> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.richmonder.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The largest croquet club in the world is on the Northern Neck. It's hosting the North American championships this weekend - URL: https://www.richmonder.org/the-largest-croquet-club-in-the-world-is-on-the-northern-neck-its-hosting-the-north-american-championships-this-weekend/ - Published: 2026-10-15T19:36:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-15T19:36:05.000Z - Description: "At 53 you can't be internationally competitive in a lot of things." - Author: Ian Stewart - Tags: Sports, #lead Contrary to what you might think, it’s not all in the wrist when you’re playing golf croquet. “Actually, the wrist is something that interferes with hitting a straight shot,” said George Enoch. “You kind of swing from your shoulders. You obviously have to use your wrist because you've got to rotate the ball when you hit it. But if you have too much wrist action, you're liable to hit the ball off-center. And if you hit it off-center, it's not going to go where you want it to.” Enoch, 87, is practicing his shots on one of the 24 laser-leveled, Bermuda grass courts at the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club, which sits roughly 500 yards from one of the many inlets into the Chesapeake Bay just outside of Hartfield. He’s here hoping to win a trophy at the North American Open Golf Croquet Championship taking place this weekend. “I live up in Alexandria,” said Enoch, who’s been playing for 40 years and has traveled to other states to compete. “It's a two-and-a-half-hour drive away, and I can come down here and play competitively without a whole lot of inconvenience.” The event and location is part of Macey White’s croquet empire, something he started building more than a decade ago. The club is celebrating its 10th anniversary. “I started playing croquet when I was 53 years old,” said White, now 66\. “And at 53 you can't be internationally competitive in a lot of things. Basketball is out. Football is out. But croquet, you can learn the game at 53, make your national team – which I did. It's a low-impact sport.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Macey-White---owner-founder-of-the-club.jpeg) Macey White started the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club a decade ago. The club offers free lessons every Sunday. He fell in love with the sport and decided to create his own club in his own back yard that once held dozens of peach trees when it belonged to his grandfather. White’s grandfather’s house — which he now lives in — sits within walking distance to the courts. “I spent the winter pulling all the trees, moving topsoil, leveling the subsoil and putting the topsoil back,” he said. “Sometime in August, we had courts we could play on. And in October, we ran a tournament. We started this club with two members and eight courts. We fell in love with running tournaments and having people come from other places.” Now White has 24 courts and a clubhouse that was once a barn. “We built this into the largest facility in the world,” he said. “We were twice the size of the next biggest club in the world, which was the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach. Since then, they've tried to catch us, so they have 15 courts now. But we're still the largest with 24, probably always will be.” ### **Styles of croquet** The style of croquet that’s being played this weekend is known as Golf Croquet. It’s one of the forms of competitive croquet that’s played in the United States, said White, who has been national champion nine times in a form known as nine-wicket. “A lot of people play croquet in their backyard,” he said. “When you play that by the actual rules and not just try to send your sister's ball into the bushes, it's a very competitive and complex game. And it is still played on long grass.” The other forms of the sport are played on short grass. “The nine-wicket is purely American and on short grass, (and) six-wicket is purely American. They're very similar,” White said. “A similar game internationally is called association croquet. It's the most widely played form of croquet in the world. The U.S. has won the world championship in golf croquet three (tournaments) running.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/John-Welch-sets-up-a-shot.jpeg) John Welch picked up croquet after health issues prevented him from playing basketball. The tournament at the club draws people from all over the country and the world, especially when they held the World Championships in 2024\. Silvia Short and her husband Peter Dreyer recently moved from South Africa to North Carolina. She said they’re still learning how to play golf croquet. “This is already our second tournament, and we've only been here a month,” said Short, who’s been playing since 2009\. “We weren't taught golf croquet. We were taught association tournament croquet, which is, I think, more the original form of the game. It's like snooker. You make as many hoops as you can and try to win the game.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Round-Robin-Doubles-Match-1.jpeg) Players compete in round-robin doubles. Short, 70, who represented South Africa in the Women's World Championships in England in 2023, said her and Dreyer are predicted to win a trophy on Sunday. “Our seedings came in quite high, which is quite surprising. Peter is first in his block, and I'm second in my block, so the challenge is ours,” she said. John Welch and his wife came down from Plymouth, Massachusetts to compete. The 77-year-old has been playing for 11 years after having to give up playing basketball due to health issues. “We're playing as a team and we just lost a tough 7-6 match, so it could be a long ride home. Nobody talking to each other,” he said, with a laugh. “I got into croquet and it fulfills my competitive instincts. In my own mind, I'm very well-ranked.” Enoch likes that the sport has a lot to offer for both body and mind. “It has a physical component to it. You've got to be able to physically execute the shots,” he said. “It has an intellectual component because you've got to figure out the strategy, which shots to hit and how to hit them. And (at) my age, it gives me something to be competitive about.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Scoreboard-with-results-of-the-round-robin.jpeg) ### **Not just for seniors** Despite the age range of the players on the courts in Chesapeake Bay, White said the game is not just for older people. In fact [American Blake Fields](https://worldcroquet.org/2024-golf-croquet-world-championship/) won the Golf Croquet World Championship in 2024 at age 18. “Interestingly, the age range is really wide. It's a game that you can play your entire life,” he said. “There are some who are 13, 14, 15-years-old who are winning tournaments, and there's guys in their 80s that are winning tournaments.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Who-will-win-the-main-trophy.jpeg) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/99/06/99067822-fdfd-42b1-ab19-555c33eefb89/content/images/2026/10/Round-Robin-Doubles-Match.jpeg) Every Sunday, the club offers free lessons from pros, and games for anyone. Wednesday’s tournament started with round robins and gave the players a chance to warm up, said White. Then starting Friday afternoon, the playoffs will start. “They'll take two and a half days to finish, so sometime Sunday afternoon we'll have the finals for both the doubles and the singles,” White said.