Golf Forums - Theft of golf equipment

I recently came across a thread posted on the TSG forum by Ian Mullins "Golf club theft beware" where Ian had all of his golf equipment and some personal belongings stolen whilst he left his trolley and bag unattended for a few minutes.

As an inventor of a successful security product I have been approached by a number of golfers expressing the same concerns about the potential theft of their equipment and asking me if I could design something to protect their equipment.

After giving the matter some serious thought I have designed two possible solutions.

I would like to ask all the members of The Social Golfer for their comments and feedback on the issue of potential theft and does it concern them.

Are you always on edge as to where to leave your equipment before, mid and after a round of golf.

Do you feel the need to always keep your trolley and bag in sight or take the other option and return it to your car.

I have designed two concepts  where you are to be able to secure and walk away from your equipment with the piece of mind that it will still be there when you return.

Although Ian was able to claim for some of his losses on his insurance there were so I understand items of sentimental value that could not be replaced.

Please let me have your thoughts, comments and suggestions and between us we can solve this problem.

Keith Humphris

Keith,

I was playing with Ian on the day his gear was stolen. In fact, I left my clubs right next to his when we went upstairs to the bar. I had to leave quickly (lucky me) and my gear was still there when I left - so they must have nicked Ian's shortly after that.

I must admit I was never concerned about this until Ian's gear got stolen ... in fact, just this weekend I was playing and left my clubs outside the pro shop when I went in to have a coffee and bacon roll before teeing off ... and was worried about them the whole time.

I usually leave mine in the car now most of the time. Would be great if there was some kind of anti-theft device for golf clubs.

David

 Any anti theft device, would have to secure clubs in the bag, bag on the trolley & trolley itself.  It would have to be like a dome that secures everything and locks onto a lampost!.

 If you can come up with something that does all this and is resonably priced, then i might be interested....(i'll invest £10,000 for 50% of the business!)

Would you leave your car running why you jump out -  run into the newsagents to get a paper, would you leave your frontdoor open why you are at work allday, would you leave your wallet on top of the bar why you go to the toilets!!!!!!!

for this reason i'm not investing


IM OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks David for your comments. I hope more members will add theirs.

Thank you also Roly for your comments,
 
The problem for me was not only to prevent the theft of all the golf equipment including restricting access to the pockets in the bag, but how to create a design that looked right for the golf courses and that would work on the majority of different bag and trolley combinations.

I feel I have achieved this and tried the prototype I have made on three different sizes of bags and trolleys.

It works and takes less than 30 seconds to secure the bag, clubs and trolley in the unit.

My proposal would be that these free standing units would be permanently sited near the clubhouse or pro-shop on every golf course and would be free of charge for the golfers to use.

Unit costs would be covered by advertising sponsorship.

The golfer would need only to carry a padlock with them. This would alow them to ue this facility on both their own course or when visiting any participating clubs.

I have applied for a patent on this unique design.

I am now working on a second design, which is a portable version that would be small enough for the golfer to roll up and carry with them.

Finally thanks to Kevin for your comments. Yes you are correct and most golfers and I would not do the things you suggested.

I am at present trying to fullfil the requests of some golfers in giving them an alternative and piece of mind, that they dont have to rush to put their golf equipment back in their cars to keep them safe.

Please keep sending in your comments.

Keith Humphris.

I think a motor bike wire rope put through the wheels of the trolley and then through the handle of a golf bag (Golf bags may have to have a steel reinforced handle in future) and then secured with a padlock may make it harder for your trolley and bag to be taken. If you inter-locked your bag with the other people you are playing with, all the better. Although this won't stop people taking the clubs from the bag, maybe someone could invent a Kevlar type cover that the wire rope could go through before locking . 

I recently had a big shock when I heard of two sets of golf equipment that were stolen from a car at night. one had specialist golf insurance the other thought he was covered by his house insurance.....WRONG ! It turns out that the cheap specialist golf insurer only covered theft during daylight hours,(found in the small print, afterwards), the house insurance only covered theft from a locked car in a locked garage, at the home address...No where else.<br /> So I decided to investigate just what cover is available, that delivers exactly what I think golfers need and expect to get. (THIS HAS TAKEN THE LID OFF OF A VERY BIG CAN OF WORMS !!!) Firstly I Googled 'Insurance for Golf' and started checking the small print of all the listed Golf Insurers. First tip: Definately read the small print of the top 3 sponsored links (They pay to be their for a reason!!) I also found that Golfcare, The Golfers Club, American Golf and Nevada Bobs are all in fact the same company, offering the same policy, with lots of free gifts,and all at different prices !! but all with very restricted cover and some BIG suprises in the small print which could prove expensive should you need to make a claim. Here are just a few (not all) that I discovered: <br /> NO overnight cover in cars, NOT New for Old after 3 years from new date (Second hand value only paid out!!). Low price to start, increased after 1st year. Extra if you want overseas cover. This applied to most of the Cheap golf insurers listed not just the previous 4, but you do need to check out the small print to understand how they all vary and why the prices are so cheap, I found out it's true, 'You only get what you pay for.'<br /> The best information I got from my research was from Googling 'Compare Golf Insurance' The information I picked up from this website was quite amazing. I dont think it would be fair to tell you which Golf Insurer I have decided to insure with, you should make your own mind up, but certainly www.comparegolfinsurance.com will help you understand what to look for and to make the right decision. The other thing I learned was 'DEFINATELY' read the small print or call the company before making up your mind. <br /> You have been warned !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!<br /> <br /> Note: I think it would be very interesting to hear from other members who have had golf claims refused, or not had their claims settled in the way they thought they would. <br /> <br /> Roger Bolt