Happy Girlmore 2 and Martin Borgmeier Scott Yamano/Netflix; Simon Hofmann/Getty Images Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment In 1996, former hockey player Happy Gilmore (Adam Sandler) was able to take three steps and pound his grandfather's "really old" driver 400-plus yards. For self-serious golfers, it required suspension of disbelief at the highest levels. General audiences sure didn't seem to mind. Since that time, the only technology that has accelerated as quickly as golf clubs can be seen in the changes to our video distribution systems. In Netflix's Happy Gilmore 2, the contents of Happy's bag get a major upgrade - whether or not streaming is an upgrade to theatrical in the delivery of video content is an entirely different conversation. Related Stories Movies How Netflix Took Big Swings to Spread the Word About 'Happy Gilmore 2' TV 'Hitmakers' Review: Music's Biggest Pens Struggle to Make a Hit of This Shallow Netflix Reality Series About Pop Songwriting Martin Borgmeier, who can actually can drive the golf ball 400 yards - and that's just with a warmup swing - has embraced to great success how physics inform the long ball. So who better to break down the biomechanics of Happy Gilmore's long game than the man who beat out all-world golfer (and a big hitter in his own right) Bryson DeChambeau at the 2022 World Long Drive Championship. We got a few tips to try out along the way. *** You were five years old when Happy Gilmore came out - what is your relationship to that movie? It was the first golf movie I watched as a kid. I started golf at the age of nine. It was definitely the first (golf) movie I've watched, and all of the rest came after that - so, like, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Tin Cup...because it was my big dream as a like 10-14 year old to become a professional golfer and basically become the next Tiger Woods. It didn't work out. (Laughs.) But like all these movies, obviously, were a big part of my life. And Happy Gilmore- actually, I've watched it back, like, maybe 10 years ago or so, and I realized at that point [that] all the jokes and all that stuff, most of it didn't even [register]. But the one thing I I knew as a kid - and I remember it was - he hit it extremely far. He had his super-crazy pre-shot routine and everything - the run-up and all that stuff - and I just found it funny and enjoyed the long drives and terrible putts as a kid. We've all tried the Happy Gilmore swing - have you had success with it? Yeah, it's so funny you say that because I just posted a Reel on my Instagram for a Bad Birdie giveaway. (Bad Birdie is a golf apparel company and a Borgmeier sponsor.) It was an ice hockey jersey (Gilmore's first sport). [I did] the crazy approach - the Happy Gilmore swing - a little bit exaggerated, even with, like, probably 10-15 steps and a little bit of yelling involved as well. So yeah, I've tried it, and actually it worked pretty well. [But] the way I did it in the video - obviously on purpose - I'm kind of just like poking the golf ball a little bit, and it falls off tee (for comedic effect). That turned out to be much harder than actually striking it well, because the biomechanics behind it- [The Happy Gilmore swing] is actually a great drill for long-drive. What you have to accomplish is, you have to get your pressure forward into your lead leg just before you make contact with the golf ball, and at the same time, stay back with your upper body, because otherwise you cannot swing up on it. So basically, forcing that by running up to it is a great way to practice that element. Your posted longest drives are 484 yards in competition and 520 yards in exhibition - how far did a good Happy Gilmore-swing go for you? I mean, when I really pounded it, it's probably not even that different to when I'm really going after it (with a normal long-drive swing.) It's not too much about the speed. I think the speed is pretty much the same - it's fast (Borgmeier's record ball speed is 239.3 mph) - but the crazy thing is really making the contact while keeping the face square. Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore in Happy Gilmore 2. Courtesy of Netflix You're 6'4" and 240 lbs. There's undoubtedly a big strength factor in long drives. But you mostly talk about biomechanics as a means to long drives - what do you see as the breakdown of brains vs. brawn? Eighty-twenty. 80 percent mechanics and the remaining 20 percent is - let's call it strength. But all of the work we do in the gym is mostly to stay healthy and actually make our bodies be capable of handling all the stress we put onto them on a daily basis, right? Because, I mean, obviously it's a one-sided motion. We rarely hit golf balls left-handed...so it's really about staying strong and healthy and being able to withstand all the stress we put onto it. But to really hit it