32 Palm Beach Visitor Information Guide
explore | Recreation
Let’s talk croquet! I know we talked about
croquet a little over a year ago, but I wanted to
showcase it again. It’s a great Summer activity
for all members of the family to play. What is
croquet? For years, it was either considered an
English lawn game or in the 1950’s and 1960’s
it was an American backyard game. Croquet
involves balls, mallets, hoops, clips and center
pegs. The game involves four balls teamed in
pairs, with both balls going through every hoop
for one pair to win. The game’s distinguishing
feature is the “croquet” shot: when certain balls
hit other balls, extra shots are allowed. The six
hoops are arranged three at each end of the
court, with a center peg. There are many versions
of this game: Association, Garden, American
Six-wicket, Nine-wicket and Golf. Each version
has a separate set of rules and play.
Let’s talk about the Association version
here. In association croquet one side takes
the black and blue balls, the other takes red
and yellow. At each turn, players can choose
to play with either of their balls for that turn. At
the start of a turn, the player plays a stroke. If
the player either hits the ball through the correct
hoop (“runs” the hoop), or hits another
ball (a “roquet”), the turn continues.
Following a roquet, the player picks up his
or her own ball and puts it down next to the
ball that it hit. The next shot is played with the
two balls touching: this is the “croquet stroke”
from which the game takes its name. By varying
the speed and angle at which the mallet
hits the striker’s ball, a good player can control
angle determines how much the balls diverge
in direction, while the vertical angle and the
amount of follow-through determine the relative
distance that the two balls travel.
After the croquet stroke, the player plays
a “continuation” stroke, during which the
player may again attempt to make a roquet or
run a hoop. Each of the other three balls may
be roqueted once in a turn before a hoop is
run, after which they become available to be
roqueted again. The winner of the game is the
team who completes the set circuit of six hoops
(and then back again the other way), with both
balls, and then strikes the center peg.
To play croquet locally stop by and visit
Center (West Palm Beach), PGA National Resort
& Spa (Palm Beach Gardens) or The Beach Club
(Palm Beach). Now go hit some balls!
Visit us at explorepalmbeach.com
Croquet
Anyone?
/explorepalmbeach.com