San Francisco Croquet Club

We just had a fantastic corporate off site at the SF croquet club with Reuben.
I set up the event by emailing Reuben at the address on the website, and he responded right away and provided all the details in one email. I responded with rye few pieces of information he needed, and we were booked! Very easy process.
We also had a caterer come and Reuben was really helpful accommodating them, and provided us with chairs and tables so we could eat.
The croquet itself was really good. Reuben started by giving us an introduction to the game, and overview F the rules. He had three courts set up, and we played for a couple of hours. It was a really good event because you play in pairs and everyone is on the same level to start.
Overall this is a unique, fun way to do an off-​site. Everyone was happy and had a great time. Thanks Reuben!

My company recently had an offsite here that could not have gone more smoothly. I, the organizer, had to call in sick the day of the event which made me insanely nervous, but I shouldn’t have worried at all. Reuben, the representative from SFCC I’d been emailing with handled everything in my absence. And all I heard after the event from my coworkers was how Reuben is the greatest thing since sliced bread. So not only did everyone have a WONDERFUL time, but I got major kudos from the CEO for how cheap the event was. He actually told me to tell SFCC that they need to raise their prices for corporate events… So go see Reuben and the SFCC before they do — very highly recommended!

People have low expectations when they hear croquet, but everyone ends up having a blast. I had a team offsite here, and reserving the park for a croquet tournament is perfect if you need to keep 20 people busy with a low-​impact, low-​liability, low-​budget sport for 3 hours. Gives people an opportunity to flaunt their khakis and sweater vests, and those who aren’t completely consumed by their competitive spirit can goof off with a mallet and drink beer.
The rules of the game are fairly straight-​forward, or at least Reuben was fantastic at explaining everything in under 10 minutes. Not a bad way to spend a sunny afternoon.

Just went to a croquet party my friend hosted. Reuben trained us all on the rules of the game, and he was fantastic, patient, and great with the 3 – 5 year old kids that were running around, picking up balls, and generally being a huge distraction. Highly recommend, so much fun!

I went here with my company for a little celebration, it was a really fun time! Reuben was a fantastic and informative instructor. Having never really played croquet (we had a set as kids we used to reenact American Gladiator), I didn’t realize how exciting and fun of a game it was. I highly recommend it and will play again.

I am IN LOVE with the San Francisco Croquet Club and Reuben!!!
I don’t even really remember how I stumbled upon the SFCC, but I was looking for a place to hold my 30^th bday celebration. My original plan was to get everyone together for curling in the East Bay, but they were completely booked due to an increased interest from the Winter Olympics. As they say, everything happens for a reason and I would say curling didn’t work out because the universe wanted me to meet Reuben from the SFCC.
This is what made it such an amazing event:
1) Reuben was absolutely amazing to work with. He is VERY responsive to emails and made the whole planning process SO EASY! I usually get pretty stressed out with planning my bday, and I must say this was the smoothest bday ever.
2) You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks at no cost! I ended up hiring a guy to come make tacos (he’s also awesome) but Reuben said that people have ordered pizzas, made sandwiches, brought food from Costco, etc. It’s pretty much up to you and you’re welcome to bring whatever food and alcohol you want.
3) No deposit required. Reuben only requires a minimum of 10 people. At $ 15 per person, that makes it a $ 150 minimum (we had about 40 people so it was no problem). You can also cancel up to 24 hours before your event and he won’t charge you if the event needs to be cancelled due to rain/​weather. Reuben was also VERY flexible with the payment options. He doesn’t take credit card but said that if I wanted to collect all the money and then mail him a check AFTER the event, that was ok. We paid him day of with cash but it was really awesome to hear that we had that option. Talk about trust!
4) Reuben was on time (actually early) and took care of everything for the game. Set up, break down, etc. He was very very very nice and patient when explaining the rules and kept going around to everyone to make sure they were having fun. We ended up playing golf croquet and he even set it up tournament style. I think that made it even more fun — especially for my friends who are more competitive =P.
Overall, it was an AMAZING experience and I just can’t say enough about Reuben. I had an unforgettable birthday thanks to him and all my friends kept going up to me saying what a great idea it was.
I would definitely recommend setting up a day with Reuben and the SFCC for any of your events — bdays, graduations, company team building events, etc.

I came across the San Francisco Croquet Club when I was looking for a less traditional team activity for a group of about 20 fun, young professionals.
Over the years we’ve exhausted all the usual suspects — cooking classes, happy hours and even kayaking. I have to say that the SF Croquet Club is — hands down — the most fun and engaging team event we’ve done to date.
Reuben from the Club aided in scheduling and coordination. The Club lets you bring in your own catering including bartender. A table was provided and there was plenty of seating as well. We were fortunate in that
Reuben had the area setup in advance of our arrival, was dressed like the ultimate «croquethelete» and provided fun, friendly, and engaging instruction. We played a tournament style game of golf croquet that ran about 2.5 hours with 20 players.
To be honest, we were a little concerned that the game might be a bit too stuffy or boring for needs. We couldn’t have been more mistaken! Once the game got underway it was pretty easy to understand and was quite fun and competitive.
While Reuben has a decade of experience with the sport and could have looked down on a group of newbies, he seemed as if he really enjoyed helping us out, walking around from team to team, keeping score and providing tips and tricks as to how to approach particular shots.
All in all, we had a great time and a newfound appreciation for croquet. I’d highly recommend SF Croquet Club for your next team or corporate event.

Still great. What struck me on my last visit is the fact that you can throw a random group of strangers together here and EVERYONE — without exception — has a total blast. We now hope to make visiting the SF Croquet Club into a quarterly event.
See you in October, Reuben!

Super fun day. Remarkably entertaining and challenging game, yet also sociable and mellow. Champers and cucumber sandwiches to complete the ensemble.
Thank you Reuben!

A friend recently planned her birthday at the SF Croquet Club. Public transit is not easy from the East Bay, so we drove and found plenty of nearby street parking.
Reuben was awesome! He was dressed the part (all white), had a perfect field set up when we arrived, and impressed everyone with his patient explanation of the game to 20 people that have never held a croquet mallet before. We picked teams of 2, and he set up matches in a bracket for us. He seemed to genuinely enjoy watching our games even though I’m sure he’s been in his fair share of professional games.
To make things even better, you can bring food and drink for the sidelines.
The only downside was some misty and cold SF weather as we were wrapping at the end of our 3 hours. Nonetheless, definitely recommended for a unique and fun alternative event space.

Loved having my 30^th birthday party at the SF Croquet Club! It was a great outdoor venue to drink, socialize and play some croquet! Looking forward to making this an annual event!

book an afternoon of merriment here. bring food, drinks, awkwardly preppy clothes and a bunch of your most fun friends.
chances are good your croquet skills will prove to be mediocre at best, but c’mon, it’s croquet! grab another brew, employ some cheating strategies, and try to get Rubin to join you for both.

A day of croquet at the San Francisco Croquet Club was fantastic. Croquet is a fun team/​partner activity in which people from all athletic backgrounds can be competitive.
Our office decided to spend it’s annual employee appreciation day at the Croquet Club, playing in a fun round robin tournament under the beautiful sun (the weather cooperated as was picture perfect).
Reuben, the club’s activity coordinator and instructor, was outstanding. He organized the pitch or lawn, gave everyone an initial lesson, organized and managed the friendly tournament, and provided helpful advice to all throughout the day. He even managed to shoo away a gopher (memories of caddy shack came rushing back) from the sidelines.
I cannot more highly recommend Reuben and the San Francisco Croquet Club for group events. It’s was a lot of fun, and we all gained an appreciation for Croquet.

I have been holding an annual croquet match for three years now. We always have an absolute blast, thanks in large part to Reuben. He is so nice, friendly, helpful and tolerant (did I mention that we drink champagne throughout the tourney?). If he ever leaves I will be pretty devastated.
If you haven’t played or don’t think you can — you can. Everyone can, which is why croquet is so awesome. Reuben goes over the rules for us every year (to remind those forgetful of us, and to bring any newbies up to speed — we play Golf Croquet, not Heathers style backyard croquet) and lets us practice a few swings (we always want to learn how to do the jump shot), and then he creates our bracket, tracks winners and losers, and walks around offering advice and pointers as begged for. He also does all of the set up and putting away of stuff — he is a one man show (translation=I hope you’re tipping him).
They have a couple of small tables you can use too for snacks and stuff, which we always bring. Man I love our croquet day.

I have been attending Jennifer L’s croquet matches for 3 years and we do always have an absolute blast! Thankfully, Ruben has annually guided us patiently through our champagne-​fueled shenanigans, and the grounds are very well maintained. Renting the field with friends is a fantastic way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Great for a group of friends or coworkers! Reuben was accomodating in setting up the event for a party, and a super great coach for the group of newbies. He wasn’t kidding when he said it was super easy to learn in 10 minutes and everyone has fun and gets competitive right away. Even if you don’t have any coordination, croquet is a fun activity — and you can always think like Heather and be mean on the croquet field instead of assisting your teammate (s).
Makes for a memorable event, and the best (and most comical) post-​event pictures!

Imagine a hybrid of golf and billiards, then you’ve got the perfect party activity known as golf croquet. It’s the simplified, fun and social version of the game to play with friends that enables you to enjoy the sophisticated game with a balance of jumps for joy and trash talking. You’ll be amazed at how engaged and competitive people become at this game. The instructor is great at teaching you the basics and setting up 2 courts with 6 hoops for multiple teams of 4 to take turns playing in shifts. This includes teaching us how to provide the equivalent of top spin and back spin on the ball to croquet and/​or hop over other balls.
There is an area for picnics to eat and/​or play other sports on the side. You can even order catering from a food truck elsewhere to supplement the enjoyment. Parking is ample on the street. Overall, this is a great event for a group of 20 — 30 people to make new friends and/​or bond as a team.

Smacked balls until the champagne ran out, and somehow ended up in the championship match. But my croquet partner and I had to pee so bad by then, we weren’t bringing our A game. And the other team cheated. Did I mention the champagne running out?
Had a great time and Rules Guy/​Coach/​Rueben was awesome and didn’t yell at us when we cheated/​abused the mallets/​passed out.
Woo hoo croquet! Finally a sport I can come in second place at!

Who knew croquet could be so fun! It’s like a sophisticated and strategic type of put-​put :) Had a great outing there recently… the fog broke and allowed the sun to shine down on our plaids and argyles, we sipped smokey scotch-​esqe cocktails, and thoroughly enjoyed the legendary pastime. We had teams (we were «Wicket Good») and it got pretty competitive! A great way to spend a lazy afternoon outdoors.

If you have not played croquet, you haven’t lived. For my wife’s birthday, we actually rented both fields and had a huge tournament for about 80 people. The staff was really accomodating and helped set up the draw, gave us some quick lessson and pointers, and then let us go for the gold.
It’s a great and beautiful area, part of Stern Grove. It is right by a main road but you quickly forget. More for color, some of the hightlights of the party was renting a cable car bus to pick up everyone in Union Square and drive them over, guests were required to dress in Holly Golightly attire (whites, summer dresses, summer suits, straw hats), and we served champagne, Italian soda and fried chicken from Powell’s.
My playing partner (who’s wife iis Allisson K) and I lost to Wifey’s Father and his partner in the finals, I still say it was fixed.

My friend Jen (you know, the rock star?) has organized, what is certain to be, a great event here next month. I have played here once before in my «whites» and had a lovely time. This is a great place for both personal and corporate functions; the Club coordinates seamlessly with your caterer. FYI: the Club offers a free introductory class for non-​members on the first Saturday and the first and third Sundays of the month.

Everyone is doing it… don’t you want to fit in?