This take isn’t hot, it’s radioactive, and I couldn’t be more in love. Sometimes all anyone can do on a Friday is sit back and enjoy the sweet, beautiful chaos of a Reddit board run amok — and today, it seems the r/golf channel has been caught in the crosshairs. Stay away folks, things might get ugly.
In a post that golf fans couldn’t be more divided over, an enterprising user decided to flip the script (literally) on one of the sport’s most iconic films. Happy Gilmore.
You know it, you love it, this thing is Adam Sandler at his best — since it’s release in 1996, Happy Gilmore is become engrained in golf culture worldwide, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyone need a quick refresher?
Happy Gilmore follows its title character, Sandler’s Happy Gilmore, as he navigates the wild world of professional golf. An aspiring hockey player, Happy doesn’t know a thing about golf, but is able to find success through his uncanny ability to smash golfballs into oblivion. (Really, really, really far.)
Thats not the point here though. The point is that during the film, Happy’s main antagonist comes by way of pro-golfer Shooter McGavin (Christopher McDonald). Shooter taunts and tortures Happy throughout the movie, intimidated by the rising star. Essentially, Shooter is a piece of crap, and he eats them for breakfast too.
Okay, the truth is… while Shooter is so clearly the villain here, yet Reddit user “jackiemoon50” gives an incredibly compelling argument as to why Shooter might just be a normal guy trying to follow the rules.
If you’re too lazy to click through the post yourself, I don’t blame you, here’s what they had to say:
“The dude (Shooter) was a consummate professional. He dressed the part, talked the part to the media and fans when he needed to, and was actually pretty funny sometimes”
Agreed. Shooter loved the game of golf. He wore the right clothes, made time for his fans, and provided an incredible level of showmanship for a game that sometimes lacks flair. He never lost his temper and assaulted someone, like Happy did. He played well under pressure, and even offered to help Happy’s grandmother with her crippling debt — all to help buy back her house. What a guy, right?
Well, sort of. This is obviously all being done in jest, because Shooter does talk about burning Happy’s house down and peeing on the ashes. So that’s not cool. Still, that hasn’t stopped other users from chiming in, and most of them seem to think that Shooter is just misunderstood.
Was Shooter actually the hero here? I’ll leave that for you to decide. Regardless, it’s always fun to take classic stories and turn them on their ear a bit. At least for a while. Sometimes that level of creativity alone makes us laugh more than the source material ever could.
Anyone who says otherwise can trouble me for a warm glass of shut-the-Hell-up — and don’t worry, that’s a quote from the movie. I’m not actually being mean.