CROQUET GAZETTE Issue 423| October 2026
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WELCOME
Not so long ago, I was lucky to find myself visiting one of our hidden gem Croquet Clubs; a single lawn tucked away in the heart of a small town in mid-Wales, with neighbouring tennis court and cricket pitch. I had been contacted by the founder of the club, Jan Crisp, who was enquiring about indoor croquet. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of indoor croquet, especially over the winter months when our small communities might otherwise end up in hibernation. I happened to have a spare indoor court stored locally, so I offered to deliver the equipment on my next trip in that direction. As I drove the 225 mile trip west from home, I pondered what I might find when I arrived. The Llanidloes Club members
Croquet Gazette Issue 423 | October 2026
CROQUET GAZETTE Issue 423| October 2026
turned out in force, to set courts, support the teams
playing, make teas, welcome guests and most of all, cheer, clap and whoop. As I sneaked in the sidegate to join the crowd, I felt it was a privilege to be spectating at the Welsh Croquet Association Golf Croquet Team Championship
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2026. Llanfairfechan Croquet Club played superbly against Glamorgan Croquet Club gaining an excellent 8-4 win. When I arrived, the impressive spectacle showcased 8 players on the single lawn, fiercely competing their doubles matches, two teams starting at the traditional corner 4, and the other two with secondary colours from corner 2. The sight of a championship event being hosted by a single lawn club, showcased where grassroots can support the topflight tournaments, and where hosting a tournament like this can highlight a club’s passion and prowess. Not long after the presentations and praise for the excellent croquet from the top players in the region, the conversations quickly led back to grassroots, and how their “ball-in-a-bag” will continue over the winter with the indoor courts. The “ball-in-a-bag” is a simple yet brilliant concept where everyone in the club has a ball with their name on, and each week they are picked from a bag to find an opponent to play in the roll-up. This ensures that everyone gets a chance to play with a variety of people, helping to reduce cliques and encourage a welcoming yet competitive environment for everyone involved. A little piece of my heart will now belong to this little club in the heart of Wales, where one day, I hope, my own little ball might be picked from a bag. Alison Alison Maugham Editor editor@croquetengland.org.uk
Front Cover: England: World Team Champions (Page 7) Image credit: Martin Conway
CONTENTS 4 Tunnel of Time 5 The Chair’s Perspective 6 The Centenary MacRobertson Shield 11 Letters to the Editor 13 AC World Teams Tiers 2 & 3 14 Swing Clinic 16 Short Croquet Focus 17 Association Croquet News 24 Golf Croquet News 28 NWFederation Festival of Croquet 29 Coaching Pages 32 The little wins ... from DB Mallets 33 Obituaries
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TUNNEL OF TIME Past Gazettes can be found on the Croquet England website at croquet.org.uk/?p=members/gazette&Action=Issues. Currently there are searchable scans of the Gazette back to 1953.
CHRIS WILLIAMS Croquet England Archivist
AKA 'Statto' Keeper of Croquet Statistics, visit croquetrecords.com
70 YEARS AGO In the October 1956 Gazette (#22) Notes by Rover: Shortened Games The experiment of timed games at the Hurlingham tournament, together with Major Abbey’s letter in our August issue, has brought prominently before croquet players the difficult question of whether the game of croquet as played today is too long to attract many new players. This, we think, is the crucial question and not that any change is primarily desired either to help managers or to shorten tournaments. Doubtless the council will give consideration to the matter. It seems to us that there are two fundamental questions which must first be asked and answered. They are these: (a) is there a real and pressing need for the introduction of a shorter game, and (b) if there is such a need can the game of croquet be shortened in any way and still remain the same fascinating trial of skill that it is today. Major Abbey’s letter suggests that the answer to the first question is yes. Many are doubtful and few would go so far as to say that croquet will be dead in twenty years time if some change is not made (as we have on occasion heard it said). It is the natural inclination to say why not leave well alone and wait and see. Is this wise ? Still it would be far better to do nothing if the answer to our second question is no. This question seems to be even more fundamental than the first, for if croquet is to suffer by being shortened then let us make no mistake and know that there is nothing to be done about it. We hope the matter will be given the close consideration that it deserves and will be fully discussed.
I wonder if it is reasonable to expect them to continue to do so, particularly as the amount of time and travelling involved can become quite considerable. On much the same topic, there is still considerable interest in croquet as a possible television sport. This year, the winning prize for the Royal Bank Nations Trophy was just £150, but one has only to look at other televised sports to see how the prize money has increased dramatically as each sport has taken off. In my view, we ought to be thinking now about the impact of ‘professionalism’ on croquet. When professionals begin to appear (either as players or as coaches), do we want to keep them in the fold, or do we want to have two separate organisations? CHRIS HUDSON 45 YEARS AGO In the November 1981 Gazette (#164) 1981 ANNUAL REVIEW Trend confirmed Most of those deeply involved in croquet agree that the game must expand if it is to survive into the next century or at all. As labour-saving technology advances, so the age of retirement will retreat and the demand for organised leisure of all forms will increase. Croquet can wither advance to take its share of these youthful retirees or stand idly by, waiting for the inevitable competition from sports that covet large areas of flat turf for their more profitable ends — and ultimately suffocate. With this intentionally sombre backdrop it is slightly reassuring to conclude that the past season has seen a small acceleration in the drive for public awareness of the virtues of croquet.
35 YEARS AGO In the September 1991 Gazette (#217) New Sponsor for the President’s Cup Angostura Aromatic Bitters are to be the new sponsors of this year’s President’s Cup, to be held at Colchester Croquet Club from 4th-7th September. Whilst Angostura has been actively involved with sailing at its home base in Trinidad, this is the company’s first venture into sponsorship in the UK. Originally produced over 150 years ago and now sold throughout the world, like croquet itself, Angostura’s origins are somewhat mysterious. 40 YEARS AGO In the November 1986 Gazette (#188) Professionalism & Croquet Two members of the Australian team that recently played in the MacRobertson Shield Series are reported to be on their way to America to take up appointments there as croquet professionals. In much the same way as Golf Clubs have their own resident Golf Professional, croquet in the States has now reached the point where it is possible for someone to earn a living as a coach. The same situation could arise in this country, perhaps rather quicker than most of us think. The demand for coaching is increasing rapidly, and already we have a number of people who are spending a lot of their time (unpaid) in coaching new players.
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THE CHAIR’S PERSPECTIVE
By Carol Driver Chair of the Trustees, Croquet England
I really enjoy visiting croquet clubs and am always surprised by how different they are but all share a love of croquet and the hard work of volunteers to keep them running. At Ramsgate club which is right next to the sea, I watched the Golf Home Internationals in July. I met Marie, Tim and Jeanette (see photo) working cheerfully in the kitchen who prepared a fantastic lunch. The tournament manager was Tobi Savage who gave up his weekend to do this even though he works full time and has a young family. (see photo). In early September I visited with my husband Ken, two fantastic Yorkshire croquet clubs, Huddersfield and Ben Rhydding. Huddersfield croquet club is based in a local park and they play on what was previously a crown green bowling lawn. They introduce croquet to new members by playing AC. Ken and I met president Majorie (see photo) and other members and received a wonderful warm welcome. Ben Rhydding croquet club is situated in countryside with a magnificent backdrop of the Dales. I met hard working Secretary Penny and Eileen (see photo) and lots of other members. The club is thriving despite the challenge of playing on quite bumpy lawns shared with a tennis club. They recruit new members successfully through contacts with U3A. Club players enjoy the challenge of navigating the lawns and this reminded me that croquet is a really great game that can be enjoyed on any lawn. At Croquet England we rely heavily on volunteers such as those I met this summer and we really appreciate all the work they do. Last winter we published our Volunteer Charter which is a helpful document for clubs. This sets out how we as organisation would like our volunteers to be treated and what they can expect in return, I recommend that everyone reads it and reflects on how it can be implemented in your club. It can be found on the Croquet England website.
A trip to Huddersfield Croquet Club
Tobi Savage at Ramsgate Croquet Club
Above: In the kitchen at Ramsage Croquet Club Left: Penny and Eileen at Ben Rhydding
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THE CENTENARY MACROBERTSON SHIELD By Andrew Gregory and Marcus Evans
The centenary MacRobertson Shield (101 years after the first edition, thanks to a Covid-enforced rescheduling 5 years ago) was hosted by Croquet England across late July and early August. The first tests were held at Hurlingham and Roehampton. Matches alternated between the two clubs, so everyone experienced both. This was a Good Thing, and it helped that conditions at both were similarly excellent. I tried to count peeling turns, which shows two things: 1. I can’t count. 2. Approximate numbers of triple peels (TPs) - or better - per round: Hurlingham and Roehampton: 58 Southwick: 13 Surbiton: 17 England v Australia I feared a shellacking for the Australians, who were missing some key players and as a result had ranking grades of around 200 points per player lower than the England team. There has never been a 21-0 test in the Mac. That was avoided on the first day. Stephens Forster and Pearce were responsible for 4 of the Australian match wins, with 2 out of 3 in their doubles, and 1 win each in the singles. The only other Australian point was Greg Hill joining the exclusive club of players to defeat Robert Fulford in the Mac. Another admittance to an exclusive club came when James Death completed a sextuple peel later in the test, to secure the winning 11th point for England. He joins Paul Skinley (the first in 1979, in a doubles match), David Maugham and Stephen Mulliner (2 each), and Robert Fulford (14). Yes, fourteen!
NZ v USA On paper this was the closest Test. It was perhaps unfortunate to schedule it in the first round, but it was necessary to do so to maximise the chance of a straight shootout for the Shield in round three. Day one (Hurlingham) NZ win 2 out of 3 doubles matches. Day two (Roehampton) NZ win 2 out of 3 doubles matches. Day three (Hurlingham) A close day of singles with 4 of 6 matches going to 3 games. At the top Paddy Chapman beat Matt Essick in a three TP match. Zack Watson beat Logan McCorkindale, +2 in game 3. Wins for Balding, Webby and Maloof left the Test score at USA 5 NZ 6. Stephen Morgan and Aaron Westerby had a late start so were last to finish. One imagines their team-mates taking a keen interest, whether at lawnside or nearer the hut I don’t know, it was on court 2 so out of range of cameras. Westerby won the decider +4. Day four (Roehampton) NZ win two of the doubles 2-0. In the other match USA win the first with an Essick TPO, but then Westerby completes two TPs for a perfect day for the Kiwis. USA 5 NZ 10 (first to 11)
Continued on page 7
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THE MAC CONTINUED
Day five (Hurlingham) The conditions were benign, the players by now match sharp, so we saw a feast of peeling. Of the 16 games, only 4 had no letters. First to finish, Zack Watson beat Paddy Chapman 2-0. Next Matt Essick beat Logan McCorkindale in a three TP match. USA 7 NZ 10 It fell to Aaron Westerby to secure the test in another three TP match v Kyle Maloof. They were on the show court so you can watch it back on YouTube. Westerby’s final turn had some interest. After that USA were deflated, the final test score was 14-7, though it felt closer. The key advantage for NZ was that several of their players had come to the UK weeks before the event to acclimatise by playing tournaments. Round 2 The rubric stipulated that the winner of one Test play the loser of the other. That is England v USA and NZ v Australia. Following a lengthy legal wrangle, Croquet NZ felt compelled to select Jenny Clarke for the second and third round. Greg Bryant was the unlucky player to make way. While neither test was especially close, there were many exciting games. This is because the lawns were quick, thus there were fewer TPs, more often clips would be 4-back and peg. Pegging out the opponent is also more tempting in
tricky conditions. More than once I saw players two breaks down going all the way round to peg out the opponent, conceding contact. There was an amusing incident on day two on lawn 4. Paddy Chapman had reached peg and peg. Greg Hill was 4-back and peg. In making his leave he inadvertently pegged out one of Chapman’s balls. He was only alerted to this by his vigilant opponent. Luckily the peg-out was in a croquet stroke so Hill could still make a leave. The Australian won the game +1 (and eventually the match 2-1). My match of the round is Robert Fulford v Matt Essick (day five, lawn 7). This was potentially historic as at this point Fulford had won 99 matches in the Mac (including Doubles). This was on the same day that Stephen Forster had become only the fourth player to play 100 matches in the Mac. The only previous AC match between these two was the 2023 World Championship final, which Fulford won from 0-2. Game 1: Essick pegs out Fulford, backward clips 2-back and 4-back. Fulford has finishing turn, fails rover. Essick hits a 25-yarder, then a brilliant croquet stroke sets up the finish. Game 2: Essick is on 4-back and peg. Fulford goes round and pegs out oppo, conceding contact. Balls left on south boundary and in 2nd corner.
Continued on page 8
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THE MAC CONTINUED
Essick takes contact and with some enterprising play, makes his last 3 hoops, but then misses a 10-yarder. After a couple of turns Fulford allows Essick a sight of the peg from 16 yards, but a miss would give a good chance for the break. Essick does miss. Fulford does finish with scarcely an alarum. Game 3: after a supershot opening there are 3 balls in the middle of the lawn. Essick hits 4th turn but fails to get going. Fulford goes to 4-back, Essick hits and completes a standard TPO (Triple Peel on the Opponent). Fulford has two good half-chances in the endgame but Essick is able to progress to 3-back, before pegging out his peg ball to leave a 2 ball ending that he soon finishes to win the match +2, -1, +11TPO. This didn’t prevent England running out 15-6 winners, with NZ defeating Australia even more convincingly, 16-5. The deciding test – England v New Zealand Previous results, both in this event and previous ones, suggested the match would be close. Day one James Death and Samir Patel played extremely well to beat the strong Kiwi pair of McCorkindale and Westerby, but New Zealand won the other 2 matches to take an early lead. Day two Death & Patel win again, as do Fulford & Good (Fulford’s 100th Mac match win, at the third time of asking) but the invincible England pairing of the previous Shield campaign, Avery & Burch, drop another match, leaving the test level at 3-3. Day three All six singles matches in this round were extremely competitive, with England edging ahead 3-2 on the day. Now I must mention the Game That Would Not Die. At some point, maybe around teatime, my understanding is that Jack Good attempted a peg-out. The croqueted ball hit. The striker’s ball went a couple of yards past. Good missed. Later, Good hit in. “He’ll probably take off to the peg and miss,” opined some wag by lawn 4. I really wish I hadn’t said that.
At 6.20pm Westerby won game 1, +1. Progress in game 2 was more rapid, but still had to be pegged down with Westerby 4-back & 4-back, Good 2-back and penult, with a break for the forward ball. England 6 New Zealand 5 England are ahead for the first time, crucially winning two matches from game down.Day Four Death & Patel won their fourth doubles match on the trot, but Fulford & Good lost to McCorkindale & Westerby. The third match had to be pegged down. As the light failed in the third game Burch went round and pegged out Chapman. Avery was for 4-back, Fordyce penult. England 7 New Zealand 6 Final Day Though they were ranked #2 in the playing order, I feel the respective talismans of each team were Robert Fulford and Paddy Chapman. They were the only AC world champions in the event. And their match got off to an excellent start for England, with Fulford winning game 1 +26TP by about 1015. 1050: Patel wins game 1 +26 v Fordyce. 1100: Death wins first game +17QP v McCorkindale. An impressive turn, albeit one that had the English commentary team nervously on the edges of their seats at times! 1235: Fulford hits peg from 12 yards to win the match 2-0. England 8 New Zealand 6
1248: Burch wins game 1 v Webby. 1250: Clarke wins game 1 v Good. 1255: McCorkindale wins game 2 v Death. 1312: Avery wins game 1 v Westerby.
At lunch, England have won one match, are game up in three, game down in one, and all square in the top match. 1540: three Englishmen are on finishing turns: Death and Burch on triples, Patel 4-back and peg. If all finish, England win. 1542: I delete “foolhardy” from my notes. A brave triple peel from Burch to win his match 2-0. England 9 New Zealand 6
Continued on page 9
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THE MAC CONTINUED
England 11 New Zealand 7 Fittingly for a tournament with many close scores, the deciding game was +1. All unfinished matches are abandoned, the England celebrations commence. In the third place match, USA beat Australia 17-4, their biggest ever MacRobertson Shield test win. Thanks to a huge effort from Alison Maugham, Stephen Allen, and a small army of other volunteers, more matches were streamed live on YouTube, with audio commentary, than ever before. So do check out the Croquet England YouTube channel, where the recordings remain for posterity. And for full results of all games, plus records of live text commentary from some games, visit croquetscores.com.
1600: Clarke wins game 2 vs Good +26, and the match. England 9 New Zealand 7 1635: Death and Avery on finishing turns. That would be enough. 1643: Patel misses 18-yarder. Fordyce wins game 2 +3, match score is 1-1. 1645: Avery completes triple peel, wins match 2-0. England 10 New Zealand 7 All attention is now on lawn 2. At this point, if you don’t already know the result (or even if you do), I recommend looking up the live coverage that can still be found on YouTube, so you can see for yourself what happened, before reading on. 1647: Death fails penult. Penult and rover v McCorkindale 4- back and peg. McCorkindale hits a 6-yarder, sets up finishing chance. 1703: McCorkindale misses peg out from 4 yards. Blue finishes one foot in from middle of west boundary. Black is pegged out. Rover and rover v peg alone. 1705: Death Yellow hits Red (5 yds). Takes off to Blue. Stops it toward 2nd corner. Lays up near 4th corner with a 3-yard rush vaguely pointing at rover. McCorkindale shoots at peg. Misses. Death Yellow hits Blue, take off to Red gives a rush pointing west. Red is cut 1yd NE of hoop 1. An optional approach sends Red 3yds SW of hoop 2. Yellow runs rover to the boundary, then goes off west boundary 5yds S of 2nd corner. 1715: McCorkindale’s Blue is now 10yds north of 4th corner. He shoots at the peg. Misses. Death Red hits Blue, to applause. Iit was only a 3-yarder but the crowd is excited! Death now has to take off to Yellow which is 4yds north. The crowd is alarmed as Red turns left toward the end of its journey. But all is well. Death rushes to 3yds NNW of rover. Poor approach, later attributed to an uphill lie. 5-foot hoop, run off lawn. Relieved applause. The return “rush” is about 3 yards. Death cuts it 4yds west of the peg. Which is good news as he’s going away from McCorkindale’s ball. Doesn’t spend long lining it up but if it’s right, it’s right… 1724: Death wins and secures the MacRobertson Shield for England.
MACROBERTSON SHIELD TEAM THANKS
The England team in the MacRobertson Shield would like to record our thanks to all four clubs and the army of people who made the event possible and such a success. All of you, whether involved in lawn preparation, mowing or hoop setting, in clubhouses for facilities, lunches, teas or drinks, streaming, scoring and commentating, management, refereeing or just cheering us on, helped make the event a great experience. Samir Patel, England Team Captain Team England 2026 Sponsored by Alliance Witan
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Readers are reminded that the views expressed in the letters pages of the Gazette are those of the authors only, and not those of their clubs, unless specifically indicated.
PLATE WINNER In a single game competition where there is a main event and a plate, would it not be a good idea to award the plate to the winner of a playoff between the winner of the plate and the runner up in the main competition? After all they have both won the same number of games, and there would be a kind of justice there. Edward Dymock THIS SEASON’S TARGET SCORE APPROACH IN GC JUST SERVES TO CONFUSE
Am I alone in finding the current Advantage/Target Score handicap system for Golf Croquet an unnecessary and retrograde step for most ‘common or garden’ club players? I find it bizarre that it is now possible to lose a handicap game after you have scored 17 hoops to your opponent’s 2. Why was it judged as beneficial to change the approach previously taken, when the winning player always had to score 7 hoops, even if their better-handicapped opponent had to start on a significant ‘minus’ number as a consequence? I think the Advantage handicap system is fine and probably the best approach yet devised for enabling mixed ability GC players to play each other competitively, but losing a match to an opponent who only has to score 2 hoops, while in a worst case scenario you have to score 18, is truly bizarre and, in my view, a bit of a nonsense that also generates nonsense scorelines! Mathematically the challenge in a handicap game may not have changed, but psychologically making 7 hoops no longer the winning post for both players distorts the contest and undermines participation of the better club players in most handicap tournaments. As things stand, any average club player with a decent handicap (i.e. 4 or below) now actively avoids playing ‘lesser mortals’ in handicap events, as the perception is that you now only need to be on the receiving end of a couple of ‘flukes’, make a couple of bad shots yourself, or see your opponent make a couple of good shots… and the game is over and your own handicap rating heads south at a rate of knots! This robs new players (or distinctly average players such as myself) of the chance to improve their own game by playing opponents who are clearly better than they are. Such opponents are also the players from whom we all obviously have most to learn!
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
WHY ARE CANNONS SO UNDER USED? One of my five ‘follow-up’ coaching sessions to qualify to become a Club Level Coach is ‘Cannons’
From Andy Wilson-Chalon Chester & Bowdon Croquet Clubs
• Only 3 cannons occurred naturally (1 every 5 matches approx.) • They were all my opponent’s cannons 1) 2 chose to play worm cannons Why – remains a mystery – only a rush achieved and ball left isolated on yard-line 2) 1 chose a corner cannon achieving both a successful rush
In contrast, with my current obsession with cannons; I created 39 cannons out of 41 attempts (again 3 per game approx.) • Not one Worm cannon did I play: Wise beyond my years (all 80 of them) • 11 were corner cannons with all the benefits they offer • The rest were wafer or promotional cannons with one bombard cannon So, my question is “Why do low handicap players overlook or ignore the opportunity to create a cannon – when they get approx. 3 opportunities each game”
Thus, I have over the past 3 months been reading, watching on YouTube, and observing everything I can find related to Cannons. My observations for which I kept notes were quite revealing. I entered four 26pt Advanced Level Play (both timed 3 hours or untimed) in the past 2/3 months All my opponent’s handicaps were between 3 & -3. My handicap is 7. This added up to 14 matches (approx. 40 hours play) in which:
to next hoop & set forward pioneer at next but one hoop How good was that!!
At no time did my opponents attempt to create a cannon though I counted some 40 occasions (3 per game approx.) when to do so was a simple task
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WALES, SWEDEN AND GERMANY TAKE THE HONOURS IN TIERS 2 AND 3 OF THE AC WORLD TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP By Peter Death, Tournament Manager
Tiers 2 and 3 of the AC World Team Championship were competed for at Nottingham from 22 to 27 July, with a formal opening ceremony on 21 July, where the Sheriff of Nottingham welcomed the teams and also opened the newly relaid East lawns. Some of the club’s junior members demonstrated their skills during the ceremony. Nine teams entered: Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Canada in Tier 2.1, Sweden, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Latvia in the Tiers 2.2 and 3, 36 players in all. After 6 days of competition, Wales won Tier 2.1, Sweden Tier 2.2 and Germany Tier 3. Trophies and medals were presented on behalf of the World Croquet Federation by Graeme Roberts (New Zealand). All of this required lots of support from Nottingham members. At the prizegiving it was announced that no fewer than 56 members of the club had been involved as volunteers, refereeing, catering, setting up in the morning, clearing away at night, ensuring overnight security, and generally looking after our visitors. A particular mention goes to Charlie Paget, the groundsman, who came in at 5am each morning to mow the lawns and help set the hoops. A big thank you to all those who gave up their time to do all this.
Wales: Rick Harding, Chris Williams (capt), Angharrad Walters, Rich Waterman
THANK YOU FROM CROQUET ENGLAND
Sweden: Joi Elebo (capt), Eje Elebo, Joakim Norbäck, Daniel Larsson, Lewis Palmer
Hosting our prestigious World Croquet events can only be achieved through the significant efforts that our volunteers dedicate. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Catriona Peterson who expertly fulfilled the role of Tournament Director, ensuring our visiting players had a brilliant and welcoming competitive experience. Alongside Catriona, Peter Death who managed, and the volunteers at Nottingham Croquet Club ensured that the event was an enjoyable occasion by all who visited. Andy Andy Dalby-Welsh CEO, Croquet England
Germany: Bruno Hess (capt), Kevin Ferguson, Wolfgang Usbeck, Ulf Säwert
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THOUGHTS FROM THE SWING CLINIC
interosseus muscle). If the muscle is tense and tight then the player is gripping incorrectly. JUMP SHOT TECHNIQUE The technique which I coach for jump shots, is to get the right body shape, take a big swing, and hit the ball with a forward tilting mallet. This is a different mental concept from the one which is usually coached, which is to hit down on the ball. I find that this latter method tends to get players into a constricted body position, with an overly steep swing, and this is not conducive to executing big jump shots. The correct body position is the standard dynamic sports posture, with slightly bent knees and ankles, and whatever flexion of the hips is needed for the swing you want to take. Your lower back is set with a slight arch forwards (avoid slumping). Your body weight should never be over the heels, and it helps to have it slightly forward of normal. At address, the mallet is tilted forwards, and therefore you have to stand closer to the ball so that your upper arms hang down vertically from the shoulders. You can hold the mallet shaft in your normal place, or maybe an inch or two lower. There’s no need to go halfway down the shaft! From this position you take a big backswing, drop the mallet into the shot, and swing through with good rhythm. It’s really important to maintain the tilt angle of the mallet through the strike, so the wrists have to be firm. It’s therefore best to set your grip strength (using the correct fingers) during setup, and not to change this through the entire stroke. When starting out avoid using a lot of muscle in the swing, just concentrate on good rhythm and timing. This swing is as flat at the bottom as a normal swing, so you need good posture so that you can extend through the shot (with a tilted mallet!). Most players can execute a 2-3 yard jump shot easily after trying this a few times. HOW TO PRACTISE THE JUMP SHOT Obviously, being taught this technique doesn’t immediately make you great at jump shots, so you need some sort of practice routine. I advise players to first learn how to jump over something set at three yards, such as a ball carrier tube, or a boundary tube. The main emphasis of this practice is to develop a jump stroke which always jumps – this sounds really obvious but what you’re trying to do is to make the jumping as automatic as possible, so that you no longer have to think about it. Once you’ve got an automatic jump stroke, then you should learn to point it with more precision; I recommend a mixture of shooting at distant targets, as well as jumping over balls in hoops.
RAOUF ALLIM Grade 3 AC/grade 3 GC coach
JUMP SHOTS I recently had the pleasure of doing a day’s coaching with the Golf Croquet International Development Squad. For those who don’t know this is a coaching programme run by the inestimable Lionel Tibble, aimed at helping promising players improve their game to a high standard. My role on the day was to help players with their jump shots, particularly with respect to doing 7 yard jump shots. I think coaching jump shots is as much fun as a coach can have, so this was right up my street. I usually recommend using the Solomon grip for jump shots, as it makes it easy to handle the wrists correctly. For some of the players this was a new grip, and I noticed a grip fault which some of them automatically adopted, which was gripping with the wrong fingers. HURTY HANDS If you grip with the wrong fingers you can develop pain in your hands, especially at the end of a day’s play. It’s not uncommon for players to consult me about a pain at the base of the thumb, or in the space between the thumb and the index finger, in the top hand of a standard grip, or either hand of a Solomon grip. This can be first dorsal interosseous pain (yes, you may have to Google this) and it’s caused by overusing a pinching action between thumb and index finger. If you keep doing it eventually you may get myofascial trigger points in the muscle, and that is literally a real pain. The way to avoid this is to grip with the correct fingers. As an exercise, hold your hands up in front of you, palms towards you, and make a fist. Note the direction in which the fingers fold. The ring finger is the one that points down the middle of the forearm, and the index finger points outside the forearm line. What this means is that you should be gripping the mallet shaft with the ring finger, assisted by the middle finger, and the thumb and index finger should be relatively relaxed. If you’re the coach, and someone consults you about this type of pain you can get the player to grip the mallet shaft firmly, and with their permission you can touch the muscle between the thumb and index finger (the first
Continued on page 15
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SWING CLINIC CONTINUED
JUMP SHOTS ARE EASIER THAN YOU THINK If you use this technique I think you’ll find that jump shots are not too difficult. I’ve used this coaching method at my club for a few years, and most people can now do jump shots. Doing the jump shot in two stages, which is firstly to develop an automatic jumping technique, and then secondly learn to point it accurately, is much easier on the brain. It’s also less depressing than immediately trying to jump balls in hoops. This is two tasks in one, and it can be really depressing when you keep failing. So why not give this method a go!
Image right: Will Gee playing in the GC Inter-County Championship Image credit @davidelderphotos
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SHORT CROQUET FOCUS By John Harris NORTH AND SOUTH
The notable increase in SC events this year has led not only to “more people playing more Short Croquet in more places”, but also to a significant growth in players entering multiple SC tournaments. In some cases this involves round trips of several hundred miles. This is a friendly and welcoming community, keen to make the most of the rise in SC events round the country. Bury’s inaugural Barbara Young SC Tournament attracted handicaps ranging from 8 bisques to 4 peels. Almost all games pegged out within the 75 minutes allowed. An exciting final round saw seven players all with a fighting chance of lifting the cup, including Sandra Cornes (Bowdon), Tim Ash (Nottingham), Roger Brooks (Westmorland), and Bury’s Duncan Meachin and Roger Schofield. However two Fylde players proved too strong to overcome: Robert Brentwood topped the leaderboard, with Barry Broughton second. In a very nice touch there were bottles of wine for three runners-up and small bottles of cava for everyone else. Meanwhile nearby at Bowdon, the manager of their two-day SC event, Brian Medley, was kept busy organising twenty-two competitors from clubs across the North and Wales into no fewer than 98 games. A full range of handicaps took to the field, from players in the earlier stages of their croquet journey to those with four or five peels to fit in. Most of the games pegged out, aided by a generous 90-minute time allocation. In the end, experience and Bowden home talent had the best of it: the winner was Roger Schofield and runner-up Robert Cutts-Watson. The South West continues to be a stronghold of SC, with Bristol, Budleigh, Nailsea and Taunton among several clubs boldly flying the SC flag. Taunton runs monthly SC Blocks with a Rose Bowl awarded to the most consistently successful player, enters two teams into the Federation SC League, and honours a long-standing member by running an annual SC tournament deftly organised to be both a Federation team event and an individual competition. The SW SC season has long culminated in a very popular two-day tournament at Budleigh. For the first time this year it is advertised through the Fixtures Calendar, attracting entries from no fewer than 15 different clubs, making a splendid season finale.
Viking Challenge Day 2: l-r Louise McElarney (Crake Valley), Brenda Dawson (Southwell) and Kate Packham (Nottingham) pore over the Day 1 results (Photo: John Harris)
Over the Federation border, Blewbury’s lovely lawns drew another oversubscribed entry for their August SC tournament. Several top players enrolled hoping to consolidate their SC rankings including Joe King (5 peels) and Dave Kibble and Robin Brown (4 peels apiece). Watford’s Adam Huby, playing in his first SC tournament, won all his games convincingly and amassed the best hoop difference, but finished as runner-up by a whisker on a “quality of win” tiebreaker, missing out on the engraved glass to Blewbury’s Andrew Petit. York’s two-day Viking Challenge brought together a full house of players from several Federations. Manager Fiona Crompton seamlessly blended seasoned hands and recent SC recruits, through the CqE-approved 70% bisque approach, into a thoroughly enjoyable weekend in which players were spurred on by the added novelty of chocolate treats with a local connection for achieving various break-making targets. Nottingham’s Brenda Ash proved difficult to beat, while fellow Club member Tim Ash emerged as runner-up, closely behind home talent Denise Foster who after many years of competitive play took home her first ever trophy.
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MCWEENEY 2026: CROQUET ENGLAND VS CROQUET ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND
By Paul Hetherington
The line-up for the 2026 McWeeney looked pretty closely matched for this annual Croquet England versus Croquet Association of Ireland level advanced association croquet match. The Ireland team captained by the charismatic Carrickmines club captain Alan Looney (2.5) supported by Jane Morison (-0.5), Brina Havill (2), Duncan Styles (4) and Nigel Werner (5) took on the England team captained by Paul Hetherington (2) with Dom Aarvold (0), Charlie Martin (2), Stephen Harbron (2), Steve Leonard (3.5) and
Alex Lake (6). Players were paired by D Grade with 1& 6, 2 &5 and 3 & 4 pairing for two rounds of doubles, whilst the singles saw 1 to 3, and 4 to 6 play off against each other over three rounds. The first morning saw a light drizzle which ended shortly after play commenced with England taking a slender two to one lead after the round of doubles. Lunch was delivered somewhat appropriately by Myles McWeeney son of the trophy’s benefactor. Round two saw the first set of singles shared three apiece setting up the final session of day one a further six singles which England eventually prevailed in five to one though not without a few +1 on time. Day one was rounded off by a fabulous tournament dinner at a nearby Thai restaurant generously hosted by the Irish who at this stage trailed five to ten, leaving England needing just three more games to prevail or two for a draw. Day two again started with a light drizzle that soon lifted as three doubles were set underway. England triumphed two to one ensuring the draw with six singles to play in which each player would face their opposite number, again following lunch delivered by Myles. England though had no intention of dropping the ball and again triumphed five to one for a 17 to 7 victory. Ireland’s consolation win came in the top pair where Dom’s failed triple peel enabled Jane to triumph narrowly even after having a ball pegged out. Jane Morrison was Ireland’s most successful player with four wins from 5.
Myles returned to present the McWeeney Trophy to the winning England team and the Maugham trophy for best player adjudged by the captains to be Stephen Harbron who managed five wins from five games. Steve Leonard passed the threshold for a handicap reduction to (3) following his three singles wins and Paul saw his drop to (1.5) after winning two out of three singles. Both teams praised the great camaraderie on display and the general fun of the event. The Carrickmines Club was thanked for hosting with particular comment by the England Captain for being the only club in Ireland with four lawns, so important for hosting of competitive croquet events. The trophy returned to England via ferry and car and currently adorns a Kentish piano. I would recommend any interested association players put their names forward for 2027 selection when the contest resumes in Pendle. England hold a slender overall lead of 20 wins to 19 so all to play for.
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GLASGOW QUAICH: CROQUET ENGLAND VS CROQUET ASSOCIATION OF SCOTLAND
By Matt Cook
England regained the Quaich with a convincing 17-7 victory over Scotland at Chester Croquet Club over the weekend of 5th-6th September. The win ended a run of three consecutive Scottish successes and marked England's first victory since the Croquet Association became Croquet England. The annual fixture saw teams of six players contest six level play advanced doubles matches and eighteen singles matches over two days. England, captained by Matt Cook, fielded Roger Brooks, David Cornes, Richard Platt, Stuart M Smith and Robin Tasker and the Scottish side, led by David Magee comprised Roger Binks, Stefan Colling, Brian Durward, David Houston and Fiona McCoig. Players travelled from across Britain to take part, including competitors from as far north as Shetland (surprisingly in this case an England Player) and from as far south as the south- east of England. The Chester lawns provided a challenging test. A noticeable slope towards the south-west corner, combined with variable grass coverage, resulted in differences in pace across the courts. As a consequence, many games developed into
tactical contests, with break-building proving more difficult than might normally be expected at this level. Surprisingly few games were decided by peg-outs, with position and defence often playing a larger role than extended breaks. England made an excellent start on Saturday morning, taking all three doubles matches. They followed this with four victories from each of the two rounds of singles games to establish an 11-4 overnight lead.
ROEHAMPTON: GOLD CUP 2026 By Joel Taylor James Death won the 2026 Roehampton Gold Cup defeating a
Yankee pitcher Lefty Gomez once said, "I'd rather be lucky than good". Death was about to show us that he is both. Murray opted to lift his peg ball and cooperatively missed the 9 m double target from B baulk. Sensing an opportunity to guarantee the peeling prize, Death started his second turn with a 7 m rush-peel of partner followed by 6 more peels. The only time the peeling turn looked in peril was after 1b when Death needed to rush-peel partner through 3b up to his 2b pioneer which was next to 4b. The rush peel took just the right amount of wire and the rest of the turn went to plan for only the second-ever ranking septuple in history (the first one was
by Chris Clarke at Nottingham in 2005). Despite about 10 minutes of double- banker interference, he pegged out 50 minutes after the start of the game. Death finished the tournament with the best record of 7 wins from 8, narrowly beating Murray who had 5 wins from 6 (only losing to Death). Seven New Zealanders travelled over for the tournament, mostly for practice for the Mac, which started the following weekend at the same venue. The standard of play was very high overall --- 23 of the 49 games played involved peeling turns, and the many sextuple attempts kept the spectators entertained.
star-studded field of England and New Zealand Mac players thus becoming the super advanced national champion. Death was in superb form from the start with a triple and two sextuples from his six games played on the Saturday, but the best was yet to come. In his first game on Sunday against the overnight leader, Sam Murray, Death won the opening and in preparation for another 1b leave carelessly stuck in hoop six leaving opponent balls less than 30 cm from both of his balls, but with one pair cross-pegged and the other pair cross- wired by hoop six. As New York
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