In 1986 Kent Mitchell, Developer of Bald Head Island Limited, funded the creation of the first croquet court on Bald Head Island. He had seen the game of croquet played in England and thought that this would be something unique for the future of the island. “Initially, no one knew how to play the game. We just bought a USCA Rule Book and began studying the rules,” stated Billie Jean Berne.

The Bald Head Island Croquet Club was officially organized on July 26, 1986. Bill Berne was elected President and Kent Mitchell, Developer of BHI Ltd., was elected Vice President. The first BHI Croquet Club By-Laws were adopted at that time. The BHI Croquet Club logo was designed by Jackie Watkins and new members were given a beautiful BHI Croquet Club pin when they joined the club. This same pin is given (with alternate background colors) for all participants in the BHI Invitational.

In the first year there were 33 members in the croquet club. Many of these members were social members, with only about 12 to 15 active players. In the beginning the croquet socials were sometimes simply spread on the hood of a 4-wheel drive vehicle parked beside the court. They would use a grill as part of the food preparation.

Bill and Billie Jean Berne were not content to settle for less than their best efforts; so they went to Florida to take lessons with one other Bald Head Island couple, Bill and Jackie Watkins. By the spring of 1987, the Bernes brought the game of six-wicket croquet to Bald Head Island. It wasn’t long before the competitive spirit of the group began to stand out. It was at this time that Harper Peterson and Bob and Polly Fish became competitive players.

In 1987 the Bald Head Island Club held the first “White Party” (now called Gala in White) and Kent Mitchell asked the croquet club to have a croquet tournament at the same time. This was the beginning of the Bald Head Island Invitational which is always held at the same time as the Gala in White during the week of Memorial Day.

Due in part to the growing National trend of resort clubs, as well as the enthusiasm of the Bald Head Island players, the BHI Croquet Club cultivated a number of croquet champions. In 1988 the first ever North Carolina State Croquet Championship was held on Bald Head Island, with Dr. Berne finishing second place to professional Mac Penwell.

As the sport began to gain interest among island residents, a second court was built in 1989 and the second NC State Championship was held on the island. For the first time the two courts, resembling trim oversized golf greens, were referred to as greenswards. NOTE: THE BALD HEAD ISLAND CLUB WAS FORMED IN 1988 AND COMPLETED IN JUNE 1990.

Bill Berne’s rapidly developing expertise and championship wins soon ranked him #3 in the Nation. Not only a skillful player, Bill Berne served as president of the USCA, President of the World Croquet Federation and as a National Referee Examiner. Billie Jean Berne served as National Handicapping Chairman and is a Regional Referee and Certified Instructor. In a matter of two years, Bill Berne had certified 14 club referees on Bald Head Island. For many years, the BHI Croquet Club held the distinction of having the largest number of referees in one club.

Over the years, the BHI Croquet Club has been named “Club of the Year”, won the National Club Team Lyons trophy a number of times, and held both the State and National Club Teams’ titles.

The BHI Croquet Club remained fairly large with a predominately social membership and few active players until the mid 1990s. Some of the members moved away and interest dwindled for a while. The BHI Club began sponsoring “Wine and Wickets” each month during the summer to introduce croquet to more club members. Interest began to develop again. The Wine and Wickets events had simple instruction; with participants encouraged to hit croquet balls, make wickets, enjoy refreshments, and most of all have fun. Participants play the game of Golf Croquet, which is similar to the backyard croquet version of the game that most people are familiar with.

By the year 2000, the BHI Croquet Club was back in full force. There were now three full-sized greenswards. The BHI Croquet Club had 78 members, most of whom were active in the sport. At this time, the club was ranked the second largest club in the Nation. Considering there were only 204 full-time residents at the time, there were a considerably large percentage of active members in the sport of croquet. The socials are offered on a monthly basis prior to Scramblers and are recognized as the “best parties” on BHI. Marilyn Ridgeway directed several entertaining plays (such as Alice in Wonderland) at the BHI Club and at USCA. Modeling of white clothes available from the Pro Shop was conducted during a winter luncheon. The BHI Croquet Club logo was now proudly displayed on many articles of clothing. This showed unity of our Club at tournaments off of the island also.

Their fellow players supported members of the croquet club in many ways. Wednesday wickets was established wherein high-low handicap support was provided and skill instruction once per month. Mentoring was established in order for interested players to have one-on-one instruction.

In 2003 Bill and Billie Jean Berne were both honored with the USCA Hall of Fame recognition; and a beautiful bronze plaque is displayed in the BHI Club to honor their achievement and support of the game of Croquet on Bald Head Island and across the United States.

When Bill and Billie Jean Berne moved from Bald Head Island, the croquet club continued to make every effort to sustain enthusiasm and participation.

• National Croquet Day is promoted on several occasions
• Doubles partners continue to represent BHI at Linville Ridge in an attempt to win the Lyons Trophy for the North Carolina State Club Team Championship.
• A connection with Pinehurst Croquet Club was established by having each club host alternate JOUST tournaments each year with the aim of placing their name on the Joust Trophy.
• An extensive Croquet College training manual was written and is distributed to all new members.
• Golf Croquet is encouraged on Sunday mornings followed by brunch.
• The BHI Club and the BHI Croquet Club combined efforts and funding to offer Professional croquet instruction by Jeff Soo on an ongoing basis.
• The www.bhicroquet.org website was established in 2007 wherein the annual schedule, the role and responsibilities of committees, the State and National tournaments, and much more can be regularly updated.
• Rules workshops and referee training/certification continues
• A Multi-purpose complex was added in 2012. It was converted to a greensward for the Solomon Throphy, the NC State Singles Tournament and several local matches.
• The Solomon’s International Rules Tournament was hosted by the BHI Club in 2012. This tournament is alternately played in the US or the UK. It is an extremely prestigious game of International Rules. The state of North Carolina is well-represented on the US Team.
• A pavillion was added to the east of courts #1 and #2 just prior to the Solomon Throphy Test Match.

The Bald Head Island Croquet Club is an important part of the life on Bald Head Island. The participants continue to look for more ways to involve all members, recruit new members, and improve our knowledge and skill in the game of croquet.

Bald Head Island Croquet Club Trophies

BALD HEAD ISLAND INVITATIONAL

Championship Flight Winner - A Crystal Sculpture donated by the Christians, Weldons, and Mullicans in 2002 in honor of Billie Jean and Bill Berne.

First Flight Winner - The Brown Bowl donated by Mrs. Brown to honor her husband, Joe Brown, in 1996. (Base was rebuilt by Dana Quanstrom).

Doubles Winners - Trophy donated in 1987*. (Base was rebuilt by Dana Quanstrom ).

BALD HEAD ISLAND CLUB TOURNAMENTS

Championship Flight Singles Winner (Base has been rebuilt by Dana).

Championship Flight Doubles Winner - Large cup* (on base rebuilt by Dana Quanstrom) first won in 1987 by Harper Peterson and Kent Mitchell.

First Flight Singles Winner - The Old Baldy Trophy designed and built by Dana Quanstrom.

THE JOUST

Club Winner (between Pinehurst and BHI) metal sculpture on wood base built by Dana Quanstrom. First awarded in 2008 and won in 3 of the last 4 years by BHI.

GOLF CROQUET TOURNAMENT

Pewter Cups

ASSOCIATION RULES TOURNAMENT

Pewter Cups

This page was last updated on: 11 February, 2013