Hammer

What is the Hammer golf game?

Hammer is a golf side game played one hole at a time, and the hole is worth whatever the two sides have talked each other into. Every hole starts at one point. Whoever holds the Hammer can throw it any time before the swing or while the ball is in the air, and the hole doubles. The other side has two answers: take it on, which doubles the hole and passes the right to throw back across, or turn it down, which ends the hole on the spot at what it was worth before the throw. There is no limit to how many times one hole can be hammered. Low net takes the hole and everything on it.

That is the entire game. No ladder to memorise, no chart, no running total in anybody's head. One becomes two becomes four becomes eight, and the only question that ever matters is whether you fancy the next shot more than they fancy theirs. Play it one on one or two on two on the better net ball.

Players	Two, one on one. Or four, two on two on the better net ball, where either partner can throw.
The start	Every hole starts fresh at one point. What happened on the last hole has no say.
The throw	Any time before the swing or while the ball is in the air, by whoever holds the Hammer. The hole doubles.
The answer	Take it on: the hole doubles and the Hammer passes back. Turn it down: the hole ends at what it was worth before the throw.
The limit	None. A hole can be hammered as many times as the two sides dare.
A halved hole	Pays nobody. Optional: ties are worth nothing and the points carry to the next hole.
Scored by	The Big Fairways app, free, on any phone, with the number printed on the throw button.

How do you play Hammer?

You play a normal round and every hole is a conversation about what it is worth. Here is the whole game in six steps.

1. Pick your sides, one on one or two on two, and agree what a point is worth.
2. Every hole starts at one point. Anybody can throw the first Hammer of the round. After that the right to throw belongs to whoever just took one on.
3. Throw the Hammer any time before a swing or while the ball is in the air. The hole doubles.
4. The other side takes it on, and the hole doubles and the Hammer passes back to them, or turns it down, and the hole ends at what it was worth before the throw.
5. Keep going as long as you both dare. There is no limit.
6. Low net takes the hole and everything on it. A halved hole pays nobody. Most points at the end wins.

Why does turning down a Hammer cost the number before the throw?

Because the throw is a question and turning it down is the answer no. The side that throws is saying the hole is worth more to them than it is to you. If you agree, you take it on and the hole doubles. If you do not, you lose the hole at what it was worth a second ago and you save yourself the doubled number. That is the whole tension of the game: the throw is free, the answer is not. Big Fairways plays every throw as taken on by default, because most groups play it that way, and Take it or leave it is a switch at setup for groups who want the no.

Why does the right to throw pass back and forth?

Because otherwise one side could throw, throw and throw again while the other side could only answer. Passing the Hammer to the side that just took it on means every doubling is a decision by the side that now stands to lose more, and the side that threw last has to wait to see the next shot before it can be thrown back. It is the rule that turns the game into a conversation instead of a shouting match.

What is an example of Hammer scoring?

Two players. On the first tee one player throws the Hammer before a ball is struck. The other takes it on, so the hole is worth two and the Hammer passes to them. From the fairway they throw it back, the first player takes it on, and the hole is worth four. Both make par, the hole is halved, and nobody pays. On the next hole the same player throws it while a tee shot is in the air, the other side looks at the ball heading for the trees and turns it down, so the hole ends right there and the thrower collects one, what it was worth before the throw. Over eighteen holes the numbers add up, and the app has every throw on the record.

What is an Air Hammer?

The version where you throw while the ball is in the air. You commit to the shot while it is still climbing, before anybody knows where it finishes, which means you are reading a swing and a face and a shape and you are wrong about as often as you are right. It works on putts too. In Big Fairways the Hammer can be thrown any time before the swing or while the ball is in the air, so the Air Hammer is simply the loudest way to play it.

What is the best Hammer strategy?

Hammer is won on the throws, not the shots. A few things win Hammer more often than good golf does.

• Throw when you are the one in the fairway. The Hammer is worth most when your position is better than theirs and they have to decide before they see your next shot.
• Throw while the ball is in the air. The other side has to answer before it lands. A ball heading for the trees is a much easier no than a ball sitting in them.
• Turn it down when the hole is gone. Paying two to avoid four is good business. Pride costs points.
• Know who holds the Hammer. Only the side that took the last one on can throw. If that is not you, play the shot and wait. The app shows who holds it.
• Use the strokes. It is a net game. A stroke on a hard hole is a reason to throw on the tee before anybody has hit.

What are the wrinkles in Hammer?

• No limit. The app has no ceiling. Eight, sixteen, thirty two, as far as both sides dare.
• Every throw is taken on by default. Take it or leave it is a switch at setup. Off, a throw simply doubles the hole. On, the other side can turn it down.
• A halved hole pays nobody. Unless the group switches on carries, where a tie is worth nothing and the points carry to the next hole.
• You cannot throw with your ball in the hole. You need a ball in play to have anything to say.
• Two on two. The better net ball on each side plays the hole, and either partner can throw.
• Every throw is on the record. Who threw, where they were, what the hole was worth before and after, and who blinked. The hole summary reads it back.

How does Hammer compare with other golf side games?

Hammer is a match game with the stakes decided during the hole. Here is how it lines up against the other side games. Every one of them is scored in the app, and you can run several at once on one card.

Game	Players	In one line
Hammer	2 or 4	Either side can double the hole while it is being played.
Midnight	Any	Twelve holes count, your best eleven plus the last. Lowest card wins.
Elevens	Any	Eleven holes count, your best ten plus the last. Seven throwaways.
Skins	Any	Win the hole outright to take the skin. Ties carry over or die, your call.
Nassau	2 or 4	Three matches in one: front nine, back nine and the full eighteen, with presses.
Wolf	4	The Wolf picks a partner after the tee shots or goes alone for double.
Vegas	4	Two teams, scores paired into a number, low number wins the difference.
Banker	3 or more	One player takes on everybody else each hole. Presses allowed.
Junk	Any	Points for the little things: sandies, greenies, woodies and more.
Match Play	2	Head to head, hole by hole, up or down.
TILT	Any	Points on the net score with a multiplier that climbs on birdies and resets on a par.
Train	Any	A net par puts you aboard and every hole after it pays until two bogeys in a row.
Mulligans	Any	Your handicap strokes become do overs, then everybody plays gross.
Gridiron Golf	4	Two on two played like football. Win the hole to march the ball, reach the end zone to score.
Nines	3	Three players, nine points a hole, split five, three and one.
Hi Lo	4	Two on two. A point for the best ball and a point for the worst.
Snake	Any	Three putt and the snake is yours until somebody else does. No points.
Bingo Bango Bongo	Any	First on, closest, first in. Three points a hole, played gross.
Stableford	Any	Points for every hole, most points wins, a blow up costs you nothing.

Looking for the full list? Every side game the app scores, each with rules and a demo round, is on the golf side games page.

What do the Hammer words mean?

The Hammer

The right to double the hole. Held by whoever took the last throw on.

Throw

To use the Hammer. The hole doubles.

Take it on

Accept the throw. The hole doubles and the Hammer passes to you.

Turn it down

Refuse the throw. The hole ends and you lose what it was worth before the throw.

Air Hammer

A throw made while the ball is in the air.

Better net ball

In two on two, the lower net score on a side is that side's score for the hole.

What should a group agree on before playing Hammer?

• One on one or two on two, and what a point is worth.
• Whether a throw can be turned down, or every throw is automatic. Automatic is the app's default.
• Whether a halved hole carries to the next one or pays nobody.
• In two on two, whether one partner can throw alone. In the app either partner can.

There is no ceiling in the app, so the one thing to settle on the first tee is whether a throw can be turned down. Switch Take it or leave it on and the answer is yes.

Why do golfers love Hammer?

Hammer is the loudest game in golf. Every tee box is a stare down, every good shot is a reason to throw, every bad one is a reason to blink, and the hole you thought was worth one is suddenly worth eight with a putt to decide it. Nobody has to throw it, and that is exactly why it gets thrown.

How does Big Fairways score Hammer for you?

Pick Hammer at setup, pick your sides, and start playing. The throw button sits under your thumb with the number printed on it, so nobody is ever guessing what this one is worth. With Take it or leave it on, the other side gets both answers and both numbers. Every throw is logged with who, where and what it was worth before and after, and the hole summary reads the whole thing back like a story.

Run other side games at the same time and the totals never get tangled. At the end you get one clean total per side, one Settle Up list, and every round posts to your own lifetime scorecard, which only you can see. Send one link and the whole group follows the leaderboard live from their own phones.

Common questions

More golf side games