Having exhausted the more obvious national sports of baseball, basketball and American football to kick off the ever popular no-hoper-makes-good movie, Hollywood has now - bizarrely - turned to golf.
As the cheery titular hero whose dreams of professional ice-hockey are hindered by an inability to skate, Sandler discovers a hitherto unknown talent; namely, being able to clout a golf ball some 400 yards. Success in a local tournament catapults him onto the Pro-Tour, where his propensity for hurling both clubs and a stream of expletives, and violent scuffles with scornful spectators, swiftly offends the po-faced establishment.
And that, fundamentally, is the driving force: a working class yob turning the austere gentleman's game into a contact sport, and - here's the crux - upping the ratings as a result. The old guard want him out, but Happy's increasing popularity proves too good to pass up. Along the way, all the usual distractions are thrown in: rivalry with smug champion-elect McGavin (McDonald); romance with the tour PR (Bowen); and Yoda-like guidance from an old pro (Carl Weathers in great form as a one-handed coach).
