Croquet

“You can hold a glass of wine while you play croquet.”

For many Americans, croquet is a childhood sport—a game played in the backyard on a gorgeous summer day while waiting for the burgers and hot dogs to come off of the grill, or as part of the festivities during family gatherings. But imagine this: a lush, perfectly manicured lawn, a crystal blue California sky as your canopy, and towering pine trees surrounding the croquet courts. Now imagine this is your office, the place you work every day. For Jerry Stark, resident croquet pro at Meadowood in St. Helena, this setting is his office. But can you really call what he does “work,” since croquet is just a game—a game that only a lucky few, like Jerry, can make a living playing and teaching?
    As a sport, croquet has been played in Europe since the early 19th century. Beginning in England, its appeal caught on quickly and by the mid-19th century had spread to most English-speaking countries, like Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. However, America did not pick up the six-wicket, or tournament layout, until the early 1970s.
    Before 1977 Americans were playing what the croquet world irreverently refers to as “backyard” croquet, not the six-wicket tournament style that pros like Stark play. It was in 1977 that Jack Osborn organized the United States Croquet Association (USCA) and Americans began to play at the level the Europeans had been playing at for decades. With a tight-knit group of six East Coast clubs, Osborn laid out a uniquely American set of rules for the six-wicket layout and established croquet as a serious sport. From those original clubs, the USCA has grown to close to 300 member clubs and 3,000 member players.
    Many of the pros started playing croquet at home, in the backyard. “A couple of buddies of mine invited me out to a backyard croquet tournament,” says Stark. “I thought, yeah, right, I played croquet when I was a kid and not since. But I went anyway because they promised me that there was going to be beer. It was a big party.”
    Every Saturday and Sunday for the next three years Stark continued to play “backyard” croquet with his friends until they got hold of a croquet magazine. “I had no idea you played on grass like this,” says Stark, gesturing to the pristine courts Meadowood maintains. “I got to thinking, there’s real croquet out there somewhere.” This moment proved to be a turning point in Stark’s life and career.

    In 1983, after visiting a friend in Phoenix, where Stark was able to feed his passion for croquet with the immense competitive croquet community the city offered, he decided Phoenix was the place to be. “It was like this at the end of October,” Stark reflects, gazing up at the cloudless St. Helena sky. “It was about ready to start snowing in Kansas City and I was a single guy. So long Kansas City.”

Jerry Stark

Within a year he sold his home in Kansas City, quit his job and moved to Phoenix to play croquet.
    At the time Stark decided to relocate, Arizona was producing some of the country’s most talented professional players and had organizations like the American Croquet Association and the Arizona Croquet Club promoting interest in “Association” or International Rules croquet. The American Croquet Association was established in 1987 and currently sanctions a number of tournaments annually, mainly on the West Coast.
    It is widely accepted that the reason croquet has not grown in popularity when compared to similar sports, like golf or tennis, has to do with the fact that many people can’t follow the game the first time they experience it. “Remember, croquet is not an easy game.” Learning the rules of the game, people can’t help but compare its intricacies to the strategic maneuvers required in chess or the thoughtful shot planning in billiards. In croquet, the player always has to keep in mind the next shot they want to make.
    Having the right tools allows the pros to meticulously arrange their shots. “The equipment is much more substantial than most people are familiar with in the backyard game,” Stark says, describing the differences between amateur and pro equipment. “The grass is a lot nicer: You can have more control and precision since your ball is not jumping from the clumps of grass in your backyard. Well, at least that’s how my backyard is.”
    Stark may be a joker on the courts at Meadowood, but when it comes to serious tournament games, he and every other pro are there to win. “It’s all about the competition. It’s blood and guts, without actually spilling any. In a tournament I want to win 26 to zero.” For all sports, competition is a major driving factor in player enjoyment. But with those that are based on strategy and tactics, there is an honor system the players uphold that binds them in camaraderie. “In a game where the players are the referees, how can you be a cheater? What I like are the morals. Unfortunately it is one of the few things left in the world, game-wise, that has morals.”
    Even with these high moral standards, croquet is still a sport about personal victory. There are numerous tournaments throughout each year, but according to Stark the major ones are The World Championships, The Solomon and The MacRobertson Shield. The MacRobertson Shield started in the 1920s, but America didn’t participate until 1993 and Stark is the only American who has been chosen to play for the past five years consecutively.
    Since opening their croquet lawns in 1986 when they hosted the US Croquet Championships, Meadowood keeps in the competitive spirit of the game by holding two of their own tournaments every year: The Meadowood Classic, which is coming up on its 21st annual tournament in late July, and a private invitational game. Stark took over the croquet program in 1991 but has been a pro at Meadowood since 1989.
    Meadowood’s two full-sized croquet courts are the only professional courts in the tri-county area and are meticulously maintained by Stark and the groundskeepers. In addition to keeping the courts looking picturesque, Stark offers croquet lessons to guests of Meadowood. To get more players on the courts he breaks down the two full-sized courts into four half courts, allowing for quicker games with less ground to cover, which is prefect for beginners. “Everyone can play,” Stark says, illustrating just how accessible croquet is to players at any level. “That’s one of the fun things; it’s more of a social sport.”

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