Danville Cancer Survivor Runs Charity Out Of His Garage, Raises Millions On The Golf Course

Gambling on a golf course is not unheard of.

Far from it, in fact. For some golfers, wagering is just as big a part of their game as wedge shots.

The gamble Bob Hammer took in 2001, though, was different. He bet on his life. It was a bet that is still paying off, years later, on an East Bay golf course.

That's because, since then, Bob has raised more than $2 million through his Have A Ball Golf Tournament. 

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It all stated, Bob says, thanks to a fortunate encounter.

“I met this guy at this chance meeting over a dinner. He changed our life.”

The person he is referring to is Dr. Craig Nichols, a well known oncologist who gained fame for treating Lance Armstrong after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. The connection ended up being very important for Bob, who in Oct. of 1999 and again in Dec. 2001, was diagnosed with the same disease

The night Bob met Dr. Nichols in Austin, Texas, he was scheduled to have surgery just days later. Dr. Nichols feared the surgery would leave Bob unable to walk and unable to have any more children. He recommended that Bob elect not to have it.

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It was a risk that Bob and his wife, Kim, ultimately decided to take. Two years later in 2003, their son, Josh, was born.

“It's unbelievable," Bob says. "There's a 12 year old boy out there. If I didn't fly to Texas on that Saturday night, he wouldn't be here.”

Bob felt the need to give back as a way to celebrate his good fortune. Having a little experience organizing golf tournaments, he and his friends decided one night that is what he should and the first Have A Ball tournament was held.

“And the rest, as they say, is history,” he says.

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Initially with the goal of getting his friends together to golf, have a couple of beers and raise around $2,500, Have a Ball surpassed everyone’s expectations. The first year of the tournament, they raised $52,000.

Thinking that after one tournament his work was over, Bob soon realized that it was just the beginning. By the fourth year of the tournament, there were 300 golfers wanting to play.

Even though the commitment is a big one, which Bob and Kim have embraced on top of their full time jobs, he says he’s proud to do it because he knows the impact that the money has on local organizations. Have a Ball prides itself on helping 20 local organizations, most Bob says, that the foundation has a personal relationship with.

“You make the personal relationships with these people and then it really, it changes everything because you don't want to let these people down.”

Reflecting on why he continues to put in thousands of hours to do what he does, Bob thinks about his many blessings, including his son.

“You get these moments in your life. You’re like, ‘That’s why I do it."

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