New Delhi, July 24 -- "Happy Gilmore" was born on the range.

When Adam Sandler was a kid growing up in New Hampshire, his father was an avid golfer. He'd often take his son along to hit balls at the driving range. But Sandler was uninterested in the sport, and usually got antsy.

"Why don't you bring a friend?" his dad told him. So Sandler took his buddy, Kyle McDonough, a star hockey player who'd later turn professional.

"He never played before but he was cracking the ball so far," Sandler recalls. "So when I started becoming a comedian and me and (Tim) Herlihy were writing stuff and stand-up and talking about movies, I started thinking about a guy who could hit it really big and had a hockey player mentality."

"Happy Gilmore," releas...