"Maybe Happy Gilmore was on to Something: The Hammy Putter"
as appeared in Inside Golf Newspaper Online
by Bob Marlatt
12/1/2005

I rarely test new putters. This is because over the years Ive learned that every time Ive practiced or played with a new putter the net result was that I lost the feel for my regular putter. So when I received an e-mail introducing the new hammY putter my first impulse was to dump it as just another hyped putter. But something about the weird way it was held made me request a sample.

Believe me when I tell you that this is a strange looking putter and not like any other putter Ive ever tried. The look and the grip is unconventional.

The putter has a triple bend in the shaft that allows your hands to be positioned ahead of the ball. It is designed with two grips to enable a split grip, similar to a hockey grip (remember Happy Gilmore). With the split grip and an open stance the view to the hole is much easier to see and read. The feel is somewhat like rolling a ball underhanded with one hand. Not a bad feel at all.

The sample I received was much longer than the one shown in the brochure so I couldnt achieve the stance exactly like the photo.

After playing around on the practice green I found that there are many possible ways to address the ball with this unusual club.

On the course I discovered that the hammY was exceptionally adapt at rolling long putts. There is something innately appealing about the feel of this putter.

Ive tried long putters and just couldnt get the hang of them just too unnatural but this putter has a feel that just begs to be perfected and mastered.

If you are one of the many golfers, like me, that just cant seem to get ball in the hole often enough, it just might be worth trying the hammY. For what its worth, Natalie Gulbis on the LPGA has used the hammY and has said that she plans to use it full-time in the 2006 season.

Equipment
as appeared in The Detroit News
by Vartan Kupelian
11/23/2005

Natalie Gulbis uses The hammY, a putter designed to increase control and accuracy on the greens.

The hammY putter is the brainchild of Jim Alvarez and partner C.J. Orrico. Alvarez came up with the idea after he pulled a hamstring four years ago. He was limited to what he could do and focused on his putting while waiting for the injury to heal. It allowed him to experiment on the practice green, and he came across what he believes is a better and easier way to putt.

The putter designed by Alvarez has a triple-bend shaft and split grip. The hammY promotes an open stance, which allows golfers to see the line of the putt with both eyes. The split grip forces the right shoulder to drop and keeps the left side open and out of the way. This allows for the putter to stay low to the ground.

This Hammy Could Fix Your Putting Stroke?
as appeared in Golf Digest SA
by Andrew Stone
4/30/2004

When golfers are battling with their putting, says Greg Smith, professional at Killarney Golf Club, they invariably go and buy a new putter, only to find their problems still exist. "It's because in many cases the putting style is incorrect and not the putter," he says.

Smith describes himself as "not a bad putter, but not a good putter either." Always looking for ways to improve, he came across a unique putter, the hammY, at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL. "After seeing demonstrations and handling it myself, I saw it as an option for me and brought one back."

What makes the hammY unique is that it requires a different putting style and grip. You address the ball at a 45-degree angle with your right foot forward and left foot slightly back. The putter is gripped with your hands apart-like the way you would hold a hockey stick. It's claimed that this grip allows for more accuracy and control. Designed with an innovative triple bend shaft, the hammY also has more consistent roll and feel.

"Playing a stroke I similar to taking a short corner in hockey, except you just putt through and don't flick," says Smith. "The hammY's beauty is that it simplifies the whole putting process."

Another advantage is that the majority of right-handed players are right eye dominant. When addressing a ball squarely using a conventional putter, it is only the left eye the 'sees' the hole, while the 45 degree stance required for the hammY lets both eyes view the hole. "It makes it easier to hit the ball on the line you're aiming along," says Smith, who used the putter for the first time in a recent Ladies & Legends Tour in Swaziland.

"It generated a lot of interest from other pros." He says. "The greens were impossible to putt on, yet I only had two three-putts in 54 holes. I used to average about 34 putts per round, and since using the hammY have brought that down to 31."

Trying the hammY out myself, the stance and grip felt natural and I sunk my first putt from three meters. But what struck me was the consistent roll. The putter is expected to become available here through the Killarney Pro Shop in late June.

Starring Rolls
as appeared in Golf Magazine
by
10/1/2005

The Hammy isn't just a putter - it's a new way to putt. The shaft has three different bends that promote an open stance (between your normal setup and sidesaddle). The idea is to see the line using both eyes, and the split grip spreads your hands for control. Among those smitten with the Hammy is Natalie Gulbis.

Hottest Things in Golf
as appeared in Florida Golf Central
4/1/2005

While Natalie Gulbis continues to climb the ranks of the LPGA Tour, by putting her way to a top ten finish, as well as fith on the Tour in birdies and making a strong push towards the Solheim Cup Team: hammY, Inc. climbs the ranks of putter manufacturers. The hammY putter was introduced to the golfing world just one year ago, and already is a treasure in golf bags everywhere.

Developed to simplify the putting stroke, the hammY putter has an innovative split grip and triple bend shaft combination. It is quite possibly the easiest putter you will ever use, as it relates to concepts as natural as rolling a ball or the way a young child would grasp a putter without any instruction.

Based out of Chicago, Illinois, company executives have traveled the world improving gofers' putting strokes through the hammY putter and hammY style of putting. With success on nearly every pro tour there is, the owners and their surrounding cast work around the clock to share these successes with the public.

Tour pro Greg Smith, over-shadowed his competition at the Ladies & Legends Tour event in Swaziland. Greg was the only player not having to battle a weekend of three putts. Greg also cut three putts per round off his scoring, in just his first season using the hammY putter. Also tour related...PGA Tour Legend and Twenty Time Winner, Doug Sanders, speaks highly of the hammY putter. "I won twenty tournaments...I do believe if I had been using the hammY I would have won twice as many tournaments," testifies Doug.

With the hammY's innovative triple bend shaft and split grip combination, the hammY style of putting promotes a spread hand and open stance stroke. By spreading your hands on the split grips, a golfer can control the putter. With this control the putter head can come straight back and through on line, making putts from 3-5 feet more consistently. Also, the lower hand gives you a rolling the ball sensation creating natural and accurate lag putts.

A Stroke That's No Joke
as appeared in Natural Golfer Magazine
by Rick Johnson
9/1/2005

Don't be surprised if a lot more golfers are hamming it up on the greens during future professional tour events or at local municipal courses. No, were not talking about shenanigans like Sandy Lyle doing a little celebratory Scottish jig on the 18th green at Augusta after winning The Masters in 1988, or Tiger Woods doing one of his patented fist pumps. Were talking about the hammY putter, which has quickly caught the eye of Tour players and everyday golfers alike ever since it was unveiled nationally at the PGA Merchandise Show in early 2004.

With its split grip and innovative triple-bend shaft combination, the hammY putter literally offers golfers a new look at their putting stroke.

"When I first saw the hammY, I realized it was the first club I had ever seen in my life that can actually help you with your stroke," says veteran Doug Sanders, a 20-time winner on the PGA Tour. "The hammY keeps the putter head lower and on target so much longer as you go backward and forward. If I had the use of a hammY when I was playing, I could have won twice as many tournaments."

One player who doesnt have to think about what they might have done is up-and coming LPGA star Natalie Gulbis. The 22-year-old began using the hammY putter this season, and her improved putting performance in 2005 has enabled her to nearly equal her money earnings in seven months what she earned in her three previous years on the LPGA Tour.

In 2005, based on statistics through July, Gulbis has earned nearly $764,000 to rank her fifth on the money list. Her best previous season was 2004 when she earned $277,000. Based on the statistics, her improvement on the green has been the biggest reason for her rising status.

Gulbis ranks No. 1 in birdies on the LPGA Tour in 2005, which means she is making a lot of one-putts. In other statistics, her putting for greens hit in regulation has dropped from a tie for 53rd last season to a tie for eighth this year, and her overall putting ranking has dropped from 89th last year to 46th this season.

"And we don't pay her to play the club like other companies do," points out Jim Alvarez, the 28-year-old CEO of hammY Inc. "When she tried it out, she really liked how it felt. Then she showed it to her coach, Butch Harmon, and his reply was, 'I don't care what it looks like; show me how you putt with it.' She showed him, and now its in her bag."

According to Alvarez, many PGA and LPGA Tour players are very interested in playing with the hammY, but current contracts prevent them from using it. Of the dozen or so professionals who are using it, most on the womens tours, five players have enjoyed their best finish of the season using the hammY, and two players have notched the best finish of their careers.

"We believe its a lot like the Natural Golf swing," Alvarez says. "The putter allows you to stand straighter and puts you in a single plane, so you can take the putter straight back and straight at your target line."

The veteran PGA Tour star Sanders agrees.

"Some putters will help you line it up better, but if youre using the same old stroke, youre not gaining anything," he says. "The hammY putter makes a difference, because the moment you set it down [on the green], it actually changes your stroke a little bit."

What makes the hammY work, is its specially designed triple-bend shaft and split grip, says C.J. Orrico, chief operating officer for hammY.

"The combination of the triple-bend shaft and split grip allows you to open up your stance and have a much better view of the putt," he says. "When you stand over the ball in a traditional putting method, you are really using only one eye and most likely your non-dominant eye to view the ball and make your putting stroke."

"With the hammY setup, you are able to use both eyes and maintain your perception as you view the line during the putting stroke," Orrico says. "Its like rolling a ball at a hole. You wouldnt do it turned sideways; you would face the target and just roll the ball."

As Orrico explains it, the hammY putter allows the golfer to "clear the left side out of the putt during the stroke."

"To create a straight-back and straight-forward motion, you want to be putting 100 percent with your right hand [for right-handed putters]," he says. "By taking the left side out of the putting stroke, you greatly reduce the chance to push or pull a putt."

To help keep the left side out of the putting stroke, Orrico encourages users of the hammY to tuck their left arm in close to the body.

Orrico also notes that the triple-bend shaft creates a natural forward-press, putting the hands slightly in front of the ball, much like the Natural Golf swing setup. This not only helps keep the stroke low to the ground, but it also reinforces a stroke that only utilizes the trail hand.

The split grip, which separates the hands much like a "broom putter" does, provides better control of the putter, creating a better feel during the putting stroke. This, in turn, improves speed control on long putts, says Alvarez.

"For high handicappers, the biggest problem in putting is speed control" Alvarez says. "The hammY allows you to take a more natural stroke you are using your natural ability instead of thinking of mechanics and this enables you to lag the ball a lot better to the hole."

"People may say it doesnt feel right when they first set up in the open stance," Orrico adds. "But it only takes a few strokes, and then they start seeing the results. They cant believe how much better they are stroking the ball toward the hole. "

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