What would you do if you found the Thief?

[hanalei]

I lost my $120 wedge on the course, just curious what u would do if u saw a guy playing with it (knowing that its yours).

Saying that.. What if you had previously asked the guy if he seen your club? and he lied to your face? (

With my personality I would make a BIG (non-physical) scene at the club house...Wish i could find the golf etiquette for dealing with thieves.

[xmanhockey7]

If I knew 100% it was mine I'd grab it and walk away.

[IlliniDrillSgt]

If he lied and knew it wasnt his, I'd have to take my club and one of his and tell him "we're even".

[carpediem4300]

depends how you can prove its your, i leave the label on the clubshaft and write my name on it with a sharpie,...

alternatively i dont in general put my $120+ clubs on the ground on the golf course then walk of without it,

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by hanalei

I lost my $120 wedge on the course, just curious what u would do if u saw a guy playing with it (knowing that its yours).

Saying that.. What if you had previously asked the guy if he seen your club? and he lied to your face? (

With my personality I would make a BIG (non-physical) scene at the club house...Wish i could find the golf etiquette for dealing with thieves.

That'll get your club back - lol.

Consider this - maybe he found it later, maybe he bought it from the guy who found it, maybe it wound up in the lost and found and they let it go...

You better know it is yours - any identifying marks?

"Hi, you may not remember me, I'm Joe Smith.  I lost a wedge a couple of weeks ago, asked you about it, and you said that you did not have it. We haven't seen each other in a few weeks, and I see someone may have sold you my old wedge, or you finally found it? Heck, you didn't know it was the same wedge. I loved that wedge. If it is my old wedge, can I get it back? How much?"

[Eleven]

The other day the course was packed tight. Ahead of me was a foursome, two separate twos that joined up. Ahead of them was another foursome. I was playing solo, and young kid and his grandfather were behind me. We were the last in a huge pack of golfers on the back nine.

By the time I reached the 18th tee, the group ahead of me were waiting to hit their 2nds, waiting on the group on the green. The kid and grandpa were just coming off the 17th green. Most of the back nine, the kid and grandpa would just hang around their green chipping up or putting, waiting on me to hit before they moved up to the tee.

A cart came up, with 2 older guys (They were three groups head of me) and asked me if I had seen a putter laying on the 17th green. I wasn't all over the green but I didn't see anything, I pointed up to the two+two ahead of me and said they just came off, did you ask them? They said they asked, no luck. The two behind me were coming off the 17th green so they headed that way to ask them and take a look for themselves.

A couple minutes later, as I teed off and was walking to my ball, they came past again, I asked if they found the putter and they said no. By the time I finished 18, I saw a couple of course employees heading toward 17 in a cart, presumably looking for that putter as well.

What I don't get, is that the guy obviously used his putter on 17, figured it out on 18 and headed back. Everyone who had been on that green since them were still on the course and they asked them all. It seemed like the club just vanished, or someone in one of the two groups ahead of me had picked up the putter and lied about it. 18 on that course is pretty short, straight and open. I guess it could have fallen out of the bag on the way to the green, but who knows. My first thought was that it was a nice putter and someone snagged it.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Do you both keep your clubs in a bag room?  If so, go up to the bag room attendant and tell him the guy has one of your clubs in his bag.  Have him pull his bag and check out the club to make sure it is yours.  Then put the club in your bag and tell the bag room guy to tell the thief that you have the club and to come and talk to you if he has any questions.  If the club is really yours and he's lying he'll never come within 50 feet of you.

[zipazoid]

There's a big difference between 'lost' and 'stolen'. You said you lost your wedge. Somebody found it, and it's too much of an assumption to make that the finder just put it in his bag & said finders keepers. Maybe he turned it in, it went 30 days without being claimed, so he got it.

My advice to you is be more careful with your clubs.

[MbolicGolf]

I would walk up to the guy take him aside privatly and tell him that you lost a club that looks like the one in his bag. That you understand that he kept a nice 120 dollar wedge he found on the course and that you don't blame him, but that since you found it you would appreciate it back. Don't make a scene, you're the one who's going to look bad. Publically accusing someone of theivery is like kicking someone dog even if the dog bit you, second if he denies it you look worse, and third open hostile and public confrontation is the worst way to get what you want. You catch more flies with sugar than honey but you get even more when you use fly paper.

[jetsknicks1]

I've never understood one golfer stealing from another, I mean this is supposed to be a gentleman's game right? That being said though, I played in a business related scramble some years back and somebody had their entire set stolen from the back of his pick up. The course sits back from the road quite a bit so it wasn't like somebody walking down the street somehow saw the clubs and walked off with them. It was clearly another golfer who took them out of the truck and drove off...... Sad.

[Topper]

It's about integrity or lack of it.  We all wish people would do the "right" thing....but some don't.  We wish we could identify those without integrity just by looking at them.  But we can't.  All we can do is control ourselves and demonstrate integrity when situations arise.  Integrity can be contagious and I hope my kids (and golfing friends) pickup on it from my actions. It's not much of a consolation for your lost club.  I hope it turns up.

[Chief Broom]

Without a positive means of identifying the club as yours your options are limited.  Check out his set.  Is the wedge in question the same brand as his other wedges or is it different?  Something like the grip might distinguish your wedge, but if he's gaming the same wedges as you and they have stock grips you're probably out of luck (and maybe mistaken).  Anyway politely discussing this with the person in question can help set your mind at ease but don't expect satisfaction without a way for you to prove the guy is lying.

One time I found a Vokey wedge on the green.  It wasn't new but it was a Vokey and it was in pretty good shape.  At the club house I saw the guys who were playing in front of me so I went to them and asked them if they'd lost a wedge and handed it to them.  The one guy said it was his and so I let him keep it, but afterward I suspected that it in fact wasn't his wedge.  The guy really didn't act like he'd lost a club.  Most people are instantly relieved when you return their club and this guy had to stop and think about it.  His buddy wound up backing him up, so at the time I didn't dispute him, but I kind of felt a little bad that maybe I should have returned it first to the clubhouse.  I did go back to the clubhouse the next day and asked them if a Vokey wedge had been reported missing, and they said no, but I've got a pretty good notion that they guy saw it was a decent wedge and figured it was an easy way for him to get one for free.  If a wedge like that had been reported missing to the clubhouse I would have worked with them to figure out who the guys were in front of me that I gave the wedge to in order for the staff to try and question the guy further.  What I do now whenever I find something on the course I'll tell people when I approach them about it that I've found a club and let them to offer to me the kind of club they lost before I let them see it.  Maybe that's being a little too paranoid, but some people will take advantage of a situation if they think they can get away with it.

[dsc123]

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  My putter, which was a gift from my best man just before I got married a last summer, was stolen out of my bag.  I set up alerts so i get an email every time someone nearby puts a scotty cameron up on ebay or craigslist, but I don't know what I would do even if i found it.  There's nothing unique about it so I doubt I could ever prove it was mine.....but if someone in my neighborhood put up the same putter for sale.....I think the odds would be in my favor.  Still without proof, there's really nothing i can do.

If somehow I could prove it, I would just show up to buy it and as soon as I laid my hands on it I would say that I know it was stolen from me, give him my name and contact info, and tell him to call the police if he wants it back.

[FHopper]

When people ask me if I have seen their club, (and I have), I tell them it is where they left it. I never pick up a club, I don't think anyone helps anybody by picking a club up.

[GaijinGolfer]

If you lost it then its finders keepers.  Now, if someone STOLE it and it has some kind of markings that proves that its your's, then thats something very different and Id pull the person aside, tell them that you know they stole your wedge, that you can prove it and that if they dont give it back to you then you are going to turn them in to the police for it.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by FHopper

When people ask me if I have seen their club, (and I have), I tell them it is where they left it. I never pick up a club, I don't think anyone helps anybody by picking a club up.

^^ this leads to this vv

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

If you lost it then its finders keepers.  Now, if someone STOLE it and it has some kind of markings that proves that its your's, then thats something very different and Id pull the person aside, tell them that you know they stole your wedge, that you can prove it and that if they dont give it back to you then you are going to turn them in to the police for it.

[Alan Conroy]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

If you lost it then its finders keepers.  Now, if someone STOLE it and it has some kind of markings that proves that its your's, then thats something very different and Id pull the person aside, tell them that you know they stole your wedge, that you can prove it and that if they dont give it back to you then you are going to turn them in to the police for it.

I agree, finders keepers. I have acquired at least 10 clubs this way, mainly wedges and the odd putter. I always go home to my wife and tell her that I found a great new club today. If you lose it and I find it, my gain your loss. Fairs fair.

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by Alan Conroy

I agree, finders keepers. I have acquired at least 10 clubs this way, mainly wedges and the odd putter. I always go home to my wife and tell her that I found a great new club today. If you lose it and I find it, my gain your loss. Fairs fair.

LMAO!