Analyze this: Padraig Harrington’s Happy Gilmore long drive swing

Published

10 years ago

Aug 6, 2014

Ben Alberstadt

The return of the long drive competition at the PGA Championship Tuesday was notable for few reasons.

Bubba Watson was a spoilsport and refused to participate.
Jack Nicklaus’ long drive from the 1963 competition with a persimmon driver and balata ball (341 yards, 17 inches) would have won this year’s competition.
South African Louis Oosthuizen won the contest with a 340-yard poke.
Padraig Harrington didn’t crack the top five, which included Jason Day (338 yards), Jason Kokrak (337 yards), Gary Woodland (330 yards), and Rickie Fowler (328 yards). The Irishman did, however, do an excellent rendition of the Happy Gilmore golf swing, which you can see below.
The drive, as you can see, was pulled and ended up in the rough. Thus it wasn’t eligible for the contest, which stipulated that qualifying drives must find the fairway.

My question for golf swing enthusiasts is, “What do you think of Harrington’s swing?”

[youtube id=”BEbg7pw5Mco” width=”600″ height=”360″]

And here’s Rory McIlroy doing the Gilmore a few years ago.

[youtube id=”XUXNooDIWN8″ width=”600″ height=”360″]

And Happy himself…

[youtube id=”VyydT8dy3Hs” width=”600″ height=”360″]

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Ben Alberstadt

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7 Comments

MHendon

Aug 7, 2014 at 11:57 am

I’d love to know the weather and course conditions in 1963. Bet it was down hill, down wind, and firm.

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Jeff

Aug 6, 2014 at 8:18 pm

No one cares Russ

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- JB
  
  Aug 7, 2014 at 6:03 am
  
  Hahaha
  
  Reply Report comment
nikkyd

Aug 6, 2014 at 4:39 pm

Paddy actually honed that gilmore swing a few years ago when they did a special on golf on that sport science show. Even though paddy took a run at the ball, for the moment that counts, his swing looks like his ordinary swing

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Russ

Aug 6, 2014 at 4:05 pm

I have been doing the Happy Gilmore for YEARS, even was fortunate enough to do it in front of Paul Azinger at a convention (322 on the launch monitor). My normal swing speed is 103-105. I have gotten up to 114. the challenge is catching it on the sweet spot. Won a lot of side bets with this swing…. former Raidernut1234 here…

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- Russ
  
  Aug 6, 2014 at 4:14 pm
  
  And I will go on record and say I do it Better than Padraig and more consistent. I have even done it in a Club invitational event,had the pro check and it’s legal. Icemkr is a witness if he still posts on here…
  
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Joe

Aug 6, 2014 at 4:03 pm

Padraig is the best at the ” Happy Gilmore” check out these pros having fun with the swing, Phil’s swing is a classic at the end.
http://deadspin.com/heres-a-bunch-of-pro-golfers-giving-the-happy-gilmore-779654796

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Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Published

3 days ago

Apr 23, 2024

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.

As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.

Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.

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See what GolfWRXers are saying about our photos from the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in the forums.

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Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage

Published

1 week ago

Apr 16, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.

We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.

We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.

Check out links to all our photos, below.

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Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open

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Apr 1, 2024

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GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.

The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.

GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.