Man Accused of Stealing $43,000 in Golf Clubs Across Scottsdale and Valley

Walter Dougoud, 52, has pleaded guilty to some of the charges and awaits sentencing.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — In a brazen daylight spree, high-end golf clubs worth $43,000 vanished from several golf shops in Scottsdale and the Valley area over a span of four months, court documents reveal.

Scottsdale Police arrested Walter Dougoud, who pleaded guilty to retail theft in July.

One of the shops burdened by these thefts is Hornacek’s Golf in north Scottsdale. Co-owner Michael Savoie recalled the incident from March when surveillance footage captured Dougoud swiftly snatching a handful of expensive golf drivers. “This guy got seven in his hands and did it in less than 20 seconds,” Savoie shared. Each driver was valued at $600, leading to a total loss of $3,600 for the shop.

Arrest documents detailed Dougoud’s similar thefts across other Valley golf stores, consistently grabbing multiple clubs each time. Dougoud admitted to investigators his involvement in at least 15 incidents, identifying himself in 11 of them. He confessed to selling the stolen clubs for less than half their retail price.

Court documents indicated Dougoud mentioned collaborators in his thefts, including his wife, her daughter, and a man identified only as “Porkchop.”

The 52-year-old has accepted a plea agreement and will face sentencing in August. “We’re glad that there is getting some resolve and some awareness that, you know, this, this is going on, and it’s not just the golf industry,” Savoie added.

The incident spurred Savoie to enhance store security, install more cameras, increase staffing, and rearrange the store layout. “We have thwarted, probably about, five or six [theft] attempts since then,” he said.