News:

Welcome to the Golf Club Atlas Discussion Group!

Each user is approved by the Golf Club Atlas editorial staff. For any new inquiries, please contact us.


Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Golf Consultant Arrested
« on: June 19, 2003, 05:32:26 PM »
Tighue Thompson Shields, a Phoenix golf consultant who was reportedly consulting "on new projects" in Florida, was arrested in a bizarre bank robbery here Tuesday. For anyone who may know of him, I thought it would be an interesting read — I have only heard of him and understood he worked for some developers as a consultant:

POLICE NAB MAN IN BANK ROBBERIES
Scottsdale Consultant Lived Well

by Emily Bittner
The Arizona Republic
Jun. 18, 2003

SCOTTSDALE - Tighue Thompson Shields, 53, a Scottsdale golf consultant, had a Monday morning ritual as regular as a tee time.

Wearing a fly-fishing hat, a long-sleeved flannel shirt and fake explosives around his waist, he would rob a different bank in his north Scottsdale neighborhood and then hop a plane to Florida to help design golf courses, authorities said.

Police arrested Shields on Monday as he left Bank One at 8737 E. Pinnacle Peak Road with a bag of money. He was charged in federal court with three counts of armed robbery in connection the robbery as well as a June 2 robbery at the same Bank One branch and a June 9 robbery at Compass Bank, 23305 N. Pima Road. He is being held in Florence, said Susan Herskovits, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Phoenix.

Hounded by creditors but unwilling to relinquish his lavish lifestyle, Shields' habit started earlier this month, said Scottsdale police Detective Tom Van Meter, who was on the stakeout that led to his arrest.

"Creditors were jumping and screaming at him, and he didn't want to change or lose his lifestyle," Van Meter said.
Shields lives near the Desert Highlands Golf Course near Jomax and Pima roads in north Scottsdale. His house is assessed at $410,500, according to the Maricopa County Assessor's Office.
Shields' arrest Monday came after police decided to stake out two banks in the same area, near Pinnacle Peak and Pima roads, where they believed he might strike.
Their hunch proved correct.

Getaway SUV

Police said Shields pulled up to the Bank One branch in a GMC Yukon Denali, the same vehicle that was used in the first two robberies, Van Meter said. White hospital tape covered the license plate.

He donned his fishing hat and went into the bank carrying a white bag. A few minutes later, after it was robbed, he left briskly and tried to get into his car, Van Meter said. Police Detective Pete Salazar said he grabbed Shields by his collar and ordered him to the ground.

Flares looked like bomb

Police found an undisclosed amount of money on the passenger seat in a mesh laundry bag that had been used in all three robberies, Van Meter said. They also found three flares in Shield's pants that were rigged with a wiring device, he said.
Shields displayed the device in the first two robberies but not in the third, Van Meter said. Shields told police that if tellers challenged him, he would show it "as an intimidator to get away," police said.

Police said that Shields told them he was involved in all three robberies.

Firsthand action

Van Meter described Monday's robbery as one of the most exciting crimes he has investigated in 25 years of policing, in part because he watched it unfold in front of him.
"We saw him go in the building, we saw him leave," he said.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Brad Klein

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2003, 06:27:48 PM »
Forrest, this is pretty funny. It's got to be a joke - I notice an FBI agent with the same name as Bill Coore's wife. Or am I confusing reality with fiction? Who knows? Someone has a great imagination.

But now after finding the article on the Arizona Republic website from yesterday I'm convinced, though still amazed. Who could make this stuff up? Maybe he was also writing feasibility studies for the NGF throughout the 1990s?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:06 PM by -1 »

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2003, 06:37:12 PM »
I wish I were that creative...here is the link to this true, but certainly odd, story:

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0618bankrobber18.html
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

mike_beene

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2003, 07:23:15 PM »
Life is very interesting.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #4 on: June 19, 2003, 07:29:18 PM »
And...life AND golf is even more interesting. We might all think of the positive: Mr. Shields, apparently, loved his world of golf more than common sense and family and, apparently, his sanity.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2003, 07:30:04 PM »
Come to think of it, that's not too positive, is it...?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

Bill_McBride

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2003, 07:46:20 PM »
Forrest, don't all golf architects and consultants enjoy lavish lifestyles?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #7 on: June 19, 2003, 08:05:45 PM »
Oh, yes, Bill. As I write this I am installing a mirror for my daughter in her bathroom -- wrestling with an ill-suited drill and no studs in the wall. So...have just returned from Home Depot where I purchased a 2x4 and am now about to thrash through the wall and install a stud. I also have cleaned up the tortoise poop in the back yard. Yes, lavish. have you ever picked up tortoise poop?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

JWL

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2003, 08:26:53 PM »

Forrest

Tigue Shields is/was an agronomist that had a agronomic consulting business.   He formerly worked for GolfTurf as a staff agronomist.
I have worked on several projects with him.  He knows agronomy and was a very pleasant guy to be around.  I understand that he got into some serious debt.  This is a very surprising development for all of us that knew and worked with him.   It is truly amazing what some people will do when greed gets a hold of them.  Too bad.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

A_Clay_Man

Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #9 on: June 20, 2003, 05:46:59 AM »
Yummy, tortoise soup! How excentric. What? It says poop? Oh, nevermind. But I do understand that if cooked over a wood fire (not charcol) it tastes just like chicken.

There was a spy caddie who was arrested a few years back for a similar offense. He was one of the nicest hard working guys. He use to drive in from los banos daily. Handsome, mature, salt and pepper hair. I'll bet he's a real welcome addition to the cell block.

This Phoenix guy must've had a deep desire to get caught. How else could he be so dillusional as to go back to the same banks, let alone the ones in his neighborhood.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

Robert_Walker

Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2003, 06:10:26 AM »
This reminds me of Richard Meissner, the PGA Tour member who robbed banks at Tour stops.
When it was suggested that he cheated as well, he said something to the effect of, "I may be a bank robber, but I have never, nor would I ever, dream of cheating at golf.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

RJ_Daley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2003, 06:38:12 AM »
As a former police officer, I have heard some really good ones over the years, but these are some of the best of the stupid criminal stories I have heard.  I used to have a guy in my beat doing till taps that was about 6'8" and about 120 pounds, wore a wide brim hat, had a gold tooth, and always drove a pink Cadillac away from the scene of his crimes.  Superior police work and an investigative mind as good as Colombo's helped us figure out who he was before arrival to the call ;) ::)  Another guy lived in a Ted Kazinski like shack about 10 miles out of town in the hills and was a motor cylce freak.  He dicided one july day to rob a bank downtown, and donned a ski mask and tucked a sawed off under his arm as he rode his cycle into town.  He was seen by many coming and going to his job over dressed for july by folks that conveniently jotted down his MC plate number, which he carelessly forgot to remove.

But Forrest, was there any bank jobs or jewel heists taking place on Madagascar when you were there? ;D
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
No actual golf rounds were ruined or delayed, nor golf rules broken, in the taking of any photographs that may be displayed by the above forum user.

John_Conley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2003, 07:26:02 AM »
Rob't Walker:

I get these stories confused.  Is Meissner the same guy that wound up with a stolen club empire two years ago in Ormond Beach near Daytona?
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »

BCrosby

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2003, 08:10:37 AM »
When I was a teenager my friends and I played a lot of golf with a young assistant pro at the Athens CC. There was a group of about eight of us. We played almost everyday. After our rounds, the assistant would often give us rides to the movies, The Varsity (a local fast food joint - best onion rings and chili dogs in the universe), Braves games in Atlanta, etc.

He was a terrific guy and a very good player. But the best part was his new Cadillac convertible. Light blue. White top. Immaculate. Riding around town with him - man, it didn't get any cooler. We thought we were very, very big stuff.

Sometime in August we were approaching the ninth green when we noticed two men in suits watching us play. After we putted out, the men motioned to the assistant and asked to talk to him. They chatted briefly and the three started walking to the parking lot. Before he got to their car, the assistant turned back to us and shouted that he couldn't play the back side but he would see us tomorrow for our usual game.

Next morning in the paper the front page headline was that a man had been arrested for a series of local bank robberies. There, above the fold, was a two column picture of our buddy the asst. pro, looking good in a beautiful Munsingwear golf shirt.

He got ten years or so. Don't know what happened to him after that. I hope he is doing well. I still think about his blue Cadillac from time to time.

Bob  
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:06 PM by -1 »

Forrest Richardson

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2003, 08:20:45 AM »
I believe he went into the witness protection program and came out as Tommy Nacarato.
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
— Forrest Richardson, Golf Course Architect/ASGCA
    www.golfgroupltd.com
    www.golframes.com

George Pazin

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #15 on: June 20, 2003, 09:43:11 AM »
Anyone else want to chip in to secure the movie rights - I'm thinking Bill Murray is due for another good golf movie. :)
« Last Edit: December 31, 1969, 07:00:00 PM by 1056376800 »
Big drivers and hot balls are the product of golf course design that rewards the hit one far then hit one high strategy.  Shinny showed everyone how to take care of this whole technology dilemma. - Pat Brockwell, 6/24/04

Bob_Huntley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #16 on: April 27, 2010, 04:15:22 PM »
Bump,

With the dearth of new golf developments cropping up, will we see  more bank robberies?

Bob

Jud_T

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #17 on: April 27, 2010, 04:28:15 PM »
You would except the banks have even less money than the Golf Consultants.... :-\
Golf is a game. We play it. Somewhere along the way we took the fun out of it and charged a premium to be punished.- - Ron Sirak

Tom_Doak

  • Karma: +2/-1
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #18 on: April 27, 2010, 04:40:50 PM »
The "new normal" is for the banks to rob you, instead of the old way.

They are still trying to determine whether this is a crime or not.

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #19 on: April 27, 2010, 04:45:08 PM »
Bob,

It's gotten so bad nowadays that now the banks are robbing us!
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #20 on: April 27, 2010, 04:46:14 PM »
The "new normal" is for the banks to rob you, instead of the old way.

They are still trying to determine whether this is a crime or not.

I may  think like Tom, but I am just not as funny!
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Scott Stambaugh

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #21 on: April 27, 2010, 04:50:03 PM »
I think I remember there being a pretty classic line involved with this-

When a reporter asked one of the clubs that this gentleman was consulting with to comment on the situation (apparently, a club that was notorious for having lousy greens before they hired him,) the club representative responded something like-

"...for good greens, we're willing to overlook a few bank jobs."





Mike Hendren

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #22 on: April 27, 2010, 04:58:43 PM »
Bump,

With the dearth of new golf developments cropping up, will we see  more bank robberies?

Bob

Bob, I hear through the grapevine that a recidivist on the Monterrey Peninsula sporting a John Deere baseball cap is again robbing unsuspecting victims blind on the first tee of one of the local private clubs.  Do you by chance know the chap?

Mike
« Last Edit: April 27, 2010, 05:01:53 PM by Michael_Hendren »
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Matthew Petersen

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #23 on: April 27, 2010, 04:59:44 PM »
He was going to have to rob a lot of banks to keep living near Desert Highlands. If his home is currently being appraised around 400k, it was probably close to $1m around 2006.

Garland Bayley

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Golf Consultant Arrested
« Reply #24 on: April 27, 2010, 05:06:30 PM »
Forrest,

We know there has been a slow down in work for GCAs. Don't you be getting any ideas now!
"I enjoy a course where the challenges are contained WITHIN it, and recovery is part of the game  not a course where the challenge is to stay ON it." Jeff Warne

Tags:
Tags:

An Error Has Occurred!

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()
Back