Long Island resident Matthew Essick crowned world champion of golf croquet

QUOGUE, N.Y. -- Champagne is popping for an adopted son of Long Island's East End after he was crowned the world champion of golf croquet.

"He's a hero," one woman said.

"The kids adore him," another woman said.

Matthew Essick has just returned from Europe, where he won his title, beating out 63 competitors from 17 nations.

"It's a dream come true, it really is, so I am on cloud nine," Essick told CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.

Hitting wooden balls with a mallet through hoops?

"It has the touch of golf, the strategy of chess and the angles of pool," he said.

His fan club is growing, especially around the village of Quogue, where matches were watched in the library, the community center and the Quogue Field Club where he teaches.

"It's a small town but such a supportive place," Essick said.

"Matt has brought youth and vitality to this sport," one fan said.

"Highest amount of integrity," another fan said.

In college with bad knees, Essick gave up basketball for croquet, a sport he played as a kid with his family, and he shined.

"The terrain is flat, it's faster, and wickets are much tighter than your backyard croquet," he said.

Essick's ribbing from friends has turned to admiration. Now as a champ, he's fighting to make it mainstream.

"That's the one thing that croquet is lacking right now is the ability to go out and find a court and play," he said.

Essick says to grow the sport, there is an urgent need to fund and provide widely available public croquet courts.

The next world golf croquet championships will be held in the United States in 2024.

"We are hoping to have a lot of Americans in the event and to host a great tournament," Essick said.

Essick looks forward to defending his title.

Croquet fans believe the sport they embrace can become as popular as pickleball in the United States.