Croquet England Logo
Croquet England Logo

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

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:

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

Where are the top players?

September


What's on?

  • 16: Camerton & Peasedown Open Doubles Tournament (GC Level Play) View details (GC)
  • 20-21: Budleigh Golf Croquet B-Level (4+) Series National Final View details (GC)
  • 20-21: Cheltenham Daniels Cup Handicap (AC) Tournament View details (AC)
  • 20-21: Guildford The AC All-England Handicap Final View details (AC)
  • 27: Wrest Park The GC Inter-Club Championship Tier 3 (Bowl) View details (GC)
  • 27-28: Compton (Eastbourne) Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series National Final View details (GC)
  • 27-28: Ryde Golf Croquet A-Level (0+) Series National Final View details (GC)
  • 28: Roehampton The GC Inter-Club Championship Tier 2 (Murphy Shield) View details (GC)
  • 23: Watford The AC Inter-Club for Federation Teams (Secretary's Shield) View details (AC)
  • 27: Cheltenham The AC Inter-Club Handicap Championship (Longman Trophies) View details (AC)
  • 27-28: Surbiton Ark Advanced Handicap (AC) Tournament View details (AC)
  • 28: TBA The Short Croquet Inter-Club Competition View details (AC)
  • 18: Online Board of Trustees Meeting View details

October

  • 11: Online Board of Trustees Meeting View details
  • 11: Online Executive Meeting View details
  • 12: Online Tournaments Committee (Association Croquet) Meeting View details