How to Play: Rules, Coaching, Handicapping, Ranking, Refereeing

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What is croquet all about - and why should you give it a try?

Croquet: six hoops, four balls, two mallets and a patch of grass.

Sounds easy enough.

Croquet is a game of skill and strategy, angles, tactics, and guile. A bit like snooker on grass. Will your balls get through the hoops and peg out before your opponent's? It is played on equal terms by men and women and between young and old.

Croquet offers sport, friendships, fun, competition and a whole lot more.

To see what we mean, please watch the adjacent short video.

With over 200 croquet clubs nationwide to choose from, look up your nearest club to find out more about the outdoor sport that keeps you physically and mentally fit, providing a competitive yet sociable environment. Clubs belong to regional Federations.

Croquet is played on a 35 x 28 yards completely flat and closely-mown fine grass court.

Six cast-iron hoops and a peg set firmly into the ground, four balls weighing one pound (in top-class competition ¹/₃₂" smaller than a hoop), and mallets weighing around three pounds are used to play at club to international level.

Golf Croquet and Association Croquet are the two main variants of the game played in the UK:

Golf Croquet - one stroke per turn and when a hoop is scored all players move on to the next
Association Croquet - score many hoop points in a single turn by playing breaks
- Short Croquet - a handicap version of Association Croquet played on half-size lawns
- Garden Croquet - simplified Association Croquet suitable for playing in the garden
Just-for-fun games you can play on a croquet lawn
For background, see the introduction to croquet

The Coaching section will get you started through to international champion.

The Refereeing section tells you how to become or be a better referee.

The Handicapping system allows competitive games between players of different abilities.

The Ranking System ranks all croquet players in the world.

The Tournaments section tells you all about the competitive scene.

The Technical section tells everything else!

Coming Up

Availability closes soon for AC Team Event - Croquet Association of Ireland vs. Croquet England (McWeeney Trophy) >>

Where are the top players?

April

25-26: Sidmouth The Sidmouth Golf Croquet Championship (Premier Series) (GC)

What's on?

14: The Academy GC C to B-Level Course - Play with Confidence to be Consistent (Ref:GC3) (Course)
15: The Academy AC Developing Your Skills in Handicap Play (2 X 1 Day Modules) (Ref:AC2) (Course)
15: Northern Academy Firm Foundations (Course)
16: The Academy GC Workshop 1 (Ref:GCWK1) (Course)
18: High Wycombe AC - A Practical Introduction to AC Laws (Course)
18: The Academy AC Moving Towards A-Level Play (2 x 1 Day Modules) (Ref:AC3) (Course)
18: Surbiton A Clinic with the Swing Doctor! (Course)
18-19: Surbiton AC International Performance Development Squad: Coaching Weekend (Course)
18: Blewbury GC Open One-Day Tournament (GC)
18: Hamptworth GC 2 Class Group (All Grades) Singles (Level Play) Tournament (GC)
18-19: Pendle & Craven Lancashire International Golf Croquet Open (GC)
18-19: Wrest Park Golf Croquet A-Level (DG<2000) Series Tournament (GC)
19: Hamptworth GC 2 Class Group (All Grades) Singles (Level Play) Tournament (GC)
18-19: Colchester B-Level Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
18-19: Bristol The Latham Cup (AC) (AC)
21: Northern Academy Sharpen Your Shots in GC (Course)
21: The Academy GC B to A-Level Course - Advance to a Higher Level (Ref:GC4) (Course)
22: The Academy AC Improving Break Play and Introduction to Advanced Play (2 X 1 Day Modules) (Ref:AC4) (Course)
23: The Academy GC C-Level Module 1 - Extend Your Comfort Zones and Progress Towards More Competitive GC Play (Ref:GC5) (Course)
25: High Wycombe Master the Foundations of AC (Course)
25-26: Northern Academy Become a Croquet England Club-Level Coach (Course)
22: Phyllis Court Golf Croquet D-Level (10+) Series Tournament (GC)
22: Roehampton Golf Croquet 4+ Level Tournament (GC)
23: Surbiton Surbiton Level Play Day (GC 0+) : Singles (GC)
24: Watford Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
25: Newport (Essex) One-Day GC Level Play Tournament (0+) (GC)
25: Pendle & Craven Northern Stars One-Day GC Open Qualifying Heat (GC)
25: Sussex County Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series Tournament (GC)
25-26: East Dorset Golf Croquet A-Level (DG<2000) Series Tournament (GC)
26: Sussex County Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
23: Crake Valley AC Alternate Stroke Doubles (AC)
23-24: Woking Super-B-Level (AC) Tournament (AC)
25-26: Budleigh BSCC AC B-Level Advanced Weekend (AC)
25-26: Colchester Spring Weekend Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)
25-26: Middlesbrough Handicap (AC) Weekend (AC)
25-26: Woking Advanced Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)
28: Northern Academy More Winning Ways in AC (1) (Course)
29: Northern Academy More Winning Ways in AC (2) (Course)
29: Surbiton A Clinic with the Swing Doctor! (Course)
30: The Academy GC C-Level Module 2 - Coached Games. Make Better Tactical Decisions (Ref:GC6) (Course)
30: Northern Academy One-to-One Coaching with Dave Kibble (Course)
29: Phyllis Court Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)