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

Where are the top players?

May

26-29: Budleigh The 2022 European Golf Croquet Championships (GC)

June

2-5: Sussex County Compton (Eastbourne) The AC Inter-County Championship (AC)
10-12: Surbiton The Golf Croquet Women's Open Championship (GC)
11-12: Carrickmines AC Home Internationals (AC)

What's on?

May

21-28: Roehampton Summer Tournament (AC) (AC)
28: Guildford Golf Croquet Handicap Doubles (GC)
28-29: Cheltenham The Cheltenham Golf Croquet Championship (Championship Series) (GC)
28-29: Hamptworth Golf Croquet A-Level (0+) Series Tournament (GC)
28-29: Surbiton AC International Performance Development Squad: Mentored Match Weekend (AC)
28-29: Blewbury High-Bisquers' 14-Point Handicap Weekend (AC)
28-29: Bowdon Advanced Weekend (AC) (AC)
28-29: Nottingham B-Level Singles Weekend (AC) (AC)
28-29: Newport Open Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
31: The Academy Short Court AC One Day Follow Up Course (Course)
31: Peterborough Peterborough GC C-Level Series Tournament (GC)

June

4: Meadows The Scottish Golf Croquet Championship (GC)
4-5: Colchester Colchester Ladies' Open GC Singles Tournament (GC)
4-5: Sidmouth Golf Croquet A-Level (0+) Series Tournament (GC)
4-5: Wrest Park The Wrest Park Golf Croquet Championship (Championship Series) (GC)
3-5: Hunstanton Over Fifties' Weekend (AC) (AC)
3-6: Carrickmines The Championships of County Dublin 2022 (AC)
8: Northern Academy Learn Short Croquet in One Day (Course)
9: Roehampton Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
11: Leighton-Linslade Golf Croquet B-Level (3+) Series Tournament (GC)
11-12: Pendle Golf Croquet Open Series Tournament (GC)
11-12: Ramsgate The Ramsgate Golf Croquet Championship (Championship Series) (GC)
7-9: Tyneside Midweek Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)
7-10: Pendle Midweek Tournament (AC) (AC)
8-9: Blewbury Midweek Advanced (AC) Tournament (AC)
8-12: Sidmouth June Mid-Summer (AC) Tournament (AC)
10-12: Woking Advanced Open (AC) Tournament (AC)
11-12: Crake Valley Advanced (AC) Tournament (AC)
11-12: Edgbaston B-Level Advanced (AC) (AC)
11-12: Newport B-Level (AC) Advanced Weekend (AC)
11-12: Ryde Isle of Wight Annual AC Advanced Tournament (AC)
11-12: York The Heart of Yorkshire Handicap Weekend (AC)
23: Online Executive Board Meeting