A loud thud echoes as Brian Hovis strikes a croquet ball with his mallet. The 51-year-old is practicing his croquet swing on the lawn at his home in Lawrence County.
I ask. “Do you ever get any strange looks when you're practicing out here doing croquet?” Brian says, “I do, yeah, people slow down. A lot of people know each other, though it's a small community, so I'll just get a lot of honks and some waves.”
Brian wears a short-sleeved sports shirt with blue stripes and white stars, a white belt, casual blue pants, and white tennis shoes. He swings a professional mallet that he says cost about eight hundred dollars.
“This is a two-pound, 13-ounce mallet, and this is a carbon fiber head. It's hollow on the inside, and it has one-inch brass inserts on each end. And those brass inserts make the mallet heavier on the ends. So, when you're swinging the mallet, it helps keep the mallet (hitting) straight. When you're swinging between your feet.”
Brian bends at the waist with both hands gripping the top handle of the mallet, swings back between his legs, and then smoothly swings the mallet forward, hitting the croquet ball.
“It's the same every time. You don't want too many thoughts in your head. The only thought I think while I'm hitting the ball is how far I'm going to take a back swing; how much back swing am I going to take? All I’m doing out here is swinging the mallet.”
Brian began playing croquet twenty-five years ago when his father-in-law, Duke Diamond, introduced him to the game.
When I ask Brian about his father-in-law, he suddenly becomes quiet and emotional. His father-in-law passed away last year. Brian’s wife, April, says the two had a special bond.
“I don't think my husband had ever even heard the word croquet until we started dating. We hadn't been dating long. One of the first times he was at my house, my dad saw him. He was like, hey, what do you know about croquet? And he took him out in the yard, and they played a game, and he absolutely fell in love with it pretty quickly. He was so supportive of my husband, and he loved the fact that he loved playing croquet. It was just something they shared together.”
Brian began competing in croquet tournaments around the country, and in 2017, he was named Rookie of the Year by the U-S Croquet Association (USCA). Then last year Brian won the national championship in nine-wicket croquet.
He says it took “a lot of practice, a lot of hitting balls out in the yard, just watching a lot of YouTube videos, believe it or not, YouTube was a big part of me learning the game.” Brian is also a croquet referee, and he works part-time for the USCA. He says there’s a lot of strategy in playing croquet. “I used to love to play chess, so it's like chess. You always have to play, you know, three or four shots ahead. You've got to think about what your opponent's going to do, and you've got to know what you're going to do, you know, react. You have to be able to react. It's just like chess. It's playing chess out on the yard and billiards, chess and billiards put together. So again, 90% of the games are played above the shoulders.”
In May, Brian will be the Director of the 2026 USCA 9-Wicket National Tournament in Morehead. It will be held May 28th through the 31st at the Morehead City Park. Dean Rowland, a croquet player from Morehead, will be helping run the tournament.
“If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time a US Nationals has ever been played in the state of Kentucky, and it's happening in Morehead.” Dean described the four croquet courts for the national tournament. “I've got two courts out here in all Bermuda grass, and then I'm going to have two on the baseball field, and it's just Blue Grass.”
Dean’s wife, Pam Rowland, started playing a couple of years ago. “I played one time, and when we left, I was like, that was so much fun. I love that. And he was shocked that I loved it. And so, he just started taking me with him. So, I kind of got hooked.”
Pam and her husband encourage people to come out and enjoy watching the national tournament in May.
“It would be awesome to come watch, because they dress in all white. That's the USCA rule. Everyone has to wear all white. And as a spectator, it's just really neat to watch. As far as what it means to the community, I think it's just a phenomenal way to showcase our little town. I love Morehead. It's such a great place to live, and we have so much to offer that I don't think people realize. So, I think it'll bring people in and get them to recognize Morehead and Rowan County.”
Back in Lawrence County, Brian Hovis continues to practice the game he loves. “Women, men, and children all could be equally on the same stage. It's not a game of strength and power, but more of an intellect. Yeah, it's a thinking man's game.”
More information on the national tournament in Morehead is at www.croquetamerica.com.
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