CROQUET NEWS:  Hail to the Croquet Champ

15 June 2006
Meadowood Resort, St. Helena, California, USA
by Vince D'Adamo in St. Helena Star, St. Helena, California, USA
photo by photographer

At first glance, one might think Jerry Stark gives lessons that involve three-point stances rather than croquet.

Stark, who is the director of croquet at Meadowood Resort, played high school football in his native Kansas City, MO, but always had an interest in croquet. Stark, who commutes daily from Middletown to St. Helena, gives croquet lessons to guests at Meadowood and competes in three to five tournaments per year that are not for prize money.

Stark recently won the 2006 United States Croquet Association National Championship in May, making him the top player in the country.

Stark has consistently ranked in the top three since 1999. He won the singles title at the U.S. Croquet Laws National Championships in West Palm Beach, Fla., defeating Denver's Rich Lamm 26-18, 26-8 in a best-of-three format.

While Stark became enamored with croquet in his Kansas City backyard, he became more serious about it when moving to Phoenix in 1983.

"I was in my early 20s and we had parties but it was still the competitiveness that was fun," Stark recalled. "When I found out about real croquet, I moved to Phoenix to play what I call grown up croquet. It had much better rules. The equipment was better. The courts were better. It was really a serious sport."

Stark subsequently became a member of the U.S. Croquet Association's national team in 1988 and a professional at Meadowood in 1989.

"When you're in your 20s, hitting people just doesn't work," Stark quipped. "The competitiveness is still there but hitting people doesn't work. Croquet draws that out of everybody, the golfers, the nongolfers. It's amazing to watch people and how competitive croquet really is."

Croquet at Meadowood is played on two full-sized, world class courts. The grass stands at 5/32 of an inch and has stone walls that frame the courts.

"The eye-hand coordination from golf carries over," Stark said. "It's a little different because in croquet you've got to place shots where you control what two balls do. They're not flying through the air like they are in golf. It's a little different in that respect to see angles like you do in pool. Pool comes into play because you've got angles."

One might think that Stark can keep his skills sharp while giving lessons but he said such is not the case.

Instead, he has time in between "to do some personal practice."

The people Stark gives lessons to are primarily novices who might have played the game occasionally as a kid but are learning the game from scratch. The game Stark shows "is called golf croquet. It's a nice easy version to learn. It's got strategy and tactics."

Stark added that there are different satisfactions as a player and teacher.

"This satisfaction from giving the lessons is that they are at Meadowood and have a good time," Stark said. "That's the main thing that I try to do with them. I have them for a short time, just two hours.