People are no damn good!
In essence, our courses are akin to public courses at which you learn that thievery is all too common. The only reason it is not common at private clubs is that a cart boy or other member of the golf staff would be likely to notice the "addition" of a new club to the thief's bag. Certainly, your unique bag would be noticed.
A sad joke is that you should wait until Tuesday or Wednesday (assuming the bag was stolen over the weekend) to check at Play It Again Sports and the pawn shops, as it takes them a day or two to clean the clubs, decide on a price, and attach a price tag.
The first month after we moved to The Villages, a member of my foursome left a club on the course. His ball was some distance from the green and he walked from our cart to the ball carrying two clubs. He forgot to pick up the club he did not use. Unfortunately, he didn't need that club until he had played another 9 or 10 holes. When he retraced his steps, the club was gone and every group that was following ours denied knowing anything about the club.
In our years of living in TV, there have been several thefts of golf carts and/or clubs. Each time this was reported, I noted that the cart was parked in front of the pro shop/clubhouse; in one of the parking lots behind the buildings at a square; or in a parking lot at one of our strip malls. I took this to heart and, at the course, always park on the side of the pro shop/clubhouse facing the golf course. If I have to park behind the buildings at one of the squares or, heaven forbid, at Walmart (or, in 2 months, at Costco), I installed both an ignition cut-out switch with a dedicated key and a brake lock that uses a strong Master padlock to secure the footbrake in the down/locked position.
The handful of times I have parked my cart with the clubs on the back at one of the squares, it is in a space on the square and in front of a restaurant or store. Even so, having read your tale of woe, I'm going to buy a cable lock to secure the bag to the frame of the canopy or the basket. With a visible lock on the bag and on the brake, I hope a thief would pass by my cart for easier pickings.
You are the victim and it's not your fault. In addition to your clubs and bag, I expect you've lost other items like a rangefinder; prescription sun glasses; and, perhaps, medicines (I hope that you didn't have a Rolex in a pocket of the bag)
A lot of your loss should be covered by both your cart insurance and homeowners insurance. Often, the policies will limit coverage for sporting goods and jewelry to a set amount, often $1K.
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