Author: alisonadmin

 As you may know, the top Association Croquet players have been debating over the last few years how to make the game more of a challenge. While this may seem irrelevant to the vast majority of us (and I include myself in this), who can blob a six-inch hoop or miss a 2-foot roquet without the slightest provocation, if you ever go to watch a top-level event you may find this article helpful in working out what is going on!

          If you have watched A-class players in the past, you probably have some familiarity with 'Advanced' rules, whereby if a player runs either 1-back or 4-back, their opponent can start their next turn with a lift to anywhere on either baulk line (if they wish). If a player makes a break in which they run both 1-back and 4-back, and their other ball had not yet run 1-back at the start of that turn, the opponent can start their next turn by lifting one of their balls and placing it either at any point on either baulk line, or by placing it in contact with any of the other balls. In the latter case, this removes the normal need to begin a turn by making a roquet; the turn begins with a 'free' croquet stroke. The only exception to these rules is if a player has previously pegged a ball out in the game, they are not entitled to a lift or contact under these rules (they can still get a wiring lift though).

          As a result of these rules, you will usually see a player deliberately ending their first break and making a leave before they run 4-back, as this avoids giving a contact. Sometimes you will even see a player deliberately stopping at 1-back, in order to avoid giving a lift. This then gives rise to a subsequent triple peel in the first case, and the much more difficult sextuple peel in the second case. However, it was felt that even these manoeuvres were becoming too easy for the very best players, which meant the whole game was effectively decided on whether or not the opponent hit a very long shot.

          To counteract this, Super Advanced rules introduce a third 'lift hoop', to add to the existing lift hoops of 1-back and 4-back I have just described. In Super Advanced, if a player runs hoop 4 then their opponent can start their next turn with a lift. If a player runs 4 and 1-back in the same turn, and their partner ball had not yet run hoop 4 at the start of the turn, then their opponent can start their next turn with a lift or a contact. And if a player runs 4, 1-back, and 4-back in the same turn, and their partner ball had not yet run hoop 4 at the start of the turn, their opponent can start their next turn with a 'lift to position'. This means they can lift either of their balls and play it from literally anywhere on the court, including inside the yard-line.

          The lift to position is, as you would expect, even more powerful than the contact. This is because if you are conceding a contact, you can make your leave with all the balls on boundaries or in corners. This makes it very difficult for the opponent to immediately get a break, even though they can start with a contact, because it is hard to get a rush behind balls in boundaries or in corners. But if you concede a lift to position, the opponent can place their ball behind another ball you have left in a corner, and start their turn by rushing it to their hoop or to another ball. This makes it much more likely they will get going. For this reason, deliberately conceding a lift to position is rare.

          There is one further exception: a lift to position is NOT conceded if a player makes all the hoops that would normally result in a lift to position, but then pegs a ball out. This means that if you start your turn with your clips both on hoop 1 (for example), and your opponent already has a ball on 4-back, you can execute a triple peel on your opponent without fear of conceding a lift to position if you are successful. This rule was added because it would otherwise be too easy for the opponent who has been pegged out to make a winning break immediately. They still have access to a lift to baulk or a contact, though.

          "Sounds complicated!" I hear you say. I must admit it seems that way at first reading, and those who are or aspire to be referees would do well to re-read the above a few times, and also consult the CA website where the formal wording of what I have just described can be found in Appendix 5 of the latest Tournament Regulations. For the rest of us, let's just have a look at what practical effect it has on the game, and it should become clearer.

          In a typical game of Super Advanced, then, you will generally see one of three things from the player making the first break:

1. They will look to make a leave after making hoop 4, leaving their clip on hoop 5, 6, or 1-back. They will leave a rush for their forward ball, hoping to get to 4-back on their next turn if the lift shot is missed, whereupon they will make another leave and then subsequently hope to finish with a triple peel by playing their backward ball. Stopping at 5 or 6 has the advantage that you have more time to organise your second leave if the lift is missed, but going to 1-back is more common nowadays as this tends to give you better chances if the lift is hit. This is because if you later get in with your hoop 1 ball, you have a chance at a sextuple, or possibly a triple peel on your opponent where the further round your partner ball is, the better.
2. They will stop at 1-back and make a leave for the hoop 1 ball, looking to attempt a sextuple immediately if the lift shot is missed.
3. They will take the break round to 4-back, thus conceding contact, and hence usually aim to leave all the balls on boundaries or in corners. They then hope to hit in again later in the game with their backward ball so as to attempt a winning triple peel.

          An important point to note which makes things easier is that after the turn in which a player runs hoop 4, the rest of the game for that player is just like a normal game of Advanced play, except that when their partner ball runs hoop 4 this will give another lift. Note that running hoop 4 and 1-back in the same turn when partner ball is already past hoop 4 just concedes a lift, not a contact.

          Got all that? Good, then there is just one more Super Advanced rule you need to know, which concerns the opening. In fact, it only affects the very first shot of the game. On the very first shot of the game, the ball must pass through any hoop, or hit a hoop (or the peg), or cross the boundary line. If the player fails to achieve any of these, his opponent can either leave the ball as it lies and proceed as normal, or ask their opponent to place the errant ball at any point on either baulk line. The player of the ball has the choice of position, not the opponent. If this happens, they will usually choose corner III (though a tricky reply is opponent deems in corner I on the second turn, making it difficult to move both balls out of baulk on the third turn of the game), or the end of B-baulk (to prevent this).

          As a result of this extra rule, it is not uncommon to see the player of the first turn of a Super Advanced game lining up to hit their ball at hoop 5, hoping it will bounce off nearby and create the so-called "Supershot" opening - they hope to hit in on the third turn of the game and make a 3-ball break immediately.

          I hope this helps you understand this new variation of the game, once you have watched a few examples it will all become clearer, especially if you can get a friendly A-class player (and that describes almost all of us!) to explain it while it all unfolds.

This question was posed on the Nottingham Croquet Mailing List and the following answer was given by Jenny Clarke from New Zealand, reproduced with her permission.

Having had a lot of experiences of patches of bad play (also self-inflicted from time to time by doing exciting things like changing hands due to a persistent wrist injury, and not practising for long periods), I think I can probably comment with some ideas of what might be useful.

Before we start, ask yourself the following questions, and think gently about the answers, for the most recent period when you experienced a bad patch:

• Did you have a precise aiming point?
• Had you stalked every ball from a few yards back?
• Did you see your mallet hit the ball in each shot?
• Did you follow through in the direction of your target?
• Did you play a bad shot, or series of shots at some stage and then dwell on them as the game progressed?

Having had a good bit of honest reflection, perhaps you’re remembering some things you should be doing (maybe you are doing them, but I tend to find that my bad spells don’t stand up to this sort of questioning well - J). The next thing to think about is why things went wrong: wind, “yips”, someone annoying you before the game, quality of the grass, something about your mallet – e.g. the connection between head and shaft being loose/off-centre. Great to have inventoried your excuses – now time to put them aside, as it’s not their fault!

One of the reasons I bought a very good quality mallet, and why I got a fixed-shaft one, was to ensure that the mallet was never an excuse I could fall back on. I also tend to reject helpful players who offer up excuses for me – blaming bad play on something random doesn’t fix the problem. Asking yourself the questions near the top and going back to basics does go a long way towards making you functional even during the worst bad spells though.

I’ve just run a couple of early-season coaching days where we experimented (very successfully) with some game-based approaches to create a feel for strokes. It was a bit different as we did very little with altering players’ swings (and they were predominantly really new players), but more worked on getting them to understand what a good swing – using their mallet and their style - looks, sounds and feels like.

Apart from the game-based stuff, though, we always start with going through the basics. The basics, to me, are:

1. Aim. Go back about 4 yards and get in line with where you want to hit your ball to. Preferably choose a blade of grass where you want to aim, or a spot just behind a target ball if you are aiming at a ball (or a blade of grass an inch through a hoop you want to run – I find if I aim at the middle of the jaws of a hoop it too often ends up there!). It’s back 4 yards where I get ready for a shot – and this includes gripping your mallet with your hands where they’re going to be when you hit your ball. When your game is off and you’re feeling frustrated, this is one of the first things to go. One of the top Kiwi ladies will walk up to the ball from exactly 90 degrees to the line and just turn and shoot when she’s not feeling confident – not a good look!
2. Stalk your ball. Walk up to it in line with where you’re aiming. Have your mallet ready to strike the ball (rather than hanging at your side), and focus on your ball and the point you’re aiming at. Starting from so far back feels strange at first, but I find the main benefit is that I more often than not arrive with my feet at the right distance from the ball. It also helps to start from a ways back to line things up accurately. Since you have already taken aim and have your grip ready, you should be relaxed and concentrating on hitting the ball by the time you arrive at your final stance. If something is wrong, or your head is full of negative thoughts, no problem – acknowledge them, set them aside, and go back to Step One.
3. When you swing the most crucial point is to see your mallet hit the striker’s ball. Whenever I play a rubbish shot I try to ask myself “did you see your mallet hit the ball?”. If your answer is “I think so” – it’s probably a no! This is basically my cue where others use “keep your shoulders still” “keep your head still”, “keep your eyes over the ball”, “keep your head down”… - if you watch your mallet hit the ball, most people find their body parts stay in the right place.
4. Keep your body still when hitting the ball. Of course you have to move your arms, pivoting mostly at the shoulders. Also you can have a bit of flexing at your knees, but beware too much movement as that’s something that can let you down big time when you’re feeling nervous (I speak from experience!!).
5. Follow through deliberately in the direction of your aim. I told a beginner this last week – she was having wafty little shots that dribbled left or right of her target. I asked her to follow through as though her mallet was the thing that had to hit her target. She responded with three consecutive centre ball contacts! Again, feeling “off your game” can often result in more and more pokey play where you prod at the striker’s ball – learn to follow through smoothly and in the direction of your aim – if someone were to photograph you at the “end” of your swing, you’d hope that the mallet was reasonably high off the ground, and the mallet shaft and head were pointing directly at your target. I’ve done a reasonable amount of videoing of croquet players for coaching and general interest, and can tell you that a straight follow through is not as common a sight as you might expect.

So… when you’re having a bad patch, think about these 5 points: aim from 4 yards, stalk, see your mallet hit your ball, keep body relatively still, follow through in direction of aim. You might miss more than you want to, but you’ll hit a lot more than you would otherwise!

And, actually, these 5 points are all completely valid - and very important - for when you are playing croquet strokes - remembering to stalk your ball along the correct line of aim (pick that point from 4 yards back!) rather than where the balls are pointing or where your ball might go.