Croquet México Club

The Croquet México Club was built on a shared passion. The Zazueta-Lagos family put their faith behind Rick Zazueta and the 2011 vision he had started alongside his friends Brian Lozano & Roberto Rivera of building a National Club.

 Architecture for the club began in early 2021 and construction is expected to be completed in summer 2023.  Baja California Architect Giancarlo Reyes of Localista designed the building and it was constructed by TADO Architectura from Ensenada. 

Rick Zazueta is a lifetime student and member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation and tried to buy late FLW building plans for this clubhouse. Unfortunately, he received a letter from the foundations' president denying his request. In the same letter, in true fellowship fashion,  they encouraged Rick Zazueta to give the opportunity to local talent. Rick didn't feel like auditioning architects, so he asked his friend Miguel Buenrostro, an artist living in Berlin, who had been an influential architecture critic in Baja California, to recommend a local architect that he could have a dialogue with. Miguel Buenrostro recommended Giancarlo Reyes, and the project was born over natural wine and idealism. 

The Croquet México Clubhouse architecture can be described as organic, mexican modern, and slightly brutalist. It was important for the architecture to reflect the timeless value of the organization and of the sport of croquet. All while maintaining a personality, a national identity, and a 200 year vision for the future of the region.   

The croquet lawn was inaugurated in May 2022, and was built by Mr. David Collins of Los Angeles. It's a simple bermuda lawn, leveled nine times, modeled after the old bowling greens of England, Australia, and New Zealand, but without the french drains -to allow optimal water retention on our soil. It's an incredible noble lawn with very similar requirements to the vines grown on the property. The vines and the bermuda lawn are on the same cycle and great indicators of each other's health. And just like good vines, our lawn is constantly under hydraulic stress to make it drought and flood resistant.  It has a hard surface, and is fast; usually reading between a 10 and 13 on the stimpmeter. It's dormant in the winter, so it appears brown, but contrary to affecting its qualities, it solidifies them. It's a WCF standard full size croquet court with plenty of space to shift the playing surface when necessary.