A Test of Confidence – Capitalize on Weaknesses
Hammer has a wonderful way of revealing just how confident you are with your game. It’s best played with other players of similar skill set, preferably with buddies who you can harass a little bit.
Knowing your opponent is key. You should be able to strategically add pressure where they’ll feel it most. For instance, if you know your opponent is a lousy bunker player or putter, you can hammer often in these areas and expose these weaknesses (and make money).
The Rules of Hammer:
• The game is match play (gross or net, team or individual)
• Each hole starts with an established bet (i.e., $1, $2, $5, etc.)
• At any point, any player can “hammer” the other team, which doubles the bet on the hole.
• The receiving team can accept the challenge and play the hole out for double, or forfeit the hole (and current bet) immediately.
• Hammers can be launched at any time, including after players have holed out
• Hammers must be accepted or declined immediately – cannot wait until you get to your ball, etc.
• Players/Teams cannot hammer consecutively – the other team much hammer back before you can hammer again.
• Each hole starts fresh from a hammering perspective – either team can hammer first
• Teams can agree to increase the best as the round goes on. Presses do not impact hammering capability.
Hammer has components that are a lot like poker. You need to sniff out the other player’s level on confidence in certain shots, or capitalize on incomplete information (i.e., maybe you saw their ball roll up next to a tree and they didn’t)
