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, 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.

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.

There are two main variants of the game played in the UK, see the introduction to croquet:

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 simplified version of Association Croquet played on half-size lawns.
- Garden Croquet - simplified Association Croquet suitable for beginners to play in the garden.

The Technical section tells everything else!

There are also some just-for-fun games you can play on a croquet lawn.

The tournaments section tells you all about the competitive scene.

Coming Up

Availability closes soon for GC Second Eight (The Kate Jones Memorial), GC First Eight (The Ricki Savage Memorial), and GC Third Eight (The Suzanne Roberts Memorial) >>

Where are the top players?

June

22-27: Sussex County The Golf Croquet Open Championships (GC)

July

3-5: Surbiton The Association Croquet Open Doubles Championship (AC)
6-11: Surbiton The Association Croquet Open Singles Championship (AC)

What's on?

June

26: Colchester Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
26: Guildford Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
26: Hunstanton Golf Croquet B-Level (3+) Series Tournament (GC)
26-27: Hamptworth Golf Croquet B-Level (3+) Series Tournament (GC)
27: Hunstanton Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
25-27: Nottingham The Championship of the East Midlands (AC) (AC)
21-26: Budleigh The National Veterans' (Over 65) Championship (AC)
21-26: East Dorset June Week (AC) (AC)
26-27: Meadows The Scottish Open (AC)
26-27: Middlesbrough B-Level Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
26-27: Roehampton B-Level Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
28: The Academy GC Every Shot is Tactical (from his new book) (Course)

July

1: The Academy GC Coached Games Day (Course)
3: Northern Academy Twelve Hoops, One Turn (Course)
4: Northern Academy Control, Tactics, Action! (Course)
3-4: Ashby The National Forest Golf Croquet Championship (Championship Series) (GC)

June

29: Watford Golf Croquet One-Day A-Level Tournament (GC)

July

3: Blewbury One-Day GC C-Level Tournament (GC)
3: Bury Golf Croquet B-Level (3+) Series Tournament (GC)
3-4: Norwich Restricted Entry Level Tournament (GC) (GC)

June

29-1: Colchester Over-Fifties' Midweek Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)

July

2-4: Wrest Park July A- and B-Level Advanced (AC) Tournament (AC)
2-4: Cheltenham Open Class Singles (AC) Tournament (AC)
3-4: Sidmouth Class Weekend (AC) (AC)
3-4: Bowdon B-Level Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
8-9: The Academy AC Beginners' & Improvers (Course)
7-8: Ryde Golf Croquet Open Series Tournament (GC)
8: Bath Golf Croquet B-Level (3+) Series Tournament (GC)
6-7: Hamptworth Class Singles Midweek (AC) Tournament (AC)
6-9: Pendle Midweek Tournament (AC) (AC)
7-8: Letchworth July Midweek Tournament B-Level (AC) (AC)
10: Colchester One-Day 14-point Advanced (AC) Tournament (AC)