Florida GC Regional Grows to 64 Players

By Johnny Mitchell

Golf Croquet has been making a huge impact on croquet over the past couple of years, and this year’s Florida Golf Croquet Regional was no exception. With a field of 64 players, the 2023 event was the largest Florida GC Regional thus far. With such a large field, one can only expect a few problems. With one withdrawal two days before the start, the tournament director scrambled to find a replacement. Then three more withdrawals occurred the day before. With scheduling problems on the horizon, help was on the way. Major kudos go to Nancy Sansalone for helping fill those spots.

However, the issues didn’t stop there. On the first morning, a couple of championship players lobbied for untimed games. After discussions and appeals were made to management, the schedule was revised to allow untimed games for the championship flight. Additionally, the semifinals and the finals in the championship were changed to best-of-three. Once that was sorted out, it was time for the games to begin.

The tournament began with doubles, which were designed to be completed in one day. Doubles were divided into two flights and several closely contested games were in both. Each flight was a knockout ladder with the losing teams in the first round of play dropping into a consolation ladder, guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated. Teams were seeded according to their combined grades. In First Flight, after battling their way through the ladder, it was the third seed Kendall and Laura Hendrick and the fourth seed Bruce Hindin and Neill Trimble that met in the finals with Hindin/Trimble coming out on top with a close 7-6 victory. Trimble happened to be one of the substitute players when Hindin’s partner fell ill just prior to the start, but I think Hindin was happy with the result.

First Flight winner Steve Tasker and finalist Bruce Hindin

In Championship Flight, it was the top-seeded father and son team of David and Kyle Maloof versus the second-seeded duo of Ahab Dincer and Tamer Hatata in the finals. Dincer is the brother of Sherif Abdelwahab, who was the pro at the National Croquet Center and a champion in his own right. Because of the untimed best-of-three format, play had to be moved under the lights to court three. Both semifinals and finals went to three games, which resulted in a very long day that finally finished at 9:00 p.m. with the Maloofs coming out on top.

Singles began on Friday with three flights of blocks of eight. Dincer had to withdraw before the games began due to an injured wrist from the previous day’s play. Because each block only played six of the seven other players, the other players in his block were able to get six games in by playing the game they would not have played if Dincer had played.

Nancy Sansalone

In Second Flight, Larry Lynch, Scott Spoerl, Ryan Eberlein and Robert Smothers all went through block play with only one loss. In each block, the top four players would make it to the playoff ladder, and the difference in playing level between the top four second flight players was very close, making for a competitive flight. Ladder play was also close with several hard-fought games with the exception of Spoerl, who won the semifinals in a 7-2 victory over his wife Jan and then another 7-2 victory in the finals over Lynch.

First Flight was just as competitive with Hindin, Kendall Hendrick and Steve Tasker all coming out of the block with just one loss. Tasker and Hendrick met up in the semifinals and with Tasker claiming a 7-5 win to advance to the final. Hindin had to go to the fishhook for a 7-6 win over Devin Burress to get a berth in the final. The championship game went to the 12th hoop with Tasker taking the First Flight Singles title with a 7-5 score.

First Flight Doubles finalists Laura and Kendall Hendrick

Championship Flight had several top-ranked players, and it was evident in their play. With some amazing clearing shots and difficult hoop shots, there was little doubt that this was a true championship flight. Jim Jamison was impressive being the only undefeated player in block play in any flight while David Maloof, Jim Teel, Billy Harper, Alex Galasso, Kent Lovvorn and Brian Lozano made it through the blocks with only one loss. The competition was fierce with many action-packed games, but, in the end, it was the Maloofs in the finals. Proof the branch doesn’t fall far from the tree, David, who has been a strong competitor for many years, taught his son Kyle well. Maybe too well as Kyle bested his father in two games 7-5, 7-2.

In the end, it was a good event with competitive play. Out of 192 singles block games, only two didn’t go to seven points. The fervor for golf croquet is evident in the large turnout of players and the intensity of play. It is safe to say golf croquet is here to stay, and all the players were already looking toward the next tournament. Thanks to everyone who lent a helping hand to make this event the success that it was and thanks to Bill Simmons, the Florida RVP.

Second Flight winner Scott Spoerl