[graciegirl]

I have had the same set of clubs and golf accessories for years.

I try to be careful of them, because they are expensive, but never in my forty plus years of playing golf at many courses around this country and the world has anyone in our family had items stolen from them while on or near a golf course.

That is not to say that there aren't sticky fingered golfers or toe nudgers or ball kickers and those that plain out lie about their scores.

My POINT was, that before I smeared the sport, I would try to see if I was careless and somehow lost it, or misplaced it. Too many errant clubs and expensive devices have been lost and found.

We look at life with our own experiences coloring our view.

[outlaw]

How do you know the OP hasn't already retraced his/her steps to confirm it wasn't a mistake. You are guilty of of what you accuse the OP. You are assuming the OP is posting irresponsibly. Three posts now, inferring the OP did not have his/her item stolen. How about some empathy instead of marginalizing the OP?

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by par_geo

In the movie, The Legend of Baggar Vance, the young boy gives a speech about The Greatest Game there is..."it's the only game where you call a penalty on yourself, if you're honest, and most people are".

Well, at the Sarasota practice range, some golfer who fits in that minority of dishonest golfers stole my trusty Leupold Laser Rangefinder from my golf cart while I was practicing on Monday Dec, 5th, 2016.

If one of your regular playing companions is suddenly using a Leupold rangefinder he/she didn't have before and doesn't have the matching nylon carrying case (I still have the case!!!), you might not want to play with that person again.

Furthermore, I wish that person more shanks, lost balls, and duffs than they've ever had before. You shouldn't get to enjoy this wonderful game if you're not honest.

I play with a guy who had the exact same thing happen.

And no, he didn't "misplace" it.

I have since engraved my name and telephone number on my range finder and make sure it isn't laying on my cart or out in the open...and I have also put labels on each club.

While it won't stop someone intent on stealing them, it will hopefully increase the chance that if I actually do misplace them...of getting them back.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

I have my telephone number on each of my clubs.
Is it possible the golfer who picked up the club saw the owner's phone number and decided to call the owner himself?

Everybody who has clubs should have their name, address and phone number on them. I always have and always will. Barefoot you are correct in your assessment of the situation. The golfer could have forgot too. Imagine one of us forgetting but I would bet money the club was returned.

[justjim]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

I have had the same set of clubs and golf accessories for years.

I try to be careful of them, because they are expensive, but never in my forty plus years of playing golf at many courses around this country and the world has anyone in our family had items stolen from them while on or near a golf course.

That is not to say that there aren't sticky fingered golfers or toe nudgers or ball kickers and those that plain out lie about their scores.

My POINT was, that before I smeared the sport, I would try to see if I was careless and somehow lost it, or misplaced it. Too many errant clubs and expensive devices have been lost and found.

We look at life with our own experiences coloring our view.

Good post. Your golfing experiences mirrors mine. Golfers as a group are the most honest and respectful people I have the privilege to be friends with. Of course, there may be a rare exception or two but as a sport golf is way ahead of whatever is in second place because of its requirement to referee yourself.

[Chatbrat]

The other day we were parking our car in a country club parking lot--noticed a few Yeti mug sized coolers--they will grown legs if the wrong person sees them--don't tempt fate

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Barefoot

I have my telephone number on each of my clubs.

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

...and I have also put labels on each club.

Originally Posted by justjim

Everybody who has clubs should have their name, address and phone number on them. I always have and always will. Barefoot you are correct in your assessment of the situation. The golfer could have forgot too. Imagine one of us forgetting but I would bet money the club was returned.

Of course the fact that you have your name and phone number on your clubs won't prevent them from being stolen.
But it may help if you occasionally leave a club lying around. Which is embarrassing but it happens.

[kcrazorbackfan]

We had a golfer in our golf shop a couple of weeks ago roll up a Wisconsin towel and walk out with it. I followed him out to the parking lot (I guess it's still the State Trooper in me) by his cart and as he started to pull the cardboard cover off it, I asked him if he forgot to pay for it? He stopped and looked at me, so I asked him again if he forgot to pay for it? I then said that sometimes golfers get to talking to their friends and forget to pay for something. He said he was just coming out to see if it would fit on his cart. I said, okay, but let's go back in and pay for it first. He complied and that was the end of that.

I have no doubt that he was attempting to score a free towel. So before any of you ask what would I have done if he had decided to drive off, he had just checked in for golf so I had his name; I would have given it to my manager for them to handle.

The moral of the story - there are people that LIVE IN THE VILLAGES that do steal.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

We had a golfer in our golf shop a couple of weeks ago roll up a Wisconsin towel and walk out with it. I followed him out to the parking lot (I guess it's still the State Trooper in me) by his cart and as he started to pull the cardboard cover off it, I asked him if he forgot to pay for it? He stopped and looked at me, so I asked him again if he forgot to pay for it? I then said that sometimes golfers get to talking to their friends and forget to pay for something. He said he was just coming out to see if it would fit on his cart. I said, okay, but let's go back in and pay for it first. He complied and that was the end of that.

I have no doubt that he was attempting to score a free towel. So before any of you ask what would I have done if he had decided to drive off, he had just checked in for golf so I had his name; I would have given it to my manager for them to handle.

The moral of the story - there are people that LIVE IN THE VILLAGES that do steal.

You and I have debated this before.

OF COURSE there are unethical people here. They are everywhere. I say that this place has one of the lowest crime rates anywhere. I also say that golfers who have been playing for decades and paid a lot to play are probably not as apt to pocket something as some of the shady characters you have had in your radar in your old job of police officer.

Most of the folks in TV who are 65 plus got here without any trouble with the law in their lifetime. That's how we were raised.

NO not impossible to have things stolen. Not at all. But most of us are proud of our clean records.

[Carl in Tampa]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

I have since engraved my name and telephone number on my range finder and make sure it isn't laying on my cart or out in the open...and I have also put labels on each club.

While it won't stop someone intent on stealing them, it will hopefully increase the chance that if I actually do misplace them...of getting them back.

Anything that is valuable enough to have your name and telephone number engraved on it should also have your Driver's License number (and state of license) engraved on it.

The reason is that police have Pawn Shop details that regularly check the transaction logs in pawn shops. They pay particular attention to items that have Driver's License numbers on them. This is part of a national effort called Operation Identification.

You might decide not to bother with reporting the theft or loss of a single club. The Pawn Shop detail might decide to track you down anyway with the Driver's License number to verify that you actually pawned or sold the item.

Do not use your Social Security number. The police cannot track it down for this purpose.

The Florida Attorney General recommends you do the same with the valuables in your house, particularly the electronics.
Florida Attorney General - How to Prevent a Home Burglary

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

You and I have debated this before.

OF COURSE there are unethical people here. They are everywhere. I say that this place has one of the lowest crime rates anywhere. I also say that golfers who have been playing for decades and paid a lot to play are probably not as apt to pocket something as some of the shady characters you have had in your radar in your old job of police officer.

Most of the folks in TV who are 65 plus got here without any trouble with the law in their lifetime. That's how we were raised.

NO not impossible to have things stolen. Not at all. But most of us are proud of our clean records.

Most of us is correct; it would be nirvana if it was all of us but some people among us just love the "thrill of the chase" (stealing things from other people); they probably cheat at golf also.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by kcrazorbackfan

Most of us is correct; it would be nirvana if it was all of us but some people among us just love the "thrill of the chase" (stealing things from other people); they probably cheat at golf also.

kcrazorbackfan: you are so right. In my occupation I had to deal with dishonest people too ,and a number of them look right at you and say yep I'm lying and I am going to steal from you come and catch me if you can and then they laugh in your face. they never go away until they get what they came for. Its a game of wits to them. If your fortunate enough to get them in a court room its amazing to seem them perform. One would believe that perhaps they have taken drama lessons to prepare for their court room appearances

It does little good for the person who is a victim of any crime to know that the crime rate in their locality is low because since they were victimized its well 100% rate in their minds

[graciegirl]

It makes me angry when people call me naïve and think I am stupid when I choose to be positive.

Believe me, I am aware of the bad in the world and in people.

My husband and I have tried to buy our home in the safest areas to raise our children. We both traveled a LOT for business in our lives and HAD to be aware of our surroundings and our possessions and of others around us. We choose people to run with who are like minded and law abiding. We have tried to stay OUT of dangerous areas and dangerous situations and AWAY from dangerous people.

That said. There is a person or persons at this time who is stealing golf carts in The Villages. Break ins and thefts occur here or escalate in November and December and continue through the high season. The local Law Enforcement people, all of them, have been VERY successful in catching thieves around here in the past, but do not leave your golf carts with clubs parked in areas that are more likely to be stolen...i.e. in FRONT of Country Clubs...and in retail parking lots. If you see something the slightest bit out of line in your neighborhood, call someone of authority.

But don't be critical of me for my positive attitude ....EVER.

I am just like most of you and have lived through some awful and scary and overwhelming things.

I was raised in a police officers home too. My grandparents raised me and he was a police officer for 37 years. My first reading material was True Detective. HONEST!

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by Carl in Tampa

Anything that is valuable enough to have your name and telephone number engraved on it should also have your Driver's License number (and state of license) engraved on it.

The reason is that police have Pawn Shop details that regularly check the transaction logs in pawn shops. They pay particular attention to items that have Driver's License numbers on them. This is part of a national effort called Operation Identification.

You might decide not to bother with reporting the theft or loss of a single club. The Pawn Shop detail might decide to track you down anyway with the Driver's License number to verify that you actually pawned or sold the item.

Do not use your Social Security number. The police cannot track it down for this purpose.

The Florida Attorney General recommends you do the same with the valuables in your house, particularly the electronics.
Florida Attorney General - How to Prevent a Home Burglary

I haven't heard of the recommendation of engraving your DL, but I can see where it makes sense in cases where such things like household electronics may end up being pawned.

For things like my range finder or clubs however, it's more likely I will accidentally leave them somewhere and am hoping the name/phone# will result in getting them back.

If these types of items are actually stolen, especially around here, the odds that the thief will just use them instead of pawning them...are probably pretty high.

On another note, there is a huge difference between being an 'optimist' and telling someone that knows they had something stolen, that they don't know what they're talking about...and probably just misplaced it.

[Bay Kid]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

It makes me angry when people call me naïve and think I am stupid when I choose to be positive.

Believe me, I am aware of the bad in the world and in people.

My husband and I have tried to buy our home in the safest areas to raise our children. We both traveled a LOT for business in our lives and HAD to be aware of our surroundings and our possessions and of others around us. We choose people to run with who are like minded and law abiding. We have tried to stay OUT of dangerous areas and dangerous situations and AWAY from dangerous people.

That said. There is a person or persons at this time who is stealing golf carts in The Villages. Break ins and thefts occur here or escalate in November and December and continue through the high season. The local Law Enforcement people, all of them, have been VERY successful in catching thieves around here in the past, but do not leave your golf carts with clubs parked in areas that are more likely to be stolen...i.e. in FRONT of Country Clubs...and in retail parking lots. If you see something the slightest bit out of line in your neighborhood, call someone of authority.

But don't be critical of me for my positive attitude ....EVER.

I am just like most of you and have lived through some awful and scary and overwhelming things.

I was raised in a police officers home too. My grandparents raised me and he was a police officer for 37 years. My first reading material was True Detective. HONEST!

Well said! Don't forget our phones have cameras, so be alert and snap a few shots.