Immobigolf - Will This Put An End To Golf Club Theft?

The new initiative, which is called Immobigolf, is designed to protect golfers by deterring theft

Immobigolf - Will This Put An End To Golf Club Theft?

Golf club theft in the UK is estimated at £10 million per annum.

Sadly, when golf clubs are stolen it is almost impossible to track them down and with organised crime heavily implicated in this growing problem, clubs stolen from individuals or retailers, often coming back into the marketplace through trade-ins and the second-hand club business.

The new initiative, which is called Immobigolf, is designed to protect golfers by deterring theft, make repatriation of recovered items straight forward for the Police and stop the trade in stolen golf clubs.

All golfers need to do is register their golf clubs – for free – on www.immobilise.com using the unique serial number that is etched just above the hosel on every single golf club.

This national database is already used by the Police to repatriate stolen goods.

It will also used by retailers and traders to track the entire ownership history of any golf club listed, and when the system flags up a stolen item, will generate an immediate on the spot arrest.

In the event of an insurance claim the system also helps golfers and the insurance companies confirm ownership making the claim process as simple as possible.

Immobigolf has come about thanks to co-operation between a number of businesses all of whom were being affected by the staggering increase in golf club crime.

John Mantle, National Loss Prevention Manager at American Golf, who was tasked to find ways to bring an end to golf club crime explains, “Golf clubs are considered to be an easy target by criminals because there is an active second hand market and they are relatively high value.

"Without a system in place to protect golfers we know that this sort of crime will escalate and when we met with Golfclubs4cash and Immobilise we realised that we could come together to ensure that all golfers are using this free system to protect their clubs.”

The Immobigolf system is extremely reliable because retailers and traders have access to the database as a means to check the provenance of any golf clubs that they are offered.

The database will have a clear ownership history, which will protect the golfer from counterfeit and stolen products.

Murray Winton of Golfclubs4cash, who have been integral in the development of the initiative, explains, "Golfclubs4cash are very excited for the launch of the Immobigolf product.

"Being able to check & verify the source of our products will add great credibility to our business.

"We are seen by thieves as an easy target to sell stolen merchandise to. Using this software potentially puts an end to that.

"The software also helps install crucial customer confidence as they know the golf clubs they’ve bought from us have been checked and come from a reputable source."

For just £14.99 golfers can also buy an Immobigolf pack at American Golf that will give golfers the means to show potential thieves that their products are protected.

The pack includes identifier labels for golf clubs and bright deterrent markers that can be placed in car windows and on a golf bag.

The hope is that when the initiative gains nationwide recognition Golf Club owners will also be able to advertise that as supporters of the initiative, their members are covered deterring potential thefts from their venues.

John concludes, “We want all golfers to get their products listed with Immobilise. It will mean golfers can get their stolen goods back, but importantly this will also act as a powerful crime prevention tool.

"If the entire golf community gets behind this initiative, then stolen golf clubs will become too hot for criminals to handle and this sort of crime can become a thing of the past.”

It’s rare that we get something for nothing, but Immobigolf is just that.

All golfers need to do to register their golf clubs is simply needs to log on to www.immobilise.com and use have their unique golf club serial numbers to hand.

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