About Croquet
“Croquet is a challenging and intriguing sport requiring tactical ability, judgement and skill rather than strength and fast reflexes”
A Brief History
Croquet was introduced to England from Ireland in the 1830s. It grew rapidly in popularity during the Victorian and Edwardian eras but declined as the popularity of tennis grew. Croquet lawns were converted to tennis courts with two fitting within the area of a lawn.
One theory is that snooker owes its origins to croquet and became the indoor game during the rainy season in India when croquet could not be played.
The Game
The joy of croquet is that the rudiments of the game can be learnt quickly. Learning strategy is equally important as acquiring the skill to hit the ball where you want it to go! It is one of the few sports in which men and women can play on equal terms regardless of physique and strength.
Croquet is played with mallets and four coloured balls. The lawns are laid out with six metal hoops and a central peg.
There are two forms of croquet: Association and Golf. Association is a more complex game than Golf and requires higher levels of skill. Golf is quick to learn but still requires accuracy in hitting the ball and an understanding of tactics to master it.
Association Croquet
Golf Croquet
In many ways, Association is like snooker in which players take it in turns and build breaks by a variety of strokes and running hoops. There is only one player on the lawn at a time and each must go through each of the hoops in both directions and hit the central peg first to win. It is not uncommon for a good player to run every hoop in one break.
Golf croquet is a more sociable game played as singles or doubles. It is simple to play and can be learned quickly. Thirteen hoops are played in a strict sequence in which the first player to score a hoop gains a point. All players then move to the next hoop in the sequence. Each player plays the same colour ball, or two balls in singles, in a particular order throughout the game.
What do we play?
At Branston we play Golf Croquet though there is no reason why Association cannot be played if there is demand for it.