Black Fields with father Justin after winning First Flight Singles and Doubles at GC NationalsYoung Player is Already Collecting USCA Hardware
The USCA Club at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California is extremely proud of its youngest member, Blake Fields. At just 11 years of age, Blake has recently made a name for himself by winning the first flight singles and the first flight doubles (with his father, Justin Fields at the USCA National Golf Croquet Championship (December 12-19, Mission Hills Country Club)! In these victories Blake bested a strong field consisting of top-ranked players from across the county.
Fields has been playing croquet with his father, Justin Fields, for four years having taken up the sport as he watched then club pro Ben Rothman giving lessons and playing. It was Rothman who invited Fields to try his hand at croquet. From his first swing of a mallet, he took to the sport like a natural. California mallet craftsman, Bob Morford, has been extremely supportive in fashioning mallets for a young player and that match Fields’s style of play.
A highlight of his croquet experiences no doubt occurred at the 2017 MacRob awards dinner when the winning team, New Zealand, identified Blake as a “future US star.” Several New Zealand team members had played pick-up matches with him as they prepared for the Mac Rob Tournament.
When not on the lawns, Fields is a straight-A student at Sacred Heart School in Palm Desert, Calif. In his near future is an invitation to a Pinehurst summer croquet camp. His dad says that croquet has given he and his son something they can both participate in as equals, creating a unique bond between himself and his son.
HIs interest in croquet and his ability to master the sport suggests that other youngsters should be encouraged to take up croquet.
--Submitted by Linda and Terry Vavra, Mission Hills Croquet Club