Milwaukee Croquet Club celebrates milestones, sport popularity peaks

MILWAUKEE - If you've ever seen those flat, well-manicured parcels of green grass at Milwaukee's Lake Park and wondered what they're for, this is the story for you.

What they're saying:

A bird's-eye view provides a unique perspective on the sport of croquet.

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"First of all, it's a game for everyone. It doesn't matter your age, gender, ability," said Cheryl Bromley. "Golf croquet in particular is a game that you can learn very quickly, get the basics on it, and then once you're hooked, you just stay on it."

Bromley, a Sheboygan resident, is a member of the U.S. Croquet Association's Hall of Fame. Even as a world-class player, she relishes the chance to educate.

"We have a starting corner that's back there by the yellow flag, and there's a circuit that you follow on the lawn," Bromley explained. "You want to think of your swing as a pendulum, with a backswing and a follow-through in a tick-tock rhythm. And we're going to shoot through our feet, so this is another difference from backyard to regulation croquet.

"You want to try to have your feet running parallel with your mallet. That's the track that you want to follow, because any deviation off the line, that's where your ball is going to go."

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For perspective, Bromley said the lawn croquet is played on is the size of two tennis courts.

"The accuracy from long distance sometimes is just remarkable. Hoop shooting from long distance is, it's awesome," she said. "How much clearance is there? These now are set at one-sixteenth of an inch, so there are two stanchions, the ball, there's just a sixteenth of an inch."

Bromley can get even the greenest beginner rolling in the sport. Croquet's appeal is broad from teen-aged national champions to aging athletes, and as a result, its popularity is peaking.

"It actually is booming right now," she said.

What you can do:

This weekend, Friday through Sunday, the Milwaukee Croquet Club will host a big doubles tournament at Lake Park, which is free to attend. The event honors the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Croquet Association and the 34th anniversary of the local club.

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