Much like everything else in the Bay Area, the amount of money Bob Hammer has raised to fight cancer through his Have A Ball golf tournament has grown exponentially. In 2011, seven years after the initial event, the tournament reached the $1 million-mark in funds raised for cancer organizations.
This year, 10 years later, Have A Ball will eclipse the $4 million plateau.
“This year is one of those big years — we’re going to hit $4 million raised,” said Hammer, 52 and a 1986 graduate of Carlmont High School. “Three million in [10] years, wow.”
Despite being one of the largest, privately held golf fundraising tournaments in the United States, it’s still a family affair. Last Saturday “Team Hammer” — the Hammer family and friends — was in the family garage in Danville stuffing 600 goodie bags for the two-day event: 300 were used for Monday’s round at Crow Canyon Country Club in Danville and 300 more for the second round in September.
“Saturday, we stuffed 600 bags, loaded up the U-Haul. Put all the goodie bags in, loaded all the drinks,” Hammer said. “Then did all my final stuff.”
What was once thought to be a one-time event, the Have A Ball cancer fundraiser has reached heights not even Hammer could have imagined. He came up with the concept after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2001 years ago at the age of 30. After having one testicle removed, the cancer returned. Just before his second surgery to remove the remaining gonad, he consulted with Dr. Craig Nichols, the oncologist for Lance Armstrong, who suggested a different course of treatment.
It enabled Hammer and his wife, Kim, to naturally conceive son Josh in 2003. Josh Hammer graduated from San Ramon Valley High School this past spring. Shayna, the Hammer’s daughter, is a rising senior at Sonoma State.
While Hammer has been in remission, the disease has still ravaged family and friends — his mother died on Christmas Day when Hammer was 9 years old — so as an obligation to the cured, Hammer continues to raise money for the fight against cancer. The Have A Ball fundraiser, which started in 2005, is now in its 17th year. In that first year, there were 104 golfers, with 15 corporate sponsors and $78,000 was raised. In 2017 there are more than 200 sponsors and vendors and is expected to raise $300,000.
“We have 51 hole vendors on the course (this year),” Hammer said.
In 2011, the event expanded to two days, increasing the number of golfers from 300 to 600. By the end of the September round this year, Have A Ball will have hosted more than 7,600 golfers.
At least this year Hammer and Have A Ball had a chance to return to the normal chaos of staging these events because in 2020, like everything else, nothing was normal. Hammer still managed to play the two rounds, but everything was different. The dates, normally in July and September, were pushed to a three-week period in September and October. Hammer had to find a different venue and had to change just about everything when it came to Have A Ball.
“Normal chaos. That’s a great way to say it. [2020 Have A Ball] was just as chaotic as life was,” Hammer said. “We changed the format, we could only have one vendor on each hole. There was no shotgun start. … In regular times, you expect some things to go sideways and you can kind of forecast them. Last year, there was no prep for any of it. … A lot of it didn’t go smooth.
“Yet even in a global pandemic, we sent money to 25 cancer organizations.”
Bob Hammer, in front, along with friends he said helped organize the first Have A Ball fundraising tournament in 2005, pose with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Bono, center rear, during Monday's Have a Ball event.
Monday, things went as smooth as could be — while hosting 300 golfers at a fundraising event. While the golfers get to go home with one of the best swag bags you’ll find anywhere, the end of the round is not the end of event for Hammer and his crew. While he stepped foot on the Crow Canyon grounds at about 4:30 a.m. Monday and did not leave until 10 p.m., he still had to clean up Tuesday, put into storage all the signage and everything else to be used in September while also making sure everyone is lined up for the second round in eight weeks.
“Seventeen years later, it does take a little longer than it used to (to get everything done),” Hammer said. “The next day, I’m a little sore.”
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