CROQUET NORTH FEDERATION: GOLF CROQUET COACHING BY THE BEST OF THE BEST By Dennis Scarr Chairman of Croquet North
Despite being known in some quarters as ‘a bit of a croquet desert’, here in Croquet North we do come across the odd oasis in our 88 mile‐long Federa6on Region, running from Bamburgh to Middlesbrough. We have seen a steady growth in Golf Croquet in recent years, which has been encouraging. Recruitment is one part of the strategy, reten6on the other and, regardless of whether people come to Golf Croquet for its sociability or to partake compe66vely, opportuni6es to improve your game are key to sustaining con6nued interest. Prior to the 2025 season Croquet North Execu6ve Commi7ee supported
believed to originally be from the world of Golf, that ‘prac6ce does not make perfect – prac6ce makes permanent’ sugges6ng that prac6sing the wrong things is of li7le value. Ul6mately the sessions on 17th & 18th June were well supported, including spectators, and feedback from par6cipants was extremely posi6ve. We at Croquet North would, once again, thank Chris & Jenny for the two excellent coaching sessions. Addi6onally, we thank Peter Tymms our GC League Manager, Tony McCann our photographer and those at Backworth and Durham Croquet Clubs who helped with sessions on the day.
a sugges6on by the GC League Manager, Peter Tymms, that we should organize some GC Coaching as an ‘across the Federa6on’ event. The decision was taken and the Minutes of the mee6ng recorded that the GC League Manager
should ‘organise some coaching’. What followed was quite startling!
The Coaching Sessions would be led by Chris & Jenny Clarke. Both are ex‐world champions and two of the most highly regarded coaches in the world. ‘How on earth did you manage to get them?’ was my ques6on. ‘I asked them’ was the answer. So, dates in the diary – 17th & 18th June at Backworth and Chester le Street, with a ‘meet the coaches’ Garden Party on 16th July. Places on the coaching sessions filled up quickly, with 80 people signing up. Opportuni6es were given to par6cipants to iden6fy, via a ques6onnaire, any aspects of coaching they would like to be covered. At the pre‐session Garden Party, Chris Clarke made the point that Croquet had given both him and Jenny so much that they saw it as very important to give something back. The coaching sessions would be a great opportunity for players with a range of abili6es to learn and grasp some of the tools they could use to improve their game. I had heard Chris Clarke on more than one occasion repeat the maxim,
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