david bent - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T06:34:29Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/david+bentMeet the Pro: New teaching pro at St. Andrews hustles to learn croquet part of jobhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/meet-the-pro-new-teaching-pro-at-st-andrews-hustles-to-learn-croq2019-01-02T16:09:51.000Z2019-01-02T16:09:51.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830670,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank"><img src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960830670,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960830670?profile=original" /></a></strong><em>New St. Andrews Club pro Jackson Moore volleys with a club member during a tennis lesson. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
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<p><strong>By Brian Biggane</strong></p>
<p>David Bent didn’t know anything about croquet when St. Andrews Club in Delray Beach installed its 105-by-84-foot croquet lawn in 1998. He became so proficient at it in the ensuing years that between then and his retirement from the position of St. Andrews tennis and croquet pro last year, his ranking rose as high as second in the United States and 30th in the world.<br /> Now St. Andrews members hope the new man in that job, Jackson Moore, can even approach that level of proficiency.<br /> “David has told us that he is going to make Jackson a world-class player,” said Peter Lowenstein, who as head of the St. Andrews tennis committee recommended Moore for the position.<br /> Moore, 29, who started in October, does have a solid background in tennis, having played collegiately at Georgia State and Florida Gulf Coast before spending the past few years teaching in his native Sarasota-Bradenton area, most recently at Gasparilla Inn in Boca Grande.<br /> Moore spent his past four summers at the Nantucket Yacht Club in Massachusetts, where Lowenstein happens to be a member.<br /> “I was asking around and the head man up there said he would be terrific,” Lowenstein said. “I can tell you, the job he’s done up there is grueling. He’s on the tennis court 10 hours a day, six days a week, so he’s used to hard work.”<br /> Moore said he was “curious more than anything” when told the St. Andrews position would involve croquet as well as tennis.<br /> “I’ve seen it played at Gasparilla; they play at a good level over there. But the only times I ever watched was when I was filling water jugs or things like that. But I’m enjoying it. It’s a mind game out there,” he said.<br /> Playing catch-up has involved reading a book Bent gave him on the subject and watching YouTube videos. He also has often traveled up to the National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach, where Bent spends much of his recreational time, and played alongside him.<br /> “To watch David go through the six-wicket game — it boggles my mind to see what he can do,” Moore said. “There’s a lot going on, a lot of strategy.<br /> “I’m taking it one day at a time, but I’m enjoying it.”<br /> Moore said that while he’s spending more time with croquet at the moment, he perceives the position as a 50-50 split and is working to expand the tennis program.<br /> One innovation is a program called “Hardcore Tennis,” an hourlong session that involves 45 minutes of fitness work followed by 15 minutes of tennis.<br /> “He’s working with Gulf Stream School to get the children involved,” St. Andrews General Manager Robert Grassi said. “Sports activities is something all the members are interested in.”<br /> “He’s working out very well,” Lowenstein said. “He’s willing, enthusiastic, and everybody is very pleased with him.”</p></div>Croquet: St. Andrews pro swings between racket and mallethttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/croquet-st-andrews-pro-swings-between-racket-and-mallet2013-01-02T18:30:00.000Z2013-01-02T18:30:00.000ZDeborah Hartz-Seeleyhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/DeborahHartzSeeley<div><p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960415261,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960415261,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="179" alt="7960415261?profile=original" /></a></em><em>Tennis pro David Bent took up croquet 14 years ago and recently played for the U.S. team at a tournament in Johannesburg, South Africa. <b>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</b></em></p>
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<p><em><b> </b></em><span><b>By Steve Pike</b></span></p>
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<p>David Bent wants you to know that croquet is more than just a backyard sport. It’s even more than a group of white-clad men and women enjoying a Sunday afternoon on the croquet field.</p>
<p>For Bent, the tennis and croquet professional at St. Andrews Club, just north of Gulf Stream, croquet is as competitive and intense as any other sport. And he has the credentials to prove it.</p>
<p>Bent competed for the U.S. team this past December in the Golf Croquet World Team Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa. The tournament featured eight, four-man teams from around the world. The U.S. team, led by Bent and nine-time U.S. champion Ben Rothman, finished fourth. They had vied against such countries as tournament winner Egypt and Great Britain, where croquet is much more ingrained into the sporting life than in the U.S.</p>
<p>Palm Beach County is one of the places in the U.S. where croquet is popular recreationally and competitively. The National Croquet Center in West Palm Beach will host the U.S. Croquet Association Laws National Championship from April 29 through May 4 — an event in which Bent plans to compete — and PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens has top-rated croquet facilities.</p>
<p>Bent, who has been tennis professional since 1971, began playing croquet in 1998 when the St. Andrews Club built its 105-foot by 84-foot lawn. He quickly took to croquet thanks to lessons from his friend Archie Peck, a six-time national champion, member of the U.S. Croquet Hall of Fame and a fixture in Palm Beach County croquet circles. Bent had given Peck’s children tennis lessons at St. Andrews Club, so it seemed natural that Peck teach Bent how to play croquet.</p>
<p>“I knew nothing about the sport,” said Bent, who has been ranked as high as second in the U.S. and 30th in the world. “But I like to approach things with an open mind. It was fantastic for me. I was still playing a game outside in the sunshine hitting balls. And it made coming back to tennis much more exciting because if you do anything for a lifetime, it starts to wear on you.”</p>
<p>Approximately 40 people use the croquet lawn at the St. Andrews Club, with the majority playing the golf-croquet format of the sport. Golf croquet, played with six wickets, is easier to learn and play than the nine-wicket format.</p>
<p>“It’s basically the Egyptian set of rules,” Bent said. “If croquet goes anywhere in the U.S. it will be with this set of rules because they’re pretty simple. You still have to use tactics and strategy, but one guy isn’t just sitting.</p>
<p>“The other (nine-wicket) game is just like shooting pool. Once a guy gets a break, you’re going to sit and he’s going to run the table. It’s a much slower-moving game with various shots in it that are difficult to hit.”</p>
<p>In golf croquet, everyone plays, and each turn is just a single stroke. There are no extra strokes rewarded. The game is played individually or in teams of two.</p>
<p>Basically, a player has four options: Try to run through the hoop (or wicket); take a position to clear an opponent’s ball away; block an opponent; or nudge a partner’s ball.</p>
<p>The first player to run through a hoop is awarded a point. The game is usually won by the first player to seven points.</p>
<p>“It’s easy to follow and easy to learn,” Bent said. “I can get you playing croquet immediately with this game, and it’s fun.” </p></div>