A Golfer's Mystery

I have never attempted to become a golfer.  Even as a kid, I did not have an urge to be a caddy.  There were lots of opportunities there, but I opted to deliver newspapers instead.  Golf did not interest me in the least.

Now, I live in  a senior citizen paradise, where the surviving males love to spend time on an adjacent golf course.  I can look out of our back window and see these guys riding their little carts from hole to hole, and having, what appears to be, a wonderful time. 

I don't recall any of my fellow weightlifters ever taking up golf.  We often called it a "sissy game."  I always wondered how we would do if we ever got the "golf bug."  Would our pumped up muscles allow us to hit the little white ball a lot farther than the Walter Mitty types that we would probably be playing with?  Well, my question was answered when I found this gem of a book.

The Mysterious Montague (A True Tale of Hollywood, Golf, and Armed Robbery), by Leigh Montville.  Mr. Montville is the author of bestselling  books about Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, so I could not figure out why I found this book in the Dollar Store, in the remaindered book section. But I am glad I did.

Although only a little over average height, John Montague was an extremely muscled 210 pounds, and could lift  300 pound Oliver Hardy with one hand and deposit him on top of a bar.  John loved golf, and was known to hit the ball much farther, and with more accuracy than any other golfer in that fairyland called Hollywood. 

Mr. John Montague suddenly appeared in Hollywood in the early 1930's.  Completely unknown at first, he quickly made a name for himself at the Lakeside Golf Club.. that's the club where the famous movie stars liked to play their golf, and drink their hootch.   For a while, he lived at Oliver Hardy's house, and often played with Bing Crosby and other celebrities.  Once, he beat Bing by wielding a rake and a shovel, instead of clubs.  Mr. Montague beat everybody he played with for many years, and became a club legend. 

(Segue:  I heard on XM Radio, that at one time, the ladies who visited  Lakeside were shocked because they could see that male golfers often removed their shirts while they played.  The ladies forced the club officials to issue a notice that forbade the removal of shirts while on the course.  The male members {sorry} complied with the notice.. until Groucho and Harpo showed up at the last hole with their shirts on, as ordered, but minus their trousers....)

Back to Mr. Montague...  John refused to enter any of the tournaments, which everyone knew he could win.  In addition, Mr. Montague refused to have anyone take his picture.  The celebrities he golfed with wondered about him, but because he was such a spectacular golfer, they let him be the way he was until a rogue photographer took a long distance photograph of him that was published without his knowledge. A few days later, he was arrested.

So, there you are.. who was this John Montague?  Why didn't he want to enter tournaments that he obviously could have won?  Why didn't he want his picture taken?  Why was he arrested?  What happened after he was arrested? 

To find out, hurry over to your local Dollar Store and buy a $1 copy of this interesting true story.  It's a quick read, and if you are a golfer, you will probably not be able to put it down until it is devoured.

Have fun!   FORE!

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