Meadowood · Napa Valley · Wellness · Croquet

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Croquet Attire: Traditional dress for the game of croquet is white attire with flat-soled shoes. At Meadowood white collared shirts for men and white collared shirts or shirts with sleeves for women. White or light beige pants or shorts and flat-soled shoes are required. Back to Wellness

A Game of Strategy

At Meadowood, we play the grown-up version of the backyard game of croquet that has been played for decades on leisurely summer afternoons. Croquet is the perfect equalizer between players of widely differing physical skills. Everyone starts at the same level, so the consummate athlete has no competitive edge. In fact, croquet is a game of strategy, not unlike chess, which offers the thinking player the true advantage.

Two Full-Size, World-Class Lawns

Tournament croquet requires a 105 x 84 foot lawn, upon which players hit two one-pound balls clockwise through a series of six wickets and then back again before pegging out. Players earn points up to a maximum of 26 with time limits ranging from two hours to no time limits at all. Tournament croquet at Meadowood is played on two full-size, world-class lawns. For newcomers to croquet, we use four half-size courts and recommend that players start with California Golf Croquet, which is an easy-to-learn version of the sport with good strategy and tactics which make the game exciting to play.

The Meadowood croquet lawns run parallel to the golf fairways, separated by a line of redwood and fir trees. The meticulous bent grass, trimmed to a mere 5/32 inch, is complemented by the rustic dry-stacked stone wall that frame the courts.

Challenging, exciting and fun, competitive croquet has -- for more than a century -- drawn an interesting mix of enthusiasts including the likes of Alexander Woollcott, Sam Goldwyn and Clark Gable. Meadowood debuted its competition lawns in 1986 and hosted the U.S. Croquet Championships the same year. Today, Meadowood is proud to offer its guests the finest full-time teaching facility for croquet in the country, under the leadership of Resident Croquet Professional Jerry Stark.

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