No, not in the good ‘ol USA, but our damn neighbors to the north.  A Nova Scotia judge ruled that the Happy Gilmore swing “breached the standard of care owed to other players on the course”.

I wish I was joking.

Justice Arthur J. LeBlanc, in his decision, went on to trash an admittedly nontraditional but heretofore legal swing, that’s been a comic staple since it was made famous by the 1996 Adam Sandler film. In fact, an episode of Sport Science recently tested the effectiveness of it (see video clip below).

“I am convinced that the “Happy Gilmore” shot,” wrote Judge Le Blanc in his decision, “would have been less controllable than a normal tee shot, both because it involved a run-up to the ball (rather than an aimed shot from a stationary position) and because the defendant had been drinking throughout the day.”

Some background to the story might help a little. A bunch of guys were on a mini-bachelor party of sorts. Included in their repertoire was 28 cans of beer, a bottle of tequila, and some marijuana. And according to court documents, they bought some beer at the turn.

So of course high hilarity and drunken debauchery ensued which meant somebody was getting hit with a drive. That unlucky and innocent bystander was struck on the wrist.

Yada, Yada, Yada, he sued a few weeks later.

Which is where we bring in our friendly Nova-Scotian judge. Yes, instead of perhaps mocking the men for getting drunk and high and hitting golf balls, he deemed that the Happy Gilmore swing was the culprit.

I’d love to make a joke here about Canadians and their stupidity but I live in Detroit. And there’s that thing with stones in glass houses or something like that.

{CS Monitor}