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Golf Croquet

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Current World Champion

Blake Fields - Mission Hills, California





The USCA Primer on Golf Croquet.


Golf croquet is easy to learn and great fun for both beginners and expert players alike. Use this game to introduce croquet to new members.

Order of play: Blue, Red, Black, Yellow (always played in this sequence). One shot per turn.  Sequence of colors is on the peg. The order that the hoop points are scored is below.

Singles: Each player plays two balls, either Blue & Black or Red & Yellow.

Doubles: Player plays one color (if blue) and partner plays other team ball (then black) throughout the game.

How to score: Only one of the four balls can earn each hoop’s point for their team. Each hoop point is scored by only one ball, so that all four balls are always contesting the same hoop. A ball scores a point for its side by passing through the next hoop in sequence. If the striker’s ball causes another ball to run the hoop, the point is counted for the side whose ball ran the hoop. If two balls pass through the hoop on the same stroke, the point is scored by the ball that was closest to the hoop at the start of the stroke.

How to win: The object is to be the first side to score seven points or be ahead when time is called. If tied at six all, hoop #3 is contested as the 13th point to break the tie. Play is made by striking a ball with the face of a mallet. Turns are played in the sequence blue, red, black, yellow. Each turn consists of one, and only one, stroke. The striker’s ball may cause other balls to move and score points however, the striker’s mallet may never strike any ball other than the striker’s ball. The striker must play using the mallet face only.

Starting the Game: The side that wins a coin toss plays blue/black. The blue ball plays first. Each ball is played into the game from within a yard from corner 4.

Out of Bounds: A ball goes out of bounds as soon as any part of it lies over a boundary. When a ball goes out, it is placed just inside the boundary nearest to where it crossed the boundary.

The Halfway Rule/Offside: At the end of a turn where a point is scored, a ball more than halfway to the next hoop is offside, unless it reached its position on the stroke just played, or through contact with an opponent’s ball, or was moved to a penalty spot. When you have an offside ball, your opponent can elect that your ball’s next shot be played from one of the two P spots. The opponent chooses which spot.


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Golf_Course

The Golf Croquet course for a

game of first to seven points.

Glossary of Golf Croquet Terms

The terms set out below are listed alphabetically and are shown in italics when used in the Rules. A description given below may be subject to a more detailed definition given in the relevant rule.

Annulled If a stroke is annulled, it is treated as if it had not been played (see Rule 6.3.6).

Body References to touching or other contact with a player's body include touching or contact with any item worn or carried by the player, other than a mallet.

Boundary The inner edge of any boundary marking (see Rule 2.2.2).

Forestall play A player or referee forestalls play to fulfil their responsibility for the fair and correct application of these Rules by requesting that play is to stop. The request is to be made in a manner that can reasonably be expected to convey the request to those to whom it is addressed.

Hoop in order The hoop in order is the next hoop to be run which will result in a point being scored (see Rule 7.4.1).

Jammed ball A ball that is found to touch both uprights of a hoop simultaneously on some axis (see Rule 9.5).

Jaws The jaws of a hoop comprise the space enclosed by and including the inner surfaces of the uprights, the surface created by raising a straight edge touching both hoop uprights from the ground to the crown of the hoop on the playing side of the hoop and the equivalent surface on the non-playing side of the hoop (see Rule 7.1 and Diagram 2).

Loose impediment A small, removable object on the court surface. Examples include worm casts, leaves, nuts, twigs, refuse or similar material.

Match A contest between two sides, consisting of one or more games.

Offside ball A ball that may be subject to an offside direction.

Offside direction A direction by an offside opponent that an offside ball is to be next played from either penalty area as the offside opponent decides

Offside opponent The side opposing an offside owner.

Offside owner The side that owns an offside ball.

Outside agency An agency that may not lawfully affect play (see Rule 4.1).

Partner ball The ball of the striker's side that is not the striker's ball.

Penalty area A semi-circular area on the court, with a radius of one yard (see Rule 17.1.1).

Penalty area continuation A method of continuing a game (see Rule 17.2).

Previous stroke The stroke before the last stroke played.

Replaced Unless the relevant rule directs otherwise, a ball directed to be "replaced" is replaced in the position it occupied before it moved, whether as the result of a stroke or for another reason.

Start area Any position on the court within one yard of corner IV or within an adjacent area determined by the organising body.

Striker The owner of the striker's ball.

Striker's ball Normally, the ball that follows next in colour sequence after the ball played in the last stroke (but see Rules 1.2 and 6.3.4).

Striking period A period of time which starts when a player has taken a stance with apparent intent to play a stroke and ends when the player quits the stance

under control or, if sooner, when the turn ends (but see Rule 6.2.2).

Golf Croquet Links


Here is a list of the titles (in alphabetical order) of Golf Croquet articles.

You may need to get the Adobe Acrobat Reader.


 A Common Dilemma For Golf Croquet Referees by Gordon Matthews

 Bombards by Eric Sawyer

 Decision Tree On Wicket Approaches by Eric Sawyer

 Does Court Speed Matter by Carl Mabee

 Double Banking by Jeff Soo

 Double Taps And Pushes Close Balls by Owen Edwards

 Error Correction by John Riches

 Finer Points by John Riches

 Golden Triangle by Eric Sawyer

 Golf Croquet Fault And Wrong Ball Chart by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Fundamentals - The DT's by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Fundamentals - The DT's Continued by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Glossary by Owen Edwards

 How Golf Balls Can Help Your Croquet Game by Cheryl Bromley

 Learning The Three Approach Shots by Eric Sawyer

 Mental Approach by John Riches

 Next Ball Matrix by Eric Sawyer

 Official Rulings On The 2007 Edition Of The WCF Golf Croquet Rules by Owen Edwards

 Offside: An Attempt To De-Confuse by Owen Edwards

 One Ball Blocks Another From The Hoop by Eric Sawyer

 Playing The Middle Hoops by Cheryl Bromley

 Stun Stop Shot by Eric Sawyer

 Technique by John Riches

 The First Ball To Approach A Wicket by Eric Sawyer

 The Idiot's Guide To The Wrong Ball Law by Bill Arliss

 The Importance Of Developing A Pre-Shot Routine by Cheryl Bromley

 The Many Layers Of Golf Croquet by Cheryl Bromley

 Three Ways To Jaws by Eric Sawyer

 Use Sequence To Your Advantage by Jeff Soo

 Using The Accelerator And The Steering Wheel by Eric Sawyer

 WCF Golf Croquet Rules Index by Owen Edwards

 When Not To Try Jawsing by Eric Sawyer

 Croquet Checklist by Cheryl Bromley


Golf Croquet Rules

Improve your understanding of croquet rules to avoid faults and errors, and to play with the proper etiquette.

 

 A Common Dilemma For Golf Croquet Referees by Gordon Matthews

 Double Banking by Jeff Soo

 Double Taps And Pushes Close Balls by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Fault And Wrong Ball Chart by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Fundamentals - The DT's by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Fundamentals - The DT's Continued by Owen Edwards

 Golf Croquet Glossary by Owen Edwards

 Official Rulings On The 2007 Edition Of The WCF Golf Croquet Rules by Owen Edwards

 Offside: An Attempt To De-Confuse by Owen Edwards

 The Idiot's Guide To The Wrong Ball Law by Bill Arliss

 WCF Golf Croquet Rules Index by Owen EdwardsYou can buy a book about croquet.


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Don't spend too much time reading — get out there and play!