The Basic Rules of Golf Croquet
Introduction
There are two forms of croquet, both played socially and competitively, up to international level. The older and more complex is Association Croquet ("AC") - while Golf Croquet ("GC") can be picked up and played by beginners very rapidly. In GC, there is still a great deal of skill and tactics involved, but it is a quicker game, often taking something like 40 minutes.
Outline of the Game
1. The sides are Blue and Black versus Red and Yellow (or Green and Brown versus Pink and White). Doubles or Singles can be played: in Singles the player plays both balls of that side in alternate turns; in Doubles each player plays one ball only.
2. Play progresses in strict colour order: Blue, Red, Black, Yellow (the order of colours on the peg), then back to Blue again. If second colour balls are used, the sequence is Green, Pink, Brown, White.
3. Each turn consists of one stroke only. There are never any extra strokes for running hoops or hitting other balls.
4. The court settings and equipment are the much the same as for AC. Sometimes, each side carries six clips of their own colour, which are placed on the hoops to mark who scored each one as the game progresses.
5. The game starts by playing the balls in order from a position within one yard of corner 4 (see Diagram 1). Note that for friendly or club games this rule is often relaxed to be anywhere within one yard of the East boundary, and between corner 4 and level with the 4th hoop - this is so as to reduce wear on the corner area.
6. All players try in successive turns to run hoop 1. As soon as any player completes the running of hoop 1, then the hoop point is scored for that side. All players then move on to contest hoop 2, and so on around the court. So each hoop is scored only once, for one side or the other. The side scoring the hoop may place one of their coloured clips on the crown of the hoop.
7. The hoops are run in the order and direction shown in Diagram 1. The game is usually played as a "best of 13 point" game, and stops as soon as one player has scored 7. If the points are level after running the 12th hoop, the game is decided by contesting hoop 3 again. The peg plays no part in GC, other than as an obstacle and a reminder of colour order.
2. Play progresses in strict colour order: Blue, Red, Black, Yellow (the order of colours on the peg), then back to Blue again. If second colour balls are used, the sequence is Green, Pink, Brown, White.
3. Each turn consists of one stroke only. There are never any extra strokes for running hoops or hitting other balls.
4. The court settings and equipment are the much the same as for AC. Sometimes, each side carries six clips of their own colour, which are placed on the hoops to mark who scored each one as the game progresses.
5. The game starts by playing the balls in order from a position within one yard of corner 4 (see Diagram 1). Note that for friendly or club games this rule is often relaxed to be anywhere within one yard of the East boundary, and between corner 4 and level with the 4th hoop - this is so as to reduce wear on the corner area.
6. All players try in successive turns to run hoop 1. As soon as any player completes the running of hoop 1, then the hoop point is scored for that side. All players then move on to contest hoop 2, and so on around the court. So each hoop is scored only once, for one side or the other. The side scoring the hoop may place one of their coloured clips on the crown of the hoop.
7. The hoops are run in the order and direction shown in Diagram 1. The game is usually played as a "best of 13 point" game, and stops as soon as one player has scored 7. If the points are level after running the 12th hoop, the game is decided by contesting hoop 3 again. The peg plays no part in GC, other than as an obstacle and a reminder of colour order.
The Turn8. A turn consists of a single stroke. A stroke is played when the striker (the person due to play next) hits the correct ball with their mallet and causes it to move, or commits a fault (see para. 21). A player may not deem a stroke to be played.
9. When any ball leaves the court, it is placed on the boundary where it went off. If, when a boundary ball comes to be played, there is insufficient space outside the boundary to allow the striker to play the stroke freely, then the ball may be moved in from the boundary by the minimum amount required to allow an unhampered stroke. 10. If a boundary ball obstructs the playing of another ball, the boundary ball may be temporarily removed. If replacement of a ball on the boundary is prevented by the presence of another ball which will be played first, then the ball is replaced after the obstructing ball has been played. Otherwise the obstructing ball is temporarily removed to allow the stroke to be played. 11. A ball may be jumped over a hoop or another ball, provided that the lawn surface is not damaged by the mallet (see faults para 21(e)). Hoop Point12. A ball scores a hoop point by passing through the next hoop in the order and direction shown in Diagram 1. This is also known as running a hoop.
13. A ball begins to run a hoop when any part of it first emerges from the back (non-playing side) of the hoop and finishes doing so when the whole of it finally enters the front of the hoop (playing side), provided that it does not come back past this point later in the stroke (see Diagram 2.). 14. A ball may take more than one turn to run a hoop. 15. If a ball other than the striker's ball is knocked through the next hoop in order, then that hoop is scored for side owning that ball. If more than one ball runs a hoop in the same stroke, then the ball which was closest to the hoop at the start of the stroke is deemed to have scored the point. 16. If a ball runs two hoops in the same stroke, then both hoop points are scored. |
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