPORATION
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
Rick Loeffler
Mayor
Steve Knoblock
Mayor Pro Tem
Victor Cabral
Mark Enmeier
Zhen Wu
CITY MANAGER
Andy Hall
910 Calle Negocio
San Clemente, CA 92673
Phone: (949) 361-8200
“The Spanish Village
by the Sea”