His given name is Landon, but when you’ve been golfing since you’re six and your last name is Gilmore well … fate works in funny ways.
Happy Gilmore has officially committed to play college golf at Ball State University.
No, not that one.
It turns out there’s an actual Indiana high school golfer who goes by Happy Gilmore who, kinda-sorta like his namesake, is great on the links. The senior at Bloomington South High School will take his talents north and join the Cardinals, who are coming off a second-place finish in this year’s MAC Conference Tournament.
It’s a solid pickup for Ball State — an all-state talent capable of shooting even par or better under the brightest spotlights high school golf has to offer. But let’s be honest; the only reason we’re talking about this (legitimately impressive) guy is because his name rules.
I am very excited to announce that I have committed to continue my academic and golf career at Ball State University. I am very grateful for the opportunity Coach Fleck has given me! I would like to thank my family, my friends and coaches who push me everyday! @BallStateMGolfpic.twitter.com/nz36to47J2
Trading in a hockey stick for golf clubs paid off. Well, sort of.
Bloomington South senior Happy Gilmore – yup, that’s his real name – has committed to play college golf at Ball State. And he never played hockey, as Adam Sandler did in the famous movie, but even Sandler would be happy to see what Gilmore has been able to accomplish.
His real first name is Landon, but he started going by “Happy” as a nickname when he was about 6 and started playing in golf tournaments. I mean, it only makes sense, right?
Gilmore has starred for the Bloomington South boys golf team since his freshman year, and now he’s going to play at the next level. He shot 66 at a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier recently. He’s 497th in the Golfweek/Sagarin boys rankings.
I am very excited to announce that I have committed to continue my academic and golf career at Ball State University. I am very grateful for the opportunity Coach Fleck has given me! I would like to thank my family, my friends and coaches who push me everyday! @BallStateMGolfpic.twitter.com/nz36to47J2
Gilmore finished T-7 at the Indiana high school boys golf state tournament earlier this month, shooting even par over 36 holes at Prairie View Golf Club. He won his regional the week before at Country Oaks in Momtgomery.
Watch out, Shooter McGavin.
Bloomington South’s Happy Gilmore putts on the 1st green at Country Oaks Golf Course during the IHSAA regional golf meet on Thursday, June 8, 2023. (Photo: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times)
The group wanted to allow the sale and consumption of cannabis and related products on the resort grounds during the two-day event.
GAYLORD, Mich. — While the city council in this small city in Michigan might be comfortable with the recreational use of marijuana, the panel isn’t ready yet to allow the open consumption of the drug in the city.
And by a 4-2 vote earlier this week, the council amended the city’s marijuana ordinance to allow the temporary suspension of marijuana licenses even if there is a minor violation while rejecting a proposal for a cannabis golf outing in August. The small inland city with just more than 4,000 residents sits about 60 miles northeast of Traverse City and about 60 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.
Stephen Hartz, Mike Ryan, Mayor Todd Sharrard and Vic Ouellette voted in favor of the motion while council members Jordan Awrey and Alan Witt were opposed.
Council changed the ordinance even after Ouellette cautioned against that action.
“If we change the ordinance we will be bombarded with (requests) for more cannabis outings,” he said.
517 Golf, a Michigan social media and marketing company, sought a change in the ordinance so it could host a celebrity golf outing on Aug. 28-29 at the Otsego Resort featuring John Daly and actor Christopher McDonald. Daly is a professional on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. McDonald portrayed Shooter McGavin in the movie “Happy Gilmore.”
At first, the group wanted to allow the sale and consumption of cannabis and related products on the resort grounds during the two-day event. They modified the proposal to eliminate the sale of pot and related products and just permit the consumption of marijuana in a designated area on the resort property.
“We will serve alcohol and food that weekend like we do every weekend,” Gary Vollmer, owner of the Otsego Resort, told the council. “The only difference is that there will be 3,000 square feet in which individuals can smoke cannabis. We will have a quasi-police force to make sure people will not be smoking outside of that 3,000 square foot area.”
Despite the security measures outlined by Vollmer and 517 Golf officials, there was concern about the event. Rachel Smith, who lives near the resort, was worried about a large number of people consuming not only marijuana but alcohol as well and noted that she has small children who use the backyard that is close to the Otsego Club property.
Gaylord Police Chief Frank Claeys said organizers had agreed to not allow alcohol consumption in the same area as marijuana was being used.
That wasn’t enough to persuade a majority of the council to grant a license for the golf outing. It’s not clear if the outing will take place without the use of marijuana.
— Contact Paul Welitzkin at pwelitzkin@gaylordheraldtimes.com.
HOUSTON – Real estate is one of Shooter McGavin’s hobbies. So is golf.
That’s why it wasn’t a surprise to see Shooter at the 2022 Cadence Bank Houston Open on Thursday. And yes, we’re talking about that Shooter McGavin, the one from “Happy Gilmore.”
Actor Christopher McDonald, who portrays Shooter McGavin, was on hand Thursday at Memorial Park Golf Course during the first round of the Houston Open. McDonald signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans. He even got pranked by Tony Finau on the first tee, as Finau mimicked as if he was going to do the Happy Gilmore swing.
Had Finau gone through with it, Shooter may have tried to get him kicked off the Tour.
“(Tony) just killed the ball when I was out there,” McDonald told Golfweek. “He’s a big favorite of mine, a great guy.”
No matter where McDonald goes, Shooter McGavin’s persona follows him. He has become the friendly villain in the golf community since the movie debuted in 1996, and portraying the Shooter role is something that changed McDonald’s life.
“I love being an ambassador for this movie because it has been 26 years, and so it’s multi-generational,” McDonald said. “And I had people tell me when they watch it, they watch it with their grandkids, and whenever it pops up on television, they just kind of have to sit down and watch and have a good laugh. It’s the gift that keeps on giving for me because I get invited to places like the Houston Open.”
The first 5,000 fans at Thursday’s first round got a Shooter McGavin bobble head, and many of those bobble heads ended up signed by Shooter himself. And no one had to go to the ninth green at 9 o’clock to make it happen.
Although Shooter’s last Tour Championship appearance was in 1996 when he blew a big lead to Happy Gilmore, he remains a big fan of golf. McDonald said he has become an even bigger fan in the past 10 years, and it’s in big part to how much it has grown on television. That is, as long as TV towers aren’t collapsing on the green.
McDonald and Adam Sandler, who played Happy Gilmore, remain in touch, even seeing each other a couple weeks before the Houston Open. On the 25th anniversary of the movie last year, Sandler posted a video on Twitter of him recreating the swing.
Shortly after, McDonald’s publicist contacted McDonald and told him about Sandler’s video. He responded quickly.
On Thursday, the impact and fandom McDonald has sprouted in golf fans over the past quarter century were apparent. Those young and old were lined up to meet him, many times saying catch phrases from the movie when they finally got to meet him.
It remains apparent that even after all these years. It’s still Shooter’s tour.
“I have nothing but respect for his great game of golf, and these guys are phenomenally talented,” McDonald said. “So it’s a treat for me to be right up close and personal.”
Will Zalatoris received congrats for winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship from “Happy Gilmore”.
Among the congratulations Will Zalatoris received Sunday after winning the 2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship was a message from “Happy Gilmore” himself.
Adam Sandler, a comedic actor and “Saturday Night Live” alum whose 1996 film “Happy Gilmore” was a lovable lampooning of golf and the people who play it, sent his compliments to Zalatoris on Sunday evening.
“Congrats Will! I’m happy for you! Happy’s happy for you! Enjoy it all!” Sandler shared on his Twitter account with photos of Zalatoris along with images from the movie.
So, what’s the connection here?
It started more than a year ago when comparisons to Zalatoris and Happy Gilmore’s first caddie began to circulate on social media.
Zalatoris, then 24, embraced the analogy by having a quote from the character — “Mr. Gilmore I’m your caddy” — engraved in his wedge.
Zalatoris defeated Sepp Straka in a three-hole playoff finish in Memphis on Sunday to notch the first PGA Tour victory of his career.
But this isn’t the first time Sandler has acknowledged the golfer.
Zalatoris was the talk of the Masters in the spring of 2021 with a second-place finish as a rookie, one shot behind Hideki Matsuyama.
Zalatoris (and his uncanny resemblance to Happy Gilmore’s caddie) got the attention of the golf-loving Sandler. The actor tweeted to Zalatoris on the Sunday of the final round in Augusta, Georgia, including a photo of Jared Van Snellenberg, who portrayed the caddie in “Happy Gilmore.”
And Zalatoris replied, in character: “If you’re ever in need of a caddie again let me know. I’ll be better this time. I’m always available for you, Mr. Gilmore.”
Will Zalatoris picked up his first PGA Tour victory in a thrilling playoff win over Sepp Straka on Sunday at the first round of the Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs and his former “boss” was very happy for him.
Zalatoris, who has finished second in three major championships, sank a couple of huge putts down the stretch and won the playoff with a 7-footer on the third playoff hole to pick up a victory that made LIV Golf look so dumb.
Like Sandler’s character, one of Gilmore’s strengths is his driver.
Yes, he understands the reaction. Happy Gilmore? It has to be a misprint. Maybe a joke.
Happy Gilmore? No way.
“Sometimes, when I first introduce myself, they will look at me funny,” said Gilmore, a star golfer Bloomington South (Indiana) high school. “But if my golf bag is there and has my name on it, that will kind of help a little bit. But it never fails. At some point they will ask me, ‘Is that your real name?’ or ‘How did you get that name?’ Something along those lines.”
His given name is Landon. But Happy, a 16-year-old sophomore, started to go by “Happy” as a nickname when he was about 6 and started playing in golf tournaments — a golfer with the last name Gilmore is too easy, right?
Bloomington South’s Happy Gilmore hits a shot during the IHSAA boys’ golf sectional at Cascades Golf Course on Monday, June 6, 2022. (Photo by Bobby Goddin/Herald-Times)
“My mom said it was before this, but I really remember it when I was like 9 years old,” he said. “Then when I was like 13, I started going by ‘Happy’ all the time.”
Gilmore, unlike Adam Sandler’s character in the 1996 movie “Happy Gilmore”, is not a hockey player/turned golfer. “I can’t skate,” he said. But he can golf. In fact, Gilmore tied for eighth in the state last year as a freshman. His Bloomington South team, which finished fourth at the Indiana state championship last year, will be one of the teams to watch when the two-day IHSAA state meet begins Tuesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana.
“The last third of our season I’ve been playing very well,” said Gilmore, who tied for second in the regional with an even-par 72. “It’s definitely about the best I’ve felt on a golf course, probably in my life.”
Gilmore earned some national publicity after he shot an 80 in a U.S. Open qualifier at Old Oakland Golf Club. The “Shooter McGavin” Twitter account (named after Christopher McDonald’s villainous character in the movie), has also taken note. “If anyone sees this kid, tell him I’d love to meet him tonight on the 9th green at 9” he tweeted to his 437,000-plus followers last month.
Gilmore can imitate Sandler’s tee shots in the movie, though he admits he has not practiced the run-up-to-the-ball routine recently.
“I haven’t done it for a while so I’m probably a little bit rusty,” he said. “But just give me a couple of balls, and I can usually make pretty good contact.”
Like Sandler’s character, one of Gilmore’s strengths is his driver.
“I’m pretty long (off the tee),” he said. “Here lately I’ve been struggling with my driver, but typically I’m very good off the tee and my putting is usually pretty good. I’ve been working hard on getting my wedges up because my irons are decent, but my strong suits are definitely off the tee and off the green.”
“I don’t think it adds any pressure to me,” Gilmore said of his name. “But I do know that whatever I do is going to be seen. Especially as far as leaderboards when people are scrolling down and see ‘Happy Gilmore’ they are going to look at it, obviously. So I do know that, but I don’t let it get in my head or that I have to play good because of it. I just go out and do my thing.”
Hopefully, for Gilmore, that involves getting the ball to its home the next two days.
A recent club throw got us thinking: what are some of the other best on-course meltdowns?
Whether you’re a touring professional golfer, an avid amateur or weekend hacker, every player has hit a bad shot out on the golf course and felt the urge to wind up and throw his or her club.
Exhibit A: Matt Jones on Saturday after making par on the 11th hole at Bay Hill during the third round of the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.
“Matt a little frustrated there,” announcer Steve Sands said on the broadcast. “Did you hear what he said? He said, ‘I’m done, I’ve had enough of it.’”
So that got us thinking: What are some of golf’s greatest club tosses? From Rory McIlroy to Judge Smails, here are a few of the best.
Will Zalatoris resembles Happy Gilmore’s caddie from the Waterbury Open, and Adam Sandler made sure to note it on Twitter.
Will Zalatoris teed off Sunday tied for second in the final round of the Masters.
And a famous (movie) golfer wished him luck on Twitter.
Adam Sandler, who played the titular Happy Gilmore in the fan-favorite golf movie from 1996, tweeted a photo compilation that got social media laughing just before Zalatoris’ 2:20 p.m. tee time. The tweet shows the 24-year-old who is making a splash at his first Masters next to a shot of the actor who played Gilmore’s caddie at his first tournament in the movie.
Zalatoris is fully aware of the comparisons he’d been getting to both that character and to Owen Wilson, and the PGA Tour’s Twitter account made sure Sandler knew it.
Zalatoris entered the final day tied for second four shots beyond leader Hideki Matsuyama.
While things have gone well for “not Happy’s caddie,” the real-life Gilmore, the big-driving Bryson DeChambeau, has had an up-and-down week at Augusta National. He shot 67 on Friday but followed it with consecutive weekend rounds of 75.
Today is a special day for all of us as it’s the 25th anniversary of Adam Sandler’s classic movie “Happy Gilmore,” which was an inspirational film about a young man who picked up golf to try to win enough money to save his grandmother’s house.
I won’t drop any spoiler alerts in case you haven’t seen it, but I’ll just say that the young man, named Happy Gilmore, did pretty well on the Tour.
Gilmore did it all with an unconventional swing, too, that has since been attempted by every weekend hacker who has ever stepped foot on a golf course.
Today Adam Sandler celebrated the anniversary by attempting his own Happy Gilmore drive and it sounded like he crushed it:
