‘Happy Gilmore’ sequel ‘in the works,’ according to one of original film’s stars

The golf film that brought audiences such indelible lines as “You can trouble me for a warm glass of shut-the-hell-up,” “The price is wrong, b—-!” and, of course, “Give it a little tappy tap-tap-taperoo” sounds like it’s line for a sequel.

Yes, golf fans, we speak of the 1996 cult classic, “Happy Gilmore.”

According to one of the film’s original stars, plans for a second “Gilmore” are “in the works.”

Chris McDonald, who played Shooter McGavin in the original film, let slip this juicy bit of intel on a Cleveland sports-talk radio show earlier this week. McDonald said he learned of the sequel in a recent meeting with Adam Sandler, who played Gilmore and co-wrote the original script.   

“I saw Adam about two weeks ago, and he says to me, ‘McDonald, you’re gonna love this,’” McDonald said on The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima. “I said, ‘What?’ He says, ‘How about that,’ and he shows me the first draft of ‘Happy Gilmore 2.’ Maybe you should cut that out [of this audio] because I don’t wanna be a liar, but he did show me that, and I thought, ‘Well, that would be awesome.’ So, it’s in the works. Fans demand it, dammit!”

Everyone knows what they say about sequels, but if Sandler still has creative control, golf fans oughta feel good about further plot development of “Happy Gilmore,” which centers around an emotionally volatile ex-hockey player (Sandler’s character) who rockets up the pro ranks courtesy of his cartoonishly monstrous tee shots; the film culminates with Gilmore knocking off his smarmy nemesis, Shooter McGavin, at the Tour Championship. The late Carl Weathers also featured in the movie, playing the role of Gilmore’s one-handed coach, Derick “Chubbs” Peterson.  

In 2021, to mark the 25th anniversary of the film, Sandler posted a video on Twitter in which he reenacted one of his famous hockey-style swings.

“OK, it’s been 25 years since I’ve done this. Let’s see what happens,” Sandler said. “I’m scared. Shooter McGavin, this is for you.”

Sandler then winds up and hits what at least sounds like a center-face blast.

“I’m not lying to you,” he said as the ball flew down the fairway. “That is smashed. Smashed. That went pretty well. You’re dead, Shooter.”

“Happy Gilmore” was made for $12 million and has grossed more than $40 million worldwide.

Alan Bastable

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s executive editor, Bastable is responsible for the editorial direction and voice of one of the game’s most respected and highly trafficked news and service sites. He wears many hats — editing, writing, ideating, developing, daydreaming of one day breaking 80 — and feels privileged to work with such an insanely talented and hardworking group of writers, editors and producers. Before grabbing the reins at GOLF.com, he was the features editor at GOLF Magazine. A graduate of the University of Richmond and the Columbia School of Journalism, he lives in New Jersey with his wife and foursome of kids.