BEHIND THE ADVANTAGE CURTAIN!
Participants in the trials were overwhelmingly supportive of the change, which meant securing official approval for the adoption of the Target Score Method (call it Advantage 2026 if you prefer) in time for the start of the 2026 season. In the end, those involved had just 16 short—but extremely frenetic—weeks, including Christmas, to obtain agreement and prepare the transition. The fact that the authorities were able to complete their due diligence and approve the change in time for the deadline was, in truth, quite an achievement. “But you still spring this on us with little notice and hardly any support. We’re left to work it out by trial and error. That’s not good enough for an organisation like Croquet England!” Ensuring everyone is aware of the change—and properly briefed—has indeed been a challenge for the team. To help, in addition to the new set of tables, they have produced an updated “How to Play Advantage” guide, along with briefings, posters and a set of FAQs, all available on the Croquet England website. In addition, every club has received an explanatory letter outlining the changes. “Harrumph. FAQs? What on earth are those?” Frequently Asked Questions—together with the team’s answers. It really is a useful resource. “Yes, yes—but that may be all very well for you young whipper-snappers! Just remember that some of us are not quite as nimble as we once were. Change is rarely welcome, and we tend to like things just as they are!” Col Mustard The Advantage Scoring table is shown on the next page
Considerable time and effort were then spent re-crafting the Advantage tables to support this alternative. The resulting system—dubbed the Target Score Method—was trialled for a year in the three countries where Advantage GC is most widely played: Australia, New Zealand and England. It came as no surprise that players welcomed the disappearance of negative scores. However, an unexpected benefit also emerged. As in Level Play and Handicap Play (but not previously in Advantage Play), it once again became possible to check the total scores during a game simply by looking at the hoop just run. This return to a familiar form of score validation was widely appreciated. Tournament managers also benefited because Advantage events could now be recorded properly on CroquetScores.com. “All right, all right, I can see the point. But to adopt this Target Score Method—what a mouthful!—I have to learn a whole new way of doing things. I’m perfectly happy with the old way. Why can’t we just carry on as before?” Running both systems side by side was seriously considered. However, the potential for confusion between supporting tables—work that currently falls to a single volunteer—would not have been sustainable. In the end, the only realistic option was to bite the bullet and transition fully to the new method at the start of the new season on 1 April 2026. Yes, well, I’m glad you mentioned the date, because that’s another thing. You don’t give us time to adjust. You just expect everyone to fall in line without complaint—and I for one am complaining! After the successful trials during 2025, which concluded in November, the organisers faced a dilemma. players was enormous, and maintaining the larger set of
“There has been a great deal of discussion recently about the unwelcome—and, to some,
www.croquetengland.org.uk | 12 was proposed: rather than a ‘staggered start’, introduce a ‘staggered finishing line’. The answer is that although the ‘staggered start’ worked, it often required stronger players to begin with a negative score. Unsurprisingly, that was not universally popular. There was also a practical difficulty: CroquetScores.com, widely used by tournament managers, was not designed to handle negative numbers. In response to feedback, a new idea unnecessary—changes to Advantage. Why on earth have “they” pulled the tree up by its roots just to check it is still growing? Do they not realise that most of us simply want to play croquet without having to wrestle with complex arithmetic at the end of the game? It might be all very well for the low handicappers, but what about the vast majority of players who seem to get overlooked in this rush toward the future?” At heart, the question is this: do we want to broaden opportunities for players of different handicaps to compete with an equal chance of winning? That was the original aim of Handicap Play using Extra Strokes. The system has worked and is now an established part of the game. However, many players—particularly some low handicappers—disliked how the tactics of the game were altered by the availability of those Extra Strokes. In response, the ‘staggered start’ approach was developed and became known as Advantage GC. It was trialled internationally and ultimately adopted into the World Croquet Federation’s Rules for Golf Croquet, 6th Edition, in March 2022. “So far, so good. But if the system was working, why change it?”
With many thanks to Roy Tillcock
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