hammYTM              PUTTER

What the Press Is Saying about the hammY.

Starring Roles
as appeared in Golf Magazine
by Rob Sauerhaft
9/23/2005

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.

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.

In 1998, a hamstring injury stopped Jim Alvarez, left, from golfing 18 holes, but he couldn't keep off the green entirely. Putting felt fine, at least with a modified stance -- like a hockey player making a slap shot, with hands spread wide on the putter's grip. Alvarez found the odd technique actually improved his short game dramatically. Later, he and friend C.J. Orrico hatched an idea for a putter that would encourage the stance. While keeping their day jobs in financial services, the two hired an engineer to refine the design. The resulting triple-bend Hammy putter weighs 356 grams, barely more than a traditional model. Since its release in January 2004, the putter has gained USGA approval for pro tours and sold more than 1,000 units. "We have 80-year-old women coming up to our booth at trade shows, making putt after putt," claims Alvarez.

On the green, the most unique putter this year may well be the hammY putter($150 to $180), which is more like a hockey stick, with a split-grip and angled shaft. By promoting a more open stance, the hammY enables golfers to see the line with both eyes, which may result in more made putts.

Thursday night softball leagues have ruined more golf swings than cold beer. When Chicagoan Jim Alvarez yanked his hamstring playing softball in 2000, he was sidelined and even golf proved a pain in the hams. Alvarez had plenty of time on his hands, so he opened his putting stance and split his grip as if it was a hockey stick. This style pacified his tender hamstring on the practice green. After a few putts, Alvarez realized he was holing just about everything he rolled at the cup.

Enter C.J. Orrico, childhood friend and playing partner of Alvarez. Alvarez urged Orrico to drop everything and meet him at the practice green. The two tested the new style until the only light on the green was from C.J.’s headlights. They were convinced they had something special. Later, when Alvarez carded a 29 on the back nine at Ravisloe Country Club (Homewood), the two boyhood friends set a plan of action to introduce the world to hammY style putting.

Golf Chicago! paid the boys a visit at the Chicago Golf Show and quickly discovered the attendees were excited about the revolutionary hammY style as we were. The hammY booth was the busiest at the show. We watched a diverse cross section of golfers as it took only a couple of putts before they were denting the bottom of the cup. The two Stagg High School grads have created a buzz in the golf industry, one that is as revolutionary as belly and chin putters.

The hammY is a center-shafted blade putter head with a triple bent shaft. The triple bent shaft allows golfers to open their stance and slide the right hand down the grip. You play the ball off the right big toe and point your left foot toward the target. Drop your right hand to the split grip and let your arms hang naturally and perform a simple shoulder turn. You will immediately notice the lack of tension on you back and shoulders. Simply stroke the ball as if you were rolling a ball to the target with your right hand, like a bocce ball. You are now putting hammY style.

The company motto is “makes putts. Makes sense.” Alvarez and Orrico probably do not have time for softball this summer, a number of tour players are practicing with a hammY putter and these two friends will have their hands full filling orders as soon as word catches on. The next time Jim Alvarez pulls his groin, we may need to check with Michael Powell to get approval before running a product review.

"Hit me!" the white ball mews. Just wait, you little tramp: The hammY putter has a split grip and triple-bend shaft (hey just like Father O'Malley!), making it easier to line up and sink long-distance putts. You'll get more birdies and people will like you"

When inventor Jim Alvarez pulled a hamstring a few years ago, the passionate golf fanatic soon realized that it would hurt his putting. After a little tinkering in his workshop, Alvarez produced-viola-the hammY, a putter with a longer grip and angled shaft. Address the ball with a traditional putting stnace, but pivot your left foot, drop your right hand about 8 inches below the left-hockey style- and your hammY putting. Alvarez contends that this stance allows golfers to putt with both eyes, rather than just one, and to maintain more accuracy and control by spreading their hands.

The controlled grasp used to bunt a baseball or shoot a slap shot inspired two graduates of Stagg High School to invent the hammY - an innovative golf putter with a two-handed grip.

Jim Alvarez and C.J. Orrico grew up in Palos Heights and have been friends since the fourth grade. They debuted their putter at the 2004 PGA Merchandise Show on Jan. 29. "By 9:30 a.m., (representatives of) PGA Magazine came over to our booth and said, 'How does it feel to have the busiest booth in the whole show?'" Orrico said. By the end of the three-day show, five European tour players and one Senior PGA player had decided to include the hammY among their 14 clubs.

Happy Gilmore may have had a similar style of putting, but the idea for the hammY came after a sports injury that Alvarez incurred in the summer of 2000. "I pulled my hamstring playing softball. That's where the name came from," Alvarez said. The injury forced him to putt hunched over with an open stance. He soon coupled that stance with a two-handed, hockey-style grip that the partners believe allows for a more controlled swing, eliminating the variations caused by the wrists. They also believe that the open stance allows for a better view of the hole. "Typically, it's not the putter that people are struggling with, it's the putting stance," Orrico said.

The pair toyed with the idea of launching a company to promote their putter until last summer when Alvarez putted his way to a 29 on the back nine at Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood - a score that tied the course record set by 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples. His performance convinced Alvarez and Orrico of their putter's potential, and they quit their jobs a month ago to focus on the hammY.

Alvarez, a resident of downtown Chicago, sold options at the Chicago Board Options Exchange. Orrico operated an Edward Jones investment office in Mokena and recently moved from Mokena to Naperville.

The patent-pending putter is made in China, assembled in west suburban Oswego and stored in a warehouse on Chicago's North Side, Alvarez said. The hammY costs $130-$140 and is sold at an increasing number of pro shops, including local ones at Ravisloe, Beverly Country Club in Chicago, Bolingbrook Golf Club in Bolingbrook and Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook.

Alvarez and Orrico hope sales will continue to increase as the hammY picks up endorsements from golfers such as Annette DeLuca of the LPGA and three PGA players (whom they didn't want to identify) who carry the putter in their practice bags. "We are not paying anyone to use the putter," Orrico said.

They plan to expand their sales force over time and eventually have the hammY available at retail stores. Several well-known people in the Chicago area also use the hammY, including Larry Wert, president and general manager of WMAQ-TV (Channel 5); Steve Cochran, radio personality at WGN-AM (720); and Ken Williams, general manager of the Chicago White Sox, Alvarez said.

The putter also is being used by one of the finalists on "The Big Break II," a Golf Channel reality show in which players compete for a chance to become a professional golfer.

Alvarez and Orrico believe their putter has a chance to become a PGA tour standard, used by many pro golfers.

"We just think it's going to revolutionize golf," Orrico said.

The Hammy Putter motto is "Makes Putts. Makes Sense."

Putting the Hammy way is not just about the putter, it is a whole new way to putt. The putter itself uses a split grip, triple bend shaft, and a conventional putter head. It is only slightly longer than a traditional putter, but it is made to allow you to spread your hands apart.

In order to putt "Hammy Style" you must also open your stance by moving your right foot closer to the ball. They say that all this will help you increase your balance, give you a better view of your target line, and help your confidence. This "Hammy Style" takes a little getting used to.

Some of the guys in our group are old hockey players so they could relate to this grip and set up. The concept definitely has merit and if you commit to it and practice it enough it will certainly help your game. Like any other putter and or putting system, it is all about feel.

If your putting game is in need of a change The Hammy might just do the trick because it is surely different. Just look at the Pros nowadays the use Claw grips, Belly putters, winged putter heads, so why not The Hammy.

We have no brains when it comes to new golf clubs. All we have are wallets, which we are eager to empty in the name of buying a better game.

If you live and die for golf, you probably exist under some hypnotic spell concocted by the equipment companies. Under their trance, we become convinced that it is the clubs' fault, not ours.

We all hear the same mantra: "Buy new clubs, buy new clubs, buy new clubs . . . "

Like lemmings, many of us will flock to the Chicago Golf Show, which runs Friday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. An estimated 15,000-20,000 golfers are expected to attend.

We will be searching for that missing ingredient to make our golf experience less painful. Here's a sneak peek at some of the new products for 2004.

Putters: The market again is jammed with new models. Never Compromise is out with a face-balanced Voodoo putter, which at $150 might be worth buying just to see if the name works. If you are looking for something really radical, check out the hammY booth at the show.

The Chicago-based company features a split-grip putter with a triple-bend shaft ($129). The hammY is designed to be played with an open stance, allowing both eyes to be used in judging the line.

It may sound crazy, but if Mark O'Meara can win a tournament at age 47 using a "saw grip," anything goes in putting.

The Hammy guys would rather you forget both Pelz and Utley. When you come up to their booth, you get a demonstration of their "hockey" stroke, that you execute squatting down facing the hole holding the putter with your hands wide apart.

Jim Alvarez, the president of Hammy is a typical driven entrepreneur following his dream. The Hammy putter is a short flat thing that wants you to take a stance like you’re going to swat a hockey shot into the net.

I tried it and made ten straight from six feet. That’s unusual but I have a closet full of putters that did that once. When will the honeymoon end?

They’re sending me a demo so I can’t give a testimonial yet but I’m going to take one to the course. If I show it around on the first tee and I’m sure my partners will give me an extra three strokes if I promise to play it for the full eighteen holes. This is one of the real "out of the box" ideas. But then, what if it works?