Croquet brings 'mallet madness' to Buckhead community

ATLANTA - In case you didn’t know, Saturday, June 4 is National Croquet Day. And if your idea of croquet involves a rusty old set that sat in your parents’ garage for decades, maybe it’s time to reintroduce yourself to the popular sport.

This morning, we spent some time at Buckhead’s Peachtree Hills Place — an active community for those 55 and older — which happens to house a pair of regulation-sized natural turfgrass croquet lawns. In fact, community members there formed the Peachtree Hills Place Croquet Club in 2019, using the lawns for competitive play, private instruction, and social activities (including weekly Wine & Wickets sessions!). The club even has its very own mascot: Striker!

Here in the United States, croquet is governed by the United States Croquet Association (USCA), which was organized in 1977 and operates today with a mission to promote and develop the sport across the country. There are various styles of croquet played around the world, but the basic premise involves using mallets to hit balls through hoops (or, wickets) which are anchored into the grass. 

Since National Croquet Day will be here before we know it, we decided to spend the morning getting some tips from the pros at Peachtree Hills Place and honing our skills on the lawn! Click the video player in this article for a peek at how we did!