Golf Croquet Rules
Copies of the rules of Golf Croquet can be found in the club house and there are many rule summaries and explanations online. You can even discover the technical specifications for croquet balls: weight, circumference, colour and Resilience.
“When dropped from a height of 60 inches (1524 mm) from the boom of the ball onto a steel plate 1 inch (25.4 mm) thick and set rigidly in concrete, a ball must rebound to a height from the bottom of the ball of not less than 37 inches (940 mm).” Fascinating.
One golf croquet rule which challenges beginners is the question of where we go next. This diagram, reproduced with permission of Croquet New Zealand, makes it clear. What need not concern you much is the designation of the lawn boundaries as north, south, east, or west. Every game of golf croquet starts by hitting towards the west boundary. You should not confuse croquet west with compass west. Croquet West at Busselton is compass south for courts one and two, while court three’s west is compass east. Bridge players will, of course, be familiar with this convention.
Commentators on International Croquet Games will use these boundary labels. You can access such games on YouTube. They are well worth a visit.
Playing the right ball in the right sequence is also challenging – not just for beginners. Other rules you can pick up as you go along.