Over 40 countries around the world will be celebrating 90 years of Golf Croquet on December 14, 2023
For long-time croquet enthusiasts, golf croquet seems like a relatively new sensation and certainly, the rapid world growth that tracks back roughly to the start of this century creates an aura of a game that is brand new. However, Chris Williams, Archivist for Croquet England, says the birth of the popular croquet version was documented in an issue of the Croquet Gazette that says the rules for Golf Croquet had been approved and were to “be embodied in the Laws of Croquet and Regulations for Official Tournaments and C.A. Year Book for 1934” during a Council meeting held on December 14, 1933.
While the 90-year anniversary is notable, according to a 2015 article by Ray Hall, golf croquet was invented well before the formal laws in 1933. In the article, Hall indicates there is evidence that the version was developed in the 1890s. He also says references to the variation appear in the Croquet Gazette in advertisements in 1912 and in 1913 Horace Crowther Smith produced a small book titled, “How To Win At Golf Croquet.”
For the most part, the version was played as an introductory game, but in Egypt it became the primary form of croquet play and the Egyptians were responsible for developing the hard-hitting, fast-paced style that has attracted more than 20,000 players in over 40 countries around the world.
According to the article by Hall, the sport’s big moment came in 1995, when Chris Hudson as the Secretary-General of the WCF at the time was invited by the Egyptian Croquet Association to visit Cairo. Hall says he saw how well they played Golf Croquet and concluded that something should be done about a World Championship. In 1996, Hudson organized the first WCF Golf Croquet World Championship in Milan, Italy.
The rules have encountered many significant changes along the way, these days allowing for jump shots which are often demonstrated with perfection by players using carbon fiber mallets, through hoops with a 32nd of an inch clearance.
The next GC World Championship will be held at the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, October 18-27, 2024, where current Golf Croquet World Champion, Matthew Essick will get the chance to defend his 2022 World GC title on “home” soil.
In a recent interview, the 24-year-old champion praised croquet for being not just an exciting and competitive sport to play saying, “The unity within the community is different than in other sports,” and playing in the events is not just about competition, but about encouraging other players to succeed as well.
The World Team Championship of Golf Croquet will be hosted in Australia in 2025, and this will be the fourth contested “World Cup” of Golf Croquet and will be contested by the following eight countries:
New Zealand (Holders)
Australia
Egypt
England
Ireland
South Africa
Spain
USA
The current World Champion, Matthew Essick from USA, is 24 and has played Association Croquet since he was a child, but only played in his first Golf Croquet World Championship in 2022 which he then went on to win.
In a recent interview he praised Croquet for being not just an exciting and competitive sport to play, “The unity within the community is different than in other sports”, and playing in the events is not just about competition, but about encouraging other players to succeed as well.
WCF GOLF CROQUET WORLD CHAMPIONS
2022: Matthew Essick (USA)
2019: Ben Rothman (USA)
2017: Reg Bamford (South Africa)
2015: Ahmed El Mahdi (Egypt)
2013: Reg Bamford (South Africa)
2011: Mark McInerney (Ireland)
2008: Ahmed Nasr (Egypt)
2006: Mohammed Nasr (Egypt)
2004: Ahmed Nasr (Egypt)
2002: Khalid Younis (Egypt)
2000: Salah Hassan (Egypt)
1998: Khalid Younis (Egypt)
1997: Salah Hassan (Egypt)
1996: Khalid Younis (Egypt)
WORLD GC TEAM CHAMPIONS: TIER 1
2012: Egypt | Johannesburg, South Africa
2016: New Zealand | Surbiton, England
2020: New Zealand | Nelson, New Zealand
WORLD GC TEAM CHAMPIONS: TIER 2
2012: Wales | Cairo, Egypt
2016: Australia | Bath, England
2021: Spain | Cadiz, Spain
WORLD GC TEAM CHAMPIONS: TIER 3
2016: Norway | Godalming, England
2022: Mexico | Godalming, England