Meet 'Snappy Gilmore,' the viral TikTok sensation reinventing the golf swing

The footage was removed from cinema-standard, and Paul-Gindiri barely gave it a second thought as he posted the clip to his newly created TikTok account that evening.

The subsequent morning, he woke to the buzzing of a telephone lighting up with notifications. In a single day, the video had surged to 1.5 million views.

That was February 2021. A 12 months and half later, Paul-Gindiri is a licensed TikTok sensation placing up engagement numbers as eye-watering as his one-handed swing.

With 1.9 million followers and over half a billion views, the 22-year-old has posted viral hit after viral hit with more and more audacious and artistic variations of his unorthodox method.

"I believe it is simply the individuality of it and it being one thing new to golf," Paul-Gindiri stated. "You are seeing the identical stuff over and over, it will get boring. So as soon as folks noticed it, they have been like, 'what the hell?'. They've by no means seen something like that."

Pleased hitting

"It was superior," stated Paul-Gindiri, who coached McDonald to a powerful one-handed try. "Very nice man, we had a blast."

Assembly the real-life Pleased, Sandler, stays on the bucket checklist, not least so Paul-Gindiri can thank his namesake for the long-lasting run-up which has elevated the space of his pictures. Averaging 250 yards, his best-ever one-handed strike flew 330 yards, he stated.

That common sits a mere 50 yards beneath the 299.6-yard common on the PGA Tour this season, as Cameron Champ leads the best way with 321.4 yards.

"They have been attempting to determine how I do it," he added. "I've met a few PGA Tour gamers they usually simply inform me what I do is loopy sick, and I ought to simply preserve doing what I am doing."

Future Targets

Extremely, Paul-Gindiri even used to putt-one handed, although he has since switched to the traditional two-handed maintain as he seeks to grasp each grips and enhance upon his personal-best 76 spherical, achieved fully one-handed. That edges his present two-handed finest -- a six-over 77 carded final week -- by a stroke.

But the social media star has his sights set on targets past the golf green. A eager footballer and a long-suffering Manchester United fan, Paul-Gindiri desires of following within the footsteps of his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Having left his household in Nigeria to maneuver on his personal to the San Francisco Bay Space in 2017, Paul-Gindiri performed for Contra Costa Faculty for 2 years. A foray into the semi-professional sport was reduce quick by the pandemic and soccer pursuits have been slowed upon a transfer to Arizona, however he's decided to choose up the place he left off this 12 months.

And whereas he could not have any methods up his sleeve as unorthodox as a one-handed swing, his sporting flexibility extends to the soccer pitch.

"I am actually good with each ft," he stated. "Individuals do not know if I am left-footed or right-footed, so I suppose that is my little go-to factor."

But at the same time as he juggles these aspirations with faculty, his maverick commitments to golf look set to proceed. A 12 months and a half on from that fateful night on the vary, Paul-Gindiri is as decided as ever to encourage folks to take up the sport, particularly these for whom the traditional swing could also be tough to duplicate -- equivalent to amputees or folks with disabilities, he stated.

"There's lots of people ... that suppose they can not golf and seeing what I just do brings an entire completely different perspective to the sport," he stated. "Not solely that, I am bringing individuals who would by no means have had curiosity in golf. They noticed what I do they usually're like, 'Oh, that is actually cool, I really need to give it a shot.'

"If I by no means went to the vary that evening, I would not be who I'm right now, in order that retains me going and makes me pleased."