A golf outing to raise money in the fight against testicular cancer raised more than expected, according to organizer Bob Hammer.

Hammer, who started the fundraiser "Have A Ball" six years ago out of his garage, said the daylong event July 16 at the Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course brought in $183,000.

That, he said, was despite cutting the total number of golfers allowed to 300, slightly fewer than last year.

"I actually purposely took a few less golfers this year to try to make it go a little faster,"
Hammer said. "It's two full events in one day. We had two separate auctions, (and) two silent auctions."

Have A Ball also stationed entertainment at some of the holes, from local D.J. Dan Dibley to classic rock band Rock Skool, and what's become a trademark for the group, margaritas offered by Cabo Wabo tequila and Milagros restaurant.

Dibley offered a challenge at hole 7, betting $5 to see if his shot was closer to the pin than the golfer. If the golfer ponied up the money, and Dibley's shot was closer, the golfer could use that lie instead of his own.

A new feature for the event was a Howard Cossell impersonator, Mr. C, who offered non sequiturs, Cossell-style, to foursomes as they approached.

In its six years, Have A Ball has raised more than $775,000 -- not bad for an event that started with a personal tragedy and a lot of hope.

Hammer is a two-time testicular cancer survivor. After a meeting with Lance Armstrong, a survivor himself, and a subsequent meeting with Armstrong's oncologist, Hammer canceled a surgery that had been scheduled and went on to conceive his son, Josh.

As a way of giving back to groups that fight testicular cancer, Hammer began his fundraising campaign. Have A Ball still operates out of Hammer's garage, but a list of donors reads like a Who's Who in the Bay Area, with corporations from Ariba to Amgen to Genentech donating. That's not counting national corporations like McDonalds and UPS.

While it started with the idea of fighting testicular cancer, Have a Ball's mission has grown. Twenty cancer-fighting groups will get donations from Have A Ball this year, including Livestrong, Armstrong's Foundation; Children's Hospital and Research Foundation in Oakland; and Susan G Komen For The Cure, a breast cancer fighting group. Have A Ball is working hard to live up to its slogan: chipping away at cancer, one ball at a time.

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