I saw this broken piece of shaft just off the fairway on the 18th hole and wondered about the back story.
Was it a club destroyed in a tantrum after a botched shot? Or is this the product of a shaft failure on a routine play?
Where is the rest of the club? Did some one get hit by the flying head? Or did it end up in the nearby pond?
Why would the owner take the head and leave the shaft to litter the ground?
I imagine a money game—not for big stakes, but for pride. On the last hole, with everything tied, the owner hits a shot that falls well short of expectations. Infused with Tommy Bolt-like rage, he breaks the club over his knee and flings the two parts into the air. The shaft falls nearby, but the weight of the head carries it soaring into the pond on the right. The shaft is left as silent testament to the meltdown.
You are not alone in imaging scenarios to explain the odd things one finds on a course.
I have found the working ends of an Odyssey putter and Cleveland wedge (separate times) on the course. Re-shafted both of them and they continue in use.
I have sometimes thought about taking along an obsolete club and at the right time, taking it out of the bag and snapping it as a joke.