Photo courtesy of Todd Russell
The Mountain Brook Croquet Club hosted its inaugural Golf Croquet event June 10-12, 2022.
The Mountain Brook Croquet Club hosted its inaugural Golf Croquet event June 10-12.
The club was created by Arthur Bagby, the Alabama director of the United States Croquet Association. The Mountain Brook Croquet Club features a full-size lawn adjacent to the back side of the Bagby home.
For the three-day event, seven Mountain Brook croquet club members competed with visiting players from Georgia and Tennessee.
Representing the MBCC were Michael Seale, Matthew Jackson, Robert Schoel, Todd Russell, Lee Yeilding, Miller Connaway and Tom Shelton.
From Georgia, Jimmy Huff and Kent Lovvorn, represented the Carroll County Croquet Club, based in Carrollton, Georgia.
Huff and Lovvorn are seasoned veterans on the croquet tournament scene, and have participated in multiple Golf Croquet National Championships. Huff is currently ranked 26th nationally, and Lovvorn is reigning Southeast Regional Champ and ranked 23rd nationally. Ying Benns traveled from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, to complete and became the MBCC’s newest member.
Block play began Friday afternoon, and players were divided into two separate blocks for a round robin competition.
On Saturday morning, block play completed, and the semifinals and Cup brackets were seeded, with Lovvorn, Russell, Jackson and Huff moving on to the semifinals.
Saturday afternoon, the remaining six competitors battled it out for the Cup championship. In the end, Schoel battled club stalwart Yeilding for the Cup, with Yielding sneaking by with a 7-6 victory.
During the semifinals on Sunday, Lovvorn triumphed 7-4, 4-7, 7-5. The Mountain Brook Croquet Club’s club champion was set to be determined by the second semifinal match between Jackson and Russell. Jackson won the day decisively, 7-5, 4-7, 7-5.
With temps hitting mid 90s and high humidity, the finals began Sunday afternoon. Jackson, a talented, yet unranked player, faced off with one of the top players in the United States in his very first sanctioned tournament.
In game one, Jackson scored the first two hoops and held on tight winning 7-6. Game two went to Lovvorn, who fought back for a 7-4 win. Ultimately the victory fell to Lovvorn, winning the final game 7-5.
The Mountain Brook Croquet Club holds games most Friday evenings and Sunday afternoons. For more information, or to join the Mountain Brook Croquet Club, contact Bagby at arthurbagby@gmail.com.
— Submitted by Todd Russell
