Greenwich Invitational
June 28-30, 2024
Greenwich Croquet Club
Greenwich Croquet Club Makes its Home in Bruce Park
By: GREENWICHFREEPRESS | July 7, 2024
Last weekend the Greenwich Croquet Club hosted the 34th Greenwich Invitational 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament on the club’s croquet courts in Bruce Park. The players, some are up for the summer from homes in Florida where the sport is popular, dressed in white, though club president Bill Miller joked that he was partial to his gray Crocs. Miller explained the tournament is US Croquet Association-sanctioned, with players from across the country heading to Greenwich to compete in Bruce Park over three days – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Competitors wearing required whites compete in Greenwich Croquet Club’s 34th Greenwich Invitational 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament on the club’s croquet courts in Bruce Park. June 29, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Amid baseball diamonds, tennis courts and historic stone bridges, the lawn bowling and croquet courts, with their manicured grass tucked inside a white fence, fit right in among the park’s ponds and waterways. The tournament was as intense as any sport, but the family-friendly game of croquet dates back centuries. In fact, the US Croquet Association notes that while croquet is still played in back yards by children and adults, the modern sport of six-wicket croquet is another story altogether.
Miller explained that croquet players use a handicap system. “It’s not similar to golf’s at all, but it’s like golf in that sense,” he said. “The similarity is – the structure is the lower the handicap, the better you are. The difference is that in golf you can play by yourself forever and lower your handicap. In croquet you can’t play by yourself. If you play by yourself, you can never lower your handicap. The only way to do that is to enter sanctioned tournaments and play against other players who are better than you and beat them.”
There are two courts inside the iconic white picket fencing at Bruce Park. On one court player handicaps ranged from 2 to 7, and on the other court handicaps ranged from 9 to 12. One court was ‘championship play’ and one was ‘first flight’ play. “We sell this event out pretty easily and are only limited by the lawn because there is only room for two courts,” Miller said. “Next year we’re considering expanding the tournament. In three days – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – you can only structure so many games for so many people so that everybody gets a chance to play.”
Mr. Miller, who took over as president of the Croquet Club’s board of directors in 2017, said club members head to Bruce Park almost every day of the week, with Wednesdays being a day for organized play.
A Truly Coed Sport
He also explained that croquet is one of the few sports in the world where men and women and men compete equally on the same lawn. “There’s no women’s-this and men’s-that. It’s truly a coed sport,” he said. “My most frustrating match was when I lost in the finals was to Sally McGrath from Quogue,” he said with a laugh. “And you play rain or shine – unless there is thunder or lightning or standing water on the lawn.”
Croquet Legend Bob Kroeger
Miller pointed out the presence at the tournament of Bob Kroeger, who has served as tournament director for at least 30 years. Mr. Kroeger has written numerous books about croquet and is a member of the Croquet Hall of Fame. “He basically put the sport on the map,” Miller said. “There are players here that come here just to see him.”
Competitors wearing required whites compete in Greenwich Croquet Club’s 34th Greenwich Invitational 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament on the club’s croquet courts in Bruce Park. June 29, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Parks & Rec Responsible for Croquet Lawn Care
Typically the club closes the lawn for several days prior to a tournament to protect the grass, but Mr. Miller explained that had not been necessary prior to this tournament because the grass was so healthy. “It’s been a lot of work,” he said of the pristine lawn, adding that the club used to be responsible for the lawn service through a third party vendor for seeding and treatments, but the town took over care for the lawn. Miller explained that croquet is typically played on bentgrass, but that is sensitive to moisture and disease, and Bruce Parks has both fresh and salt water present.
“Five or so years ago there was an issue with the grass,” he recalled. “It got disease, fungus and pests, and the town ended up deciding to replace the entire lawn with bluegrass.” “It’s taken about four years to get established,” he said noting that Greenwich’s Turf Operations Manager, Tim Coughlin checks out the croquet lawn four or five times each season.
Lasting Touch of Rene Anselmo
Miller also noted the original white painted picket fence was donated by Rene Anselmo about 55 years ago. Anselmo, who many recall funded numerous beautification projects in town, including the wooden street signs in the area of North Street, and wooden fencing that replaced chain link fencing at both North Street School and Julian Curtiss School. His campaign against commercial real estate signs was ultimately successful, although he was arrested twice in the process. Even better for the croquet enthusiasts, Anselmo created a trust dedicated explicitly to the maintenance and regular replacement of the fencing around the croquet lawn. According to a blog post by historian Carl White for Greenwich Library, “When (Anselmo) started to have a fence erected around the Lawn Bowling Green in Bruce Park in 1993, the town ordered him to stop. He apparently didn’t have the proper paperwork. This angered many residents who started to flood the local paper with letters. Eventually, this led to a change in the town’s gift policy.” “Years ago there was a hurricane fence around the bowling green,” Miller said. “It didn’t look good, so (Anselmo) donated the white cedar fence that used to be here.” Miller said that when the wood fence started to fall into disrepair, it took about two years to locate the trust, which specifies the fence is to be replaced every 25 to 30 years. “He knew this was going to be here and he wanted it to always look nice,” Miller said. “We coordinated the replacement through the Parks & Rec Dept.”
Growing Club Membership
Miller said five years ago the club had about six active members and a total of 20 players. Greenwich residency is not a requirement. “One of the comments made by somebody in the town was that we spend a lot of time taking care of that grass for people who don’t all live here, and very few people anyway. And at that time the entire board of directors was not from Greenwich.” Since then, Miller said the club membership had risen dramatically, tripling over the past three years through word-of-mouth alone.
Today, 90% of the new members live here, and 80% of all members reside in Greenwich. “We’ve grown to 57 paid members and three more joined on the Saturday of the tournament alone,” he said, adding that he anticipated increasing to 70 members by the end of the summer. “On Wednesday, a normal club day, there were 16 players on the lawn,” he said. “And on Sundays there is a group who play, ranging from 8 to 15 players.”
There is also a regular Friday group of players and an email thread of members who coordinate additional days for group play. Miller described the club members as low key and low maintenance for the town. “We don’t cause trouble,” he said.
Membership has its benefits.
“All the equipment other than the mallets, is owned by the club, and is included as part of the membership,” Miller explained. “Members also have access to the storage shed across the street by the rest rooms.” “The lawn gets tons of use,” he continued. “The gate to the lawn is locked when not in use. And the shed is locked, but members get access to both and can come any time when the court is open.” Better yet, Miller said the club is not exclusive to non members. “If I want to bring my best friend who lives in Stamford, I can bring him down and play,” he said. “I brought my 85-year-old mom, and my niece and nephew down and we played ‘golf croquet,'” he said. Club membership is just $275 for an individual for the entire summer – early May until late October. Miller joked, “You don’t have to buy anything – everyone has a white shirt and white shorts.” Anyone interested in joining the Greenwich Croquet Club should reach out to Mr. Miller by email at BillMiller8@snet.net
Players compete on the croquet court in Bruce Park during the 34th Greenwich Invitational 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament. June 29, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Competitors wearing required whites compete in Greenwich Croquet Club’s 34th Greenwich Invitational 6-Wicket Croquet Tournament on the club’s croquet courts in Bruce Park. June 29, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
Final Order
Championship Singles
1. Larry Lynch
2. Courtney Green
3. Kathleen Green
4. David Kepner
5. George Claffey
6. Mary McCarthy
7. Doug Greeff
8. Gerry Kagan
First Flight Singles
1. Kevin Carey
2. Linda Merk
3. Thomas Love
4. Scott Brown
5. Larry Schmutz
6. Karen Kay
7. Nancy Love