Surveillance: Going Undercover on a Golf Course

“I Want You to Find Out If Two of My Employees Are Having an Affair”

We had an interesting case last summer. An executive contacted us because he was concerned two of his company’s key employees were “fooling around.”  He was worried their affair might be getting in the way of their work responsibilities, possibly alienating clients, and the executive (we’ll call him Bob) was concerned that if the affair backfired, one of the lovers might sue the company.

Oh, and both of these people were each married to someone else, so it was also Bob’s concern that they were using company time and dollars to act out their affair.

Our Initial Surveillances Found No Evidence of Hanky Panky

We accepted the job and conducted several surveillances (following them home from work, to work, outside of offsite business meetings that they were both attending), but saw nothing unusual.  Well, overly unusual.  We did notice that Person A had a habit of always parking next to Person B in a far-off corner of the employee parking lot, but they never arrived or left at the same time.

“I Need You to Conduct Surveillance at a Golf Course”

One morning Bob called us at the crack of dawn.  ”They’re playing golf today with some business clients–I need you to conduct surveillance there, all day.  Can you do it?”

My husband said, “Sure.”  After hanging up the phone, he said to me, “I know you’ve never played golf, but trust me, this will be easy.”

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know I’ve done some adventurous things in the course of my investigations.  I’ve swung my bod around a pole at a club, followed a felon across three counties to serve him legal papers, I’ve even made friends with a 135-pound Rottweiler.  But golfing?  Hello?

Private Eyes on a Golf Course

My husband picked up some golf-like clothes for me to wear.  Rented clubs.  Gave me a few pointers. At least I looked golfer-like, but if anyone wanted to discuss pars, handicaps or bogeys, I’d decided to feign a sore throat.

At the golf course, management asked us if we’d like to be a team with another couple, and we accepted.  Being part of a group helped us blend in, plus our group was right behind Person A and B and their clients  (how lucky could we get?) so we’d have bird’s eye view of them all day long.

Driving the Cart and Taking Photos

My husband told the other couple that my leg was acting up, so I couldn’t play golf.  At my prodding, he added that I had a sore throat and was unable to talk.  ”Honey,” he added, looking earnestly at me, “I’m so sorry you’re unable to talk all day today.  But remember, the doctor said it’s for your own good.”

I didn’t mind.  I was now free to drive the cart and keep my eye on Person A and Person B in the group ahead of us.  I noticed they were drinking a lot with their clients…and that once or twice, A and B would go off by themselves and talk quietly.  Occasionally, I’d take photos with my long-distance lens, but they didn’t behave in any way that suggested they were romantically involved.

Drinks Back at the Club

Late that afternoon, the golf games ended.  As we pulled our cart into the main area, we passed Person A and Person B’s golf carts, each of which were loaded with beer bottles.  We took pictures of the carts and the number of bottles for our client, Bob.  Drinking to excess while representing a company can be legally problematic if, say, an employee gets into a car accident or some other alcohol-related incident.

Person A and B and their clients proceeded to the club house where they all continued to drink more beer.  Pitchers of beer.  My husband and I sat at another table and took photos.

And then we noticed that A and B were playing footsie under the table.  We took more photos.  Then A got up and started drunkenly hugging B at the table in front of the clients.  More photos.

Yep, it was becoming obvious they were having some kind of fling.  But we had no idea what was in store next!

The Easiest Surveillance Photos We’ve Ever Taken

The clients finally left the drink-a-thon, leaving A and B behind.  We called our client Bob and explained that his employees and the clients had gotten blitzed in the course of playing golf and after-game drinks, and that we had photos of footsie and hugging.

Bob asked us to continue the surveillance.

We followed A and B out to the parking lot…and that’s when things exploded. A and B, drunk as skunks, started making out like porn stars…right in the middle of the parking lot.  They were kissing and stroking and kneading and leg-wrapping…a dozen fire engines could have gone screaming past, lights flashing, people yelling “Fire!” and they would have kept up their steamy lip-locking.

We Sat Four Feet Away and Took Photos

We got into our car, prepared our cameras, and decided to drive by and get a few shots.  A and B were so hot and bothered, so into each other, that when we reached them, we thought, “Heck, why try and take pictures while driving by?  Let’s just sit here and get some good shots.”

And we did.

We sat there, mere feet from the amorous couple, and took excellent, clear pictures.

Then we drove off and called Bob again, told him we had photographic evidence that A and B were definitely having an affair, that we were calling it a day and we’d get the report to him, with pictures, that evening.

As we drove off, we saw A and B climbing into one of their vehicles…we didn’t need to guess what was happening next. By the way, we later learned that the company put the kibosh on A and B taking clients to play golf. Maybe they claimed the two of them were spending too much money or drinking too much…or maybe Bob showed them the photos in the parking lot.  Ouch.