Thursday, July 16, 1998

Graphic by Bryant Fukutomi, Star-Bulletin

Thieves are getting away
with stealing and then
selling stolen golf clubs

By Jaymes Song
Star-Bulletin

AS the golf saying goes, "drive for show, putt for dough."

But crooks are finding that drivers and putters are worth big money.

Honolulu police are advising golfers to watch their clubs more carefully because of a local and national wave of robberies targeting pricey titanium woods and irons.

Detectives said the increased popularity of the sport, the demand for the high-end titanium clubs and the difficulty of tracing the clubs have created an attractive market for thieves over the past three years.

"They're expensive and people just leave them in their garages," said Lt. Michael Correa, head of the Windward theft detail. "The majority of the thefts are from open garages and carports."

Police said hot spots for club thefts from homes have been in the Kaneohe and the Hawaii Kai areas. But club thefts from vehicles have been reported around the island, too.

The most targeted clubs are the high-end designer clubs such as Taylor Made, Callaway Golf and King Cobra, detectives said. Each club can retail for more than $400 apiece. A set can easily cost several thousand dollars.

Police said the Callaway Great Big Bertha and Biggest Big Bertha are the hottest woods among thieves.

"It has been our experience that our club is the most popular to buy and steal because of the demand," said Steve McCracken, Callaway's chief legal officer. "Thieves generally take things that are easily converted to cash and can quickly sell."

Callaway officials said they are evaluating whether to return serial numbers to their clubs. Callaway clubs used to carry serial numbers, but they proved ineffective when crooks filed them off.

"Nobody's going to steal what nobody wants," McCracken said. "The problem of theft is with any product that's in demand."

Nevada Bob's Golf in Aiea has been burglarized three times in the last two years.

In the first hit, the suspects disabled the alarm and cut a hole in the wall to enter the shop, police said. They stole nearly $30,000 worth of clubs.

In the next two burglaries, the suspects drove a car through the walls of the business and grabbed the high-tech clubs.

"They went after only titanium clubs," said Barbara Schroeder, owner of Nevada Bob's of Hawaii. "They knew exactly what they wanted. They probably cased it because they were in and out."

Pro-Am Golf Shop on Kapiolani Boulevard has been hit two times in recent years, with losses of approximately $55,000.

The first time, the thieves stole more than 50 Tommy Armour clubs valued at $25,000. In the second hit, the crooks targeted Callaway and Taylor Made titanium drivers. The business lost about 75 clubs valued at $30,000.

"The prices have gone up and there's more people playing golf," Pro-Am owner Nathan Yoshioka said. "Which makes the clubs easier to fence."

Pro-Am and Nevada Bob's have upgraded security since the burglaries.

"Beware," Schroeder said. "We're guarding our inventory like a hawk."

According to a New York Times report, police in four Southern states say that in the last few months, an organized gang has broken into about 25 golf discount stores, smashing windows and grabbing about 1,500 Callaway drivers and other woods.

Thieves have taken $500,000 worth of Callaways from golf retail giant Edwin Watts in the past three years. Some of his stores report being hit two or three times in one week.

Yoshioka said buyers and sellers of stolen clubs should face stricter penalties.

"The thief who steals 50 clubs cannot sell them separately," he said. "Obviously, when you buy a club, you know it's stolen. If someone says here's a $300 club for $100, they should know. They cannot claim ignorance. That's like buying a Mercedes Benz for $200 and saying you didn't know it was stolen."

Besides from garages, pro shops and cars, crooks are lifting clubs left outside by golfers enjoying a drink and pupus inside the clubhouse after a round.

Police said the hot clubs are being sold individually to golfers searching for an unbelievable deal and used sporting goods stores, and some are even being shipped to the mainland. Detectives said some thieves sell stolen clubs for as low as $1 a club to feed their drug habit.

Police said the best defense against theft is to be careful and put clubs out of sight.