Shaq -- Smashes Tee Shot Into Fan ... Apologizes With Hug

Shaq may not drive it straight, but he hits it hard ... a lesson a golf fan learned the hard way Wednesday ... telling TMZ Sports the NBA legend smashed a tee shot directly into his shoulder at a golf tourney.

Big Aristotle let it rip at the 8th hole of the Greenbrier Classic Pro-Am in West Virginia ... and shanked a line drive into a spectator -- Mike Cunningham -- who attended the tourney to see O'Neal.

"Shaq rolled up in his golf cart and asked who he hit," Cunningham tells us, "He walked up to me and asked to give me a hug."

The fan says Shaq apologized several times ... and the two hugged it out.

"He was totally cool."

So, what does it feel like to be hit by a ball from a MASSIVE 7'1", 330+ lb. person?

"It didn't feel good."

Worth it though for a cool moment from one of his favorite athletes of all time.