Plot
Happy Gilmore is an aspiring hockey player, but despite a powerful slapshot learned from his late father, his short temper and lack of skating coordination limit his professional prospects. One day, Happy learns that his grandmother Anna, who raised him after his father's death, owes the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) $270,000 in back taxes.
Anna has 90 days to pay off the debt or face foreclosure on her house. Happy sends her to a retirement home until he can figure out a way to pay off the debt. However, unbeknownst to Happy, the residents are mistreated and forced to work in a sweatshop.
While challenging a pair of movers repossessing his late grandfather's old golf clubs, he discovers that his unorthodox slapshot-style swing can drive a ball 400 yards. He begins hustling golfers at a driving range, where he meets Chubbs Peterson, a former pro golf star who lost a hand in an alligator attack.
Chubbs urges Happy to enter the Waterbury Open, the winner of which will earn an automatic spot on the PGA Tour, as well as a sizable cash reward. Desperate to reclaim his grandmother's house, Happy agrees and wins the Open. Learning that he needs to supply his own caddy on the tour, Happy hastily hires a homeless man named Otto.
Happy quickly becomes a fan favorite due to his unusually long drives and unorthodox antics. In one incident, Happy kills the one-eyed alligator that took Chubbs' hand. Despite this, Happy struggles with putting, and his on-course profane meltdowns and lack of golf etiquette soon draw the ire of tour officials. Due to improved television ratings with a broader spectrum of viewers, higher attendance, and new sponsorship offers, tour public relations head Virginia Venit intervenes on Happy's behalf, promising to help him with his anger. With her support, Happy improves his accuracy and behavior, and they become romantically involved.
The tour's arrogant presumed favorite Shooter McGavin views Happy as a threat, so he hires a heckler named Donald Floyd to taunt him at a pro-am event. Donald distracts Happy by repeatedly calling him a jackass, hindering his gameplay. A subsequent fistfight with his celebrity partner Bob Barker, who criticizes Happy's frequent misses, leads to a $25,000 fine and one-month suspension.
Virginia secures Happy a lucrative endorsement deal with Subway to make up for the lost revenue, giving him the money he needs to buy Grandma Anna's house back. During the auction, however, Shooter spitefully outbids Happy in an attempt to force him to quit the tour. Virginia encourages Happy not to quit, and he makes a deal with Shooter: if Happy wins the Tour Championship, Shooter will return the house, but if Shooter wins, he can keep it and Happy will quit golf. Happy seeks out Chubbs, who helps him improve his putting by practicing at a miniature golf course and gifts him a custom putter in the shape of a hockey stick. As thanks, Happy presents Chubbs with the alligator's head, startling him and causing him to fall out of a nearby window to his death.
Happy is paired with Shooter for the Tour Championship. Shooter takes the lead early, but Happy's regular game puts him in front with one round to go. A crazed Donald attacks Happy with a Volkswagen Beetle, impairing his long-drive ability and focus. Shooter takes the lead, but Happy, encouraged by Anna, rallies to tie him.
On the final hole, Shooter's tee shot lands in the crowd. Despite having to play the ball off the foot of Happy's imposing ex-boss, Mr. Larson, he manages to save par with a long putt. A television tower damaged by Donald's car falls onto the green and blocks Happy's line to a winning putt. Shooter insists that Happy plays the ball "as it lies," and, remembering what Chubbs taught him, Happy wins by using the tower as a Rube Goldberg machine to sink his putt.
Enraged, Shooter tries to steal Happy's gold jacket and run away, but gets caught and beaten by a mob of fans led by Larson. Returning to his grandmother's house, Happy celebrates his victory with her, Virginia, and Otto.
