Please see The CA Golf Croquet Pages for the Laws of Golf Croquet and Information on Golf Croquet Handicaps

For a simplified explanation of the 2008 changes in the Laws, click here

To download Bill Arliss's "Idiot's Guide to Playing the Wrong Ball" click here

For a printable PDF version of the SWF League rules click here

1.      LEAGUE AND ENTRIES

a.     The Federation shall organise leagues, known as Golf Croquet Leagues, in which teams from Member Clubs may play matches against one another.

b.     The number of all-play-all blocks in the leagues and the allocation of entrants to those blocks shall be at the discretion of the League Secretary, except that in a league containing 20 or more entrants that league shall be structured in a minimum of four blocks.

c.     The Federation Secretary shall invite applications from clubs in the Federation for places in the leagues for the following year when notifying them of the agenda for the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

d.     The deadline for entries shall be fourteen days after the AGM.

2.      FIXTURES AND VENUES

The fixtures and their venues for each season shall be laid down by the League Secretary, who shall send out notification to each club of its league fixture commitment for the following season no later than one month after the AGM.

3.      FIXTURE DATES

         a.     It shall be the duty of all clubs concerned to arrange the dates for their fixtures and submit them to the League Secretary by 1st February.

                Appendix 1 is to act as a checklist for club tournament secretaries / team captains.

b.     No fixture shall be arranged for a date later than the penultimate Sunday in August.

c.     It shall be the duty of the League Secretary to publish a full league fixture list, with details of dates and venues, in the South West Area Newsletter (SWAN).

d.     Once SWAN has been published, a fixture date may only be changed in exceptional circumstances with the agreement of both clubs and subject to immediate notification to the League Secretary.

e.     If two teams from the same club are in the same block in a League then those teams must play the fixture between them before any other game for either of those teams.

4.      ELIGIBILITY

a.     Only current playing club members shall be eligible to represent that club.

b.     No player shall play for more than one team during one season.

c.     Players must have a properly assessed Golf Croquet handicap.

d.     A CA handicapper, who is a member of a team, may not alter the handicap of a member of the opposition without that player’s consent.

5.      SIZE OF TEAMS

        A team shall consist of a minimum of four and a maximum of eight players.

6.      MATCH FORMAT

a.     Matches shall comprise twenty games, four doubles games and sixteen singles games.

b.     Matches may result in a 10-10 draw. Two match points shall be awarded to a winning team, or one match point to each team in the event of a draw.

7.      GAME FORMAT

         a.     All games shall be 13-point handicap games, played according to the CA Laws for Golf Croquet.

b.     Games may be played on small lawns only if full-sized lawns are not available at the home club.  In this case the home club must advise their

        opponents that small lawns are being used, for some or all of the games, at least seven days before the date of the match.

8.      TIME LIMITS

a.     Each game shall be given a time limit of 45 minutes.

b.     If a game should be held up because of double-banking, the clock in that game shall be stopped until the game can proceed.

c.     When time is called each team is entitled to 4 additional turns (the extension period). Extra turns may not be used during the extension period. If the

       scores are level after this then the game is drawn and each team will have earned a ½ game point. There will be no golden hoop (except under Rule 13e).

9.      PAIRING OF OPPONENTS

a.     It shall be the duty of the team captains to arrange the pairing of opponents for all games of the match. This can be agreed prior to each round

          b.     No one player shall play in more than two doubles and four singles games, and no game shall be repeated (except as allowed under Rule 13e)

10.    REPORTING OF RESULTS

It shall be the duty of the home club to inform the League Secretary of the match result and provide him with details of the games within seven days of the match.

11.    WALKOVERS/ABANDONED GAMES

         a.     If a club fails to provide the minimum size of team for any match, the League Secretary shall be empowered to award a walkover win to its opponents.

b.     A walkover win shall be scored 9-0.

c.     In the event of a match having to be abandoned, the match shall be awarded to the team with the most wins in completed games. If the number of

        completed games is shared equally, the match shall be declared a draw.

12.    FINAL BLOCK POSITIONS

a.     In determining the positions in an all‑play‑all block after all fixtures have been decided, teams shall be ranked in order of match points awarded.

b.     Where two teams have the same number of match points, the team which won the match between them in that season shall be ranked the higher.

c.     Where more than two teams have the same number of match points, a mini-block of the matches between the teams concerned shall be examined, and the principles of (a), then (b), above shall be re‑applied. If (b) above cannot be applied to the mini-block, the teams shall be ranked in order according to the percentage of games they have won in the mini-block during that season.

d.     Where, following the application of (c) above, two teams are now ranked equally, (b) above shall be re‑applied.

          e.     Where, following the application of (c) and (d) above, more than two teams are ranked equally, those teams shall be ranked in order of the average

                  points difference achieved per game played in the mini-block during that season.

f.      Where, as a result of (e) above, two teams are now ranked equally, (b) above shall be re‑applied.

g.     If (a) to (f) fail to resolve the equality in ranking, lots shall be drawn by the Committee to determine the matter.

13.    PLAY-OFFS AND FINAL

a.     After the final block positions for each of the constituent blocks have been determined, then in each block the team with the highest position shall be

       declared the Block Winner. The Committee shall arrange such play-offs between the block winners as may be necessary to produce two finalists.

b.     Play-offs shall be staged at the venues of block winners, and each block that is to provide the host and “Home” club shall be determined on a rotational basis and printed in SWAN.  Matches may be played on any date after the penultimate Sunday in August, by arrangement between the clubs involved, but no fewer than seven days before the scheduled date for the final.  It is the responsibility of both clubs in each match to inform the League Secretary of the agreed date.

c.     The league final shall be staged at the venue (host club) and on the date decided by the Committee and printed in SWAN. For the final, the “Home” club shall be determined by the League Secretary.

         d.     For each play-off and the final, the host club shall:

(1)   determine the number and size of the lawns (subject to Rule 7b); and

(2)   appoint a referee.

e.     If a play-off or final match ends in a 10-10 draw, each team shall nominate any two of its players, who have already played in the match, to play one

        further game of doubles to decide the match. A deciding game may not end in a draw. If the scores are level after the extension period, play shall

        continue until a further hoop is scored (golden hoop).

14.    MATTERS IN DISPUTE

The Committee shall have the power to resolve:

•  any matter not covered by the rules;

•  disputes over the interpretation of anything contained within these rules.

15.    AMENDMENTS

These rules are subject to amendment at any General Meeting of the Federation by simple majority of the delegates present.

APPENDIX 1

Step by step guide for arranging a League Match

HOME