stolen putter - Havana
 

As much as it pains me to say this because we think The Village People as a whole are just wonderful, apparently there is someone who liked my husband's putter and decided to put it in their collection. Very disappointing. While he and his buddy were in having breakfast, someone took it. I had heard something about this through the grapevine but dismissed it as unfounded gossip. Oh well, guess not.

Did he just finish a round? Is it possible he left it somewhere?

I rarely leave my clubs unattended but if I do, I lock them with a cable lock and put the cable right through the rain bonnet. It won't stop someone but they may move on to an easier target. Everyone must remember that this is not a private place. Anything that can happen in a big city has the potential of happening here in TV.

One last thing....How well does your husband putt? Is it possible that he just wanted a new putter??:duck:

Sometimes the stolen putter ends up stuck into cart partner's bag..or left on last green.

Tape your address labels or phone numbers on all your clubs

If someone finds them accidently left behind, they can contact you.

good idea!

How sad, what is our world coming to. That person should be removed from TV.

So sorry to hear this
 

My husband had a similar experience with his putter at Havana....Asked starter if he could leave his clubs near him while he "talked to a man about a horse", came back, putter gone, asked starter, starter said a friend of my husbands was going to practice with it, when confronted by starter.... "friend" left BUT fortunately for my husband, starter recognized man when he headed for country club....Starter said, "Hey, what about that putter"...."Friend???" said "Aaa, Aaa, Oh, yea!....Needless to say, my husband NEVER saw this guy b4.....Starter said that guy was NEVER going to return that putter, incidently, that same day, a man bought a new driver, and NEVER made it to the first tee with club....The one that attempted to steal the putter was not a Villager....

When I go to a country club after golf I always park where the carts are parked, not in the general parking lot. That doesn't necessarily mean that nothing will be taken but I believe the chances are less. Also I purchased one of those bag protectors at Havana and when I park my cart I put this on and padlock it to the cart. Also if I will not be playing golf and want to drive my cart to the squares I remove my golf bag and shoes from the cart. I see a lot of carts at the squares with bags on the back of the cart.:gc:

John

According to a pro in one of the pro shops, this happens frequently. The comment to park with the other golf carts in the back versus the parking lot was a suggestion from the pro as well.
As far as the putter goes, it was his favorite one. So needless to say he's bugged. Lesson learned.

I once passed a golf cart in a parking lot and the drivers wallet was sitting in the cup holder. People...use some common sense.

name tags
 

After losing my Ping 8 iron at Amberwood and replacing it for 90 bucks, I ordered name tags from Palmer..Designed for clubs, one day service, and only cost about 6 bucks for 14...

Funny thing is that I left my old Callaway sand wedge on different courses three times and it was always turned in..The Ping disappeared..At least the person had good taste..Gotta laugh...If you make yourself vulnerable, there is always a parasite out there that will make you bleed.

:posting: I've been playing golf a long time and never had a club stolen. Lucky? Maybe---- but I believe it is rare. I always have name tags on my clubs and strongly suggest that to everybody. I've left clubs----if you play enough golf you will. Once I even had a club UPS to me free of charge from a course we played in Myrtle Beach. Bottom line----good golf clubs are very "individual" and only someone not knowledgeable about golf would be foolish enough to steal one. That is why they are reasonably safe around the golf course. Of course, keep them out of public parking lots.

I agree. Common sense Peeps.

What kind of putter and where did this happen? I know someone just found a putter in the street near Havana.

Wouldn't that be something!!

The older BagBoy Revolver bags with the clips are especially vulnerable to losing clubs, especially putters. The clips often break or stretch and the club just falls off. Can happen easily when going over a speed bump or curb on the way to or from a course. Putters with the newer, bigger grips don't fit in the smaller holes of this bag.

Hi JustJim
 

I've found that name tags keep "honest" people honest, the crooks, not so much!....I just take them home and if we have lunch, I drive car instead of cart....IMHO, works for me!

I use return address labels and use the computer to put our name and phone number on labels. Attach them to the clubs and cover with clear packing tape.

After having my clubs stolen while we were eating lunch at Mallory Country Club, I learned some important lessons. The pro shop personnel at Mallory were very helpful when I was trying to assess value of the clubs and bag to the police officer. They also went around the parking lot checking and went all the way to Bacall where we had played to see if I had perhaps dropped the clubs off the cart. I checked all the lost and founds, posted here, checked pawn shops, etc. and finally posted a claim with my insurance co. which at first tried to discourage me from doing so. After talking with a different adjustor, the company was great. I do recommend that everyone save your bill of sale, and/or take pictures of your clubs. Definitely put name tags on them, park in the back with just the carts,and don't leave your garage doors open if you store them there. I also bought a locking cover from the pro shops and use that if I have to leave them on a cart that is in a regular parking lot. The advice given to be aware of our surroundings and know that most of the thieves are not Villagers is true. This is a large, growing place, that attracts all kinds of people...thinking that we have money, etc. I still feel quite safe here compared to other places I have lived, but I am not naive enough to let my guard down anymore.

Sad indeed...
 

I feel your pain. "Lost" a set of golf clubs myself at Mallory. I am too lazy to retype the details, but they are here if you are interested.


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...19-post42.html

Just curious - what kind of a locking cover?
Not yet in TV but can't the clubs just be unstrapped from the cart?

It's a cover that goes over the top of your clubs and two cable ends wrap around your bag thru the loops and around the frame of the golf cart and then the loops are locked together with a lock & key. I saw them in Cane Garden pro shop for sale for around $60.
Skip 2

About 6 years ago my brother had his new pitching wedge stolen. How we know it was stolen is he left it at a hole. Realized it and after playing a hole we circled back to where he left it. Not there. We asked the 4 who were behind us if they had seen it. They said No.
This was at Churchhill. Told the starting shack and went back and back and everywhere else for weeks. Never turned in anywhere, We are sure it was picked up by the foursome behind us.

Good news is I've never lost any club. My brother is still not over the way that club disappeared. He was visiting and it colored his opinion of the Villages. He has golfed for over 45 years and has never lost a golf club anywhere else.

:gc:

Lost my lob wedge a month ago (first loss in 40 years). I probably left it near a green.

Didn't realize it until the next day. Went to the golf course, trusting the 'finder' turned it into the pro shop 'lost & found' department -- as I have done many times (after finding a club or head cover). Not to be.

So I went back in a couple of days to inquire again. Not to be. I even called a week later with my fingers crossed. Not to be.

I had my name label (name, address, phone number) on the wedge.

Realization: The wedge is permanently gone from my bag into someone else's bag. It wasn't taken by someone in a parking lot. It was found and KEPT by a fellow golfer. What a disappointment.

Gene

I wonder how anyone could enjoy golfing with a club that they know they stole. Or do you think they sell them?? Just thinking......how does a thiefs mind work.........?

I think they are missing a very import section of the brain that makes a complete person.

I don't and can't believe it was a villager

Nobody wants my clubs. They are too old andd cheap. LOL

My putter doesn't work right. If anyone took it, they would bring it back.

On our second trip to TV in 2009 we rented a cottage for two weeks, on our first night we went to the Havana club for a late dinner, we drove into the parking lot and I said to my wife, look at this all these golf carts with the clubs in the back some with keys still in the ignition isn't this great, you couldn't do that anywhere else. Then on our designer meeting visit in March of this year I unknowingly left my laptop computer in the basket of our golf cart, parked behind the sales office at LSL for over 2 hours when we returned to our rental cottage I discoverd what I had done because the laptop was still in the basket, again I said this is great where else in the world could you make a mistake like that and have no one touch your stuff, this is gonna be a great place. I think I spoke too soon.

I don't think you spoke too soon. That is the truth. However and unfortunately, there are a few(very small few) who look around for an opportunity. Personally, I do not think it is a neighbor or resident here in TV. I think these rare occasions take place by people "lurking" around looking for the oportunity. I think these small minded thieves think that we are all old and rich and they can easily get away with it.

I lost a credit card and couldn't remember when I used it last so I was worried about how long it had been missing..I went through the whole process of cancelling the old one and getting it replaced...By chance I checked with Publix on 466 and they referred me to the sevice desk..The lady checked her safe and there it was..Unbelievable but true.Someone had found it in the parking lot and turned it in..Nowhere else could you be that fortunate..

Much as I love TV and its Kool Refreshing Drink, I do believe you could be that fortunate elsewhere.

Probably like most of us, I have lost items of value and had them returned and have returned items of value. My guess is that eight or nine people out of ten would turn in found items of value almost anywhere. Because of the one or two percent who would not, prudence pays in the long run.

With all due respect .... your math is waaaay off. eight or nine out of ten does not become 1 or 2 %. :1rotfl: Now I feel bad, but I just HAD to tell you! :duck:
Don

I agree. I absentmindedly left my purse at a blackjack table in Las Vegas one time, and someone did turn it in, and all the money was there. There are good people everywhere, and dishonest ones too. I think overall the Villages is a microcosm of society, and you'll see a little bit of everything.

I fell into the same "math trap" myself!! :wave:

Bill :)

I remember a post last year that an entire golf bag and clubs were stolen off a cart parked in front of Havana Clubhouse, it wouldn't take long for someone with a car to throw your bag in their trunk. Ever since then I've only parked in the golf cart parking lots at the courses.

However, I also remember a post last year that at Sarasota driving range a woman had her purse stolen out of the basket of her golf cart. This was when you hit balls from the other side of the lake and only golf carts had access to that area.

Actually, there was an automobile parking lot for the range on the north side. I used it several times.

I am not a golfer, but I wonder if these thieves are able to look at themselves in the mirror :sad: