The Loop

Aronimink Golf Club becomes the scene of an odd crime

April 19, 2012

Aronimink Golf Club has been host to the world's top golfers at the AT&T National the past two years. Now, it's also the site of one of the game's most bizarre crimes.

According to the Malvern Patch, four people were arrested outside of the club's gates early Wednesday morning. Their crime? Stealing golf balls out of ponds.

The Newtown Township Police report says a white van with a trailer containing diving equipment and 8,000 golf balls was stopped. That leads us to believe that either Aronimink has some very inviting water hazards or its members need to practice more.

In any matter, the four claimed they had permission from the course and nearby White Manor Country Club to retrieve, recondition and re-sell the balls back to the course. They did not.

One of the four, Daniel P. Curry, 31, claimed to own a ball-retrieval business called Plus 1, though no record of the company could be found online. In the report, he said he had contracts with other local golf courses and that this was a misunderstanding. The four were released on bail, but still face charges of theft, receiving stolen property and defiant trespass.

No word on what happened to the haul, but we have a sneaking suspicion the Newtown police force might be set on golf balls for the summer...

-- Alex Myers