What is the rod looking thing in the golfers bags?

I seem to remember a long time ago can't remember who had a golf glove in his bag that had a metal brace to keep your wrist from braking down, he did not use it during play but forgot it was in the bag caddie found it after the round and he turned himself in and was DQ'd.I think a few years later someone had a wrist injury and they let him play with a braced wrist because it was for an injury and they made a big deal about it because of the prior DQ.

 For years I  have just layed down clubs on the range or use a broken one and I use a string and large tees that I keep wraped up in my bag as putting alignment I never take them out but those are not considered an aid, because the part of standard golf equipment. If you have a broken club in the bag that is considered an extra club. 

bluefin - a broken club in your bag may not be considered a club...depends on what part of it is still in your bag...

The club must be composed of a shaft and a head and it may also have material added to the shaft to enable the player to obtain a firm hold.

If it doesnt have those 3 things it isnt considered a club by definition

I have some "tour issue" ones that came directly from a PGA tour Pro.  Unlike the ones you get at home depot, these are actually allignment sticks, not some plastic driveway marker.  These fine pieces of equipment are very rare and difficult to find on ebay, etc.

If you want I'll sell them to you for 35$ via paypal.  I can send pics if necessary but they're the real deal, just like the ones you see in many pro's bag.

I wouldn't call them dumb...Sure you can use clubs for alignment but unless you have a bunch of old, headless shafts laying around, you don't have a way to check your swing plain while on the range.  Also, the sticks are good to use to practice working the ball by placing one or two in front of you and hitting around it.   And to the short bus all stars that might read my above post, I was only kidding.

I have plenty of broken clubs laying around in collection dated with location and shots or trees,thighs or benches that produced their demise.

Well your a tool. They are really good because you can put them directly beside the ball and if you make contact with stick hurts nothing but you cant do that with a club. I played 4 years of D II golf so I dont understand your point by saying that. They help in many ways outside just alignment. You just have to be careful they will scratch your driver when you put the driver back in the bag.