Happy Gilmore, despite being released almost 30 years ago, remains the most popular golf comedy of recent memory. Netflix will offer its viewers a full-length sequel to the 1996 hit film with the release of Happy Gilmore 2 in July 2025.
“It ain’t over yet, McGavin,” said a Subway T-Shirt-wearing Happy Gilmore to antagonist, Shooter McGavin, “The way I see it, we’ve only just begun.”
Season Three of Netflix’s Full Swing offered golf and Happy Gilmore fans a sneak peek of what to expect with the upcoming sequel. Happy, played by comedian and actor Adam Sandler, and Shooter, played by actor Christopher McDonald, seem to, once again, be at odds with one another in a fictional tournament of some sort. Only this time, an all-star cast of professional golfers will make cameo appearances in various capacities.
Full Swing, the highly acclaimed golf documentary series, has given golf fans unprecedented access to the everyday life of PGA and LIV golfers. The current season profiles, among others, world number one player Scottie Scheffler and former number one, four-time major championship winner Rory McIlroy. In addition to inquiring about all aspects of their professional and personal lives, the filmmakers also provide on-set views of Happy Gimore 2 in working production.
At first glance, the list of professional players who appear to have roles anywhere from quick cameos to longer scenes is awe-inspiring. It is almost a Ryder Cup roster but in a situational context of loose, goofy, and sometimes over-the-top slapstick humor.
Rory and Scottie, along with current US Open Champ Bryson DesChambeau, are captured by the Full Swing crew while performing a scene in a bar setting with Christopher McDonald (Shooter McGavin). The three and Tony Finau seem to burst into laughter just seconds after the scene is completed.
“It was pretty easy for me.” said two-time PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas. “I get to act like a Happy Gilmore fan, which I am.”
The list of notable pros does not end there. The glimpse that Full Swing offers golf fans raises the question of who wasn’t in the movie rather than who was.
Of course, PGA golfers are no strangers to having played various roles in full-length Hollywood hit comedies. Players on tour have jokingly made references and quoted lines from the 1980 classic Caddy Shack, starring Rodney Dangerfield and Bill Murray.
The Ron Shelton-directed Tin Cup was another fan-favorite golf comedy. The main character, Roy McAvoy, is played by Kevin Costner. The character (McAvoy) is a local golf pro who sees his game soar to the point that he qualifies for play in the US Open, only to later freeze with a case of the Yips.
Tin Cup was a golf comedy that any weekend golfer could relate to. The PGA players who made a cameo, including Craig Stadler, Fred Couples, and Peter Jacobson, were said to have had fun while shooting the comedy. Tin Cup also helped to draw attention to the growing conversation around therapy and sports psychology, which are now seemingly commonplace in the game.
Any time we humanize these otherwise perfect golf athletes, it helps everyone take the game a little less seriously. After all, if Scottie Scheffler can laugh at himself after missing a 10-footer, why can’t the rest of us? Seeing these golf Gods yuk it up with Adam Sandler and Christopher McDonald, both on scene and off, is good for the game of golf. Happy Gilmore 2 is coming to Netflix this summer!
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