In curling, “the hammer” means having the last stone in an end, and who gets it is decided by a mix of pre‑game procedure and in‑game results.

Quick Scoop: Who gets the hammer?

At the start of a game , the hammer is usually decided in one of two ways, depending on the level of play:

  • Coin toss or random choice (common in local leagues and casual play).
  • Last Stone Draw (LSD) / draw to the button (used in high‑level and Olympic play).

During the game itself , the hammer then changes hands based on who scores in each end.

How it works before the first end

1. Coin toss (club and league play)

In many club leagues or casual games, it’s kept simple:

  • The skips or team reps flip a coin (or use a spinning device/app).
  • The winner usually chooses either:
    • To start with the hammer, or
    • To choose which color/side of the sheet they want.

This is the common “beer‑league” solution: fast, fair, and easy.

2. Last Stone Draw / draw to the button (competitive level)

In championship and Olympic‑level curling, they almost always use a Last Stone Draw (LSD) :

  • Before the game, each team throws stones toward the button (center of the house).
  • Typically, two players per team throw one stone each, one clockwise and one counter‑clockwise.
  • Officials measure the distance from each stone to the center.
  • The team with the shorter average distance wins the hammer for the first end.

Over a tournament, those LSD distances are often tracked as a stat, because they can be used for seeding and tie‑break criteria too.

How the hammer moves during the game

Once the game starts, the hammer is no longer about coin tosses or LSD; it’s dictated by scoring.

  • If you score in an end , you lose the hammer in the next end.
  • If your opponent scores, you get the hammer in the next end.
  • If the end is blank (no one scores), then:
    • In traditional team events, the team that had the hammer keeps it for the next end.
* In **mixed doubles** , a blank end forces the hammer to **switch** to the other team, which tends to make that format more aggressive and high‑scoring.

That’s why you’ll sometimes see a team with hammer deliberately blank an end: they’d rather keep hammer later when they might score multiple points.

Why the hammer matters so much

The hammer is a big strategic edge because you throw the last stone , when the scoring picture is completely clear.

  • You can draw for a safe single point.
  • You can attempt a big shot (hit, double, or draw) to score multiple points.
  • You can sometimes use it to “bail out” of a bad end by limiting your opponent’s score.

At elite levels (especially with Milano–Cortina 2026 coming up), much of the game plan revolves around managing the hammer : when to take a single, when to blank, and when to push for a big end.

TL;DR

  • Before the game:
    • Local/league: usually coin toss/random choice.
* Elite/Olympic: Last Stone Draw, measuring whose pre‑game stone(s) finished closest to the button.
  • During the game:
    • Team that scores gives up the hammer next end.
    • Team that doesn’t score gets it.
* Blank end: same team keeps hammer in traditional events, but it **switches** in mixed doubles.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.