Eight golf carts have been stolen from two Omaha City Golf Courses

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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The warm sunny weather brought out the golfers today but there are fewer carts to ride at two Omaha area courses.

In the past month, eight golf carts have been stolen from two Omaha City Golf Courses and the thieves are not amateurs.

“These are real pros and they know what they’re doing. They’re getting in and they’re getting out and they got to have a covered trailer,” said Bob Baber, City Golf Manager.

Bob says the thieves first hit Elmwood, four golf carts were stolen late Sunday night in March after a steel cable and a thick alert wire were cut. Although an alarm went off, the thieves got away before the police arrived.

The gate to the course parking lot is locked so it’s likely the thieves entered pulling a trailer and left with golf carts on the cart path. Then last week, four golf carts were stolen at the Knolls.

“They unbolted back here and were able to lift the tops off and get the cable off that way then drive the carts out that way,” said Baber.

Bob Hill Jr. who operates Tiburon and River Wilds hasn’t lost any golf carts this season but suppliers are yelling four.

“From the communication of the Yamaha and Club car, the big golf cart companies they mentioned, it’s a huge problem in the Midwest right now,” said Hill Jr.

Hill says all his carts are locked in the alarmed barn at night but city courses like Elmwood and Knolls don’t have the storage space for the entire fleet. Other security measures are being increased.

“We have some other things we’ve implemented to deter that, I don’t want to tell you what we’ve done but we’re trying to stay one step ahead so it doesn’t happen again,” said Baber.

Golfers say the cart thieves should get a penalty.

“They belong in jail for sure, holy wow that’s just not right especially for us old people, we need them things,” said Elmwood Golfer, Paul Kaczmarek.

The city courses are self-sufficient and self-insured so the losses come from sources like green fees and not tax dollars.

The eight stolen golf carts are valued at about $6,300 apiece. Rather than more security cameras that the thieves can hide from, Omaha’s golf manager says it’s probably better to invest in the expansion of the cart barns at the city’s four courses.