As we turn the calendar to 2023 and reflect on the past year, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the top news stories from Croquet Network from 2022. From international tournaments to exciting new developments in the world of croquet, it was a year filled with memorable moments for the sport. I hope that all of our readers had a wonderful holiday season and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year as we look ahead to what the next 12 months will bring. Here are the top web posts from 2022:
2022 MOST POPULAR CROQUET NETWORK ARTICLES
01. Best Croquet Mallets 2022
Croquet Network was pleased to once again present a Top 10 Croquet Mallet List For 2022 as a guide to anyone looking to purchase a good quality croquet mallet. The annual ranking is a great starting place for any player looking for a new mallet as it showcases the most sought-after tournament mallet brands.
02. Best Croquet Sets to Buy
Over the lifetime of Croquet Network, I’ve cringed quite a bit over countless posts claiming to offer guides on the best croquet sets to purchase. Without fail, those posts recommend nearly useless kid’s sets and are generally posted by writers completely unfamiliar with the sport of croquet. In 2022, I finally stopped complaining and put together a list of croquet sets that would truly be a good starting point for any club. Please feel free to enjoy the full post, but to save time if you are looking to buy my top recommendation for a first croquet set is the Extreme Croquet Set-6-Player-Oakley Woods. If you have moved on from the six-ball game and a four-player set works, then I would recommend the Kensington Croquet Set-4-Player-Oakley Woods.
03. Essick is Golf Croquet World Champion
American Matthew Essick captured the attention of the croquet world as he rolled through the 2022 WCF Golf Croquet World Championship in held in the UK in August to give the US back-to-back championships in the event. He needed both perseverance and strong form to claim his first world croquet title defeating England’s Robert Fulford in the final 7-3, 6-7, 7-3, 7-3.
04. 2022 USCA Golf Croquet National Championship
With the WCF World Championship on deck, the USCA’s GC Nationals held in the Cashiers/Highlands area of North Carolina, May 15-22, 2022, drew a lot of attention. The event was held at High Hampton, the Chattooga Club, Country Club of Sapphire Valley and Highlands Falls Country Club.
05. Croquet Clubs Near Me
The biggest key to getting players into the sport is getting them to a good croquet club. In 2022, we finally offered through Croquet Network a comprehensive guide on how to best find a club in your area.
06. 2022 Golf Croquet World Championship Livestream Schedule
The WCF and event organizers put in a massive effort to provide live video streaming of the WCF GC World Championship and based on the viewership, it was quite popular with fans across the world.
07. USCA Announces 2022 MacRob Roster
In February, the USCA AC Selection Committee has announced the following Team USA roster for the 2022 MacRobertson Shield team AC event: Thomas Balding, Matthew Essick, Stephen Morgan, Ben Rothman, Jeff Soo and Zack Watson.
08. 2023 WCF Association Croquet Women’s World Championship
The WCF AC Women’s World Championship will be held this month in Christchurch, New Zealand. This is the first time the event has been held since 2015. Learn more about the event at https://acworldwomens2023.wordpress.com/.
09. 2022 HurricanE Women’s Golf Croquet Open
The inaugural Women’s Hurricane Golf Croquet Open tournament was held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, January 20-23, 2022. The tournament was hosted by the women of the National Croquet Club and managed by Priscilla Flowers and Cami Russack. 56 players signed up and represented all levels of GC play, from beginners to the best, including six of the top ten active female players in America; Helen Covington, Cheryl Bromley, Debbie Davidoff, Eileen Soo, Lynda Sudderberg, and Vicky Naranjo.
10. Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club Expanding to 24 Courts
In July, the Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club announced a plan to expand to 24 courts with the goal of becoming the largest croquet facility in the world.
2022 CROQUET POWER LIST
As a bonus, I am also pleased to include the following "power list" of the most popular keyword content for the sport of croquet for 2022.
01. Matthew Essick
02. Dave Trimmer Mallets
03. Macey White
04. RPM Mallets
05. College Croquet National Championship
06. John Hobbs Croquet Mallets
07. MacRobertson Shield
08. Sherif Abdelwahab
09. Capitol Croquet Club
10. Pidcock Mallets
11. Mar-a-Lago Croquet
12. Greenwich Croquet Club
13. Sandy Knuth Walsh
14. WCF Golf Croquet World Championship
15. PFC Hoop Maker
16. Chesapeake Bay Croquet Club
17. Aiken Hakes
18. Strawbery Banke Croquet Club
19. Dawson Mallets
20. Alix Verge
21. Fenwick Elliott Mallet
22. Welsh Croquet Association
23. Croquet Swing Trainer
24. croquetscores.com
25. Chris Clarke