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:

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

Where are the top players?

May

9-10: Colchester The East Anglian Golf Croquet Championship (Premier Series) (GC)
9-10: East Dorset The Western Championship (AC)
14-17: Nottingham The ERC European Golf Croquet Championship (GC)
17: Surbiton National Schools Championships (AC) (AC)

What's on?

7: The Academy GC Master Class with Stephen Mulliner (Ref:GC7) (Course)
7: Crake Valley Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
7: Ryde Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
7: Surbiton Surbiton Level Play Day (GC 0+) : Doubles (GC)
9: Ashby Northern Stars One-Day GC Open Qualifying Heat (GC)
9: Pendle & Craven Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series Tournament (GC)
9: Sussex County Golf Croquet D-Level (10+) Series Tournament (GC)
9: Tunbridge Wells Montevideo Cup - GC Level Play (GC)
9-10: Bury Golf Croquet A-Level (DG<2000) Series Tournament (GC)
7-10: Nottingham The AC Peel Memorials (Handicap Singles and Mixed Doubles) (AC)
8-10: Budleigh BSCC Spring AC Tournament (AC)
9: Blewbury May One-Day Short Croquet Tournament (AC)
9-10: Surbiton B and Super-B Weekend (AC) (AC)
9-10: Cheltenham AC Team Event - CqE Women vs. Oxfordshire (AC)
13: Northern Academy Breaks and Bisques (Course)
13: Eynsham GC - Become a Referee Blended Learning 1-Day Course (Course)
16: High Wycombe AC - Build Better Breaks Course (Course)
16: Northern Academy Classic Golf Croquet Skills and Tactics (Course)
17: Northern Academy Golf Croquet Skills and Tactics in Practice (Course)
13: Wrest Park Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series Tournament (GC)
15-16: Compton (Eastbourne) Golf Croquet A-Level (DG<2000) Series Tournament (GC)
16: Chester Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
16: Guildford Golf Croquet D-Level (10+) Series Tournament (GC)
16: Hamptworth GC 2 Class Group (All Grades) Singles (Level Play) Tournament (GC)
16-17: East Dorset Golf Croquet B-Level (DG<1700) Series Tournament (GC)
16-17: Hunstanton Golf Croquet Open Series Tournament (GC)
17: Chester Golf Croquet D-Level (10+) Series Tournament (GC)
13-14: Watford Midweek Advanced AC Tournament (AC)
15-16: Wrest Park May Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)
16: Surbiton The Charity One-Ball Championship (Regional Final) (AC)
16-17: Cheltenham Bernard Neal Advanced (AC) Tournament (AC)
16-17: Nailsea May Advanced Singles (AC) Class Tournament (AC)
16-17: Pendle & Craven B-Level/C-Level Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
16-17: Newport (Essex) Open Advanced (AC) Weekend (AC)
16-17: Roehampton Doubles Handicap AC (Combined 6+) (AC)
17: Bowdon The Charity One-Ball Championship (Regional Final) (AC)
19: High Wycombe A Clinic with the Swing Doctor! (Course)
20: Northern Academy Croquet for Fun! (Course)
20: Wrest Park Golf Croquet C-Level (7+) Series Tournament (GC)
20-21: Roehampton Golf Croquet A-Level (DG<2000) Series Tournament (GC)
21: Surbiton Surbiton Level Play Day (GC 0+) : Singles (GC)
19-21: Tyneside Midweek Handicap (AC) Tournament (AC)