Short Croquet | Sidmouthcroquetclub

Short Croquet - The Game and How it is Played

Short Croquet is a slightly modified version of Association Croquet. It is played on half size lawns. The main difference is, that when your opponent finishes his turn, you must have an unobstructed line from either of your two balls to the other. If this is not the case then you are permitted to pick-up one of your balls and place it to your advantage on the South Boundary [A Baulk] or North Boundary [B Baulk] – it can confer great advantage.

A Short Croquet game is usually timed at 1 Hour 15 minutes. In 99% of cases both players have ‘bisques’ i.e. extra turns, which may be played as best suits the state of your play and advantage. There is a conversion table AC to SC. Regardless of your opponent's handicap you always have the bisques for your handicap.

The format is increasingly popular in the UK and particularly in the South West. Because it is played on half lawns it is more easily ‘picked-up’ than playing on a full-size lawn and many really good players use it to enhance their skills before trying them on a full size lawn regardless of the fact that an inexperienced player with bisques may ‘easily’ trounce them!!

We use this short lawn / half lawn to introduce new members to both Golf Croquet and Association Croquet and this emphasises that croquet is played for fun and pleasure above all else.

Appendix 6 Short croquet

Short croquet is a shortened version of the game, primarily intended for play on smaller courts. The laws of handicap singles play apply, subject to the following modifications.

A6.1 THE COURT

A6.1.1 The standard court is either:

A6.1.1.1 a rectangle measuring 24 by 16 yards (21.9 by 14.6 metres). The four outer hoops are 4 yards from the adjacent boundaries and the two inner hoops are 6 yards north and south of the peg; or

A6.1.1.2 a rectangle measuring 28 by 17.5 yards (25.6 by 16.0 metres, which is exactly half a full-size court). The four outer hoops are 4 yards from the E/W boundaries and 5 yards from the N/S boundaries and the two inner hoops are 6 yards north and south of the peg.

A6.1.2 The appropriate organising body may approve other proportions and dimensions.

A6.2 THE COURSE The game is 14 points: 6 hoops and the peg (see Law 51.3).

A6.3 THE HANDICAPPING SYSTEM The short croquet handicap table, as published by the appropriate governing body from time to time, shall be consulted with reference to each player’s Association Croquet handicap to determine whether the player is obliged to make one or more mandatory peels or entitled to receive one or more bisques. If both players are entitled to receive bisques, the principles of full bisque handicap play apply and each player receives the appropriate number of bisques indicated in the table.

A6.4 MANDATORY PEELS

A6.4.1 EITHER BALL MAY BE PEELED A mandatory peel is scored when either ball of a side peels its partner ball.

A6.4.2 PLAYING WHEN NOT ENTITLED When the striker is in a position where the striker’s number of mandatory peels outstanding is equal to the number of hoop points remaining to be scored by the striker’s two balls, the striker’s ball does not score a hoop point for itself by running its hoop in order. In these circumstances, if the striker continues to play after running the hoop as though the striker’s ball had scored a hoop point for itself, Law 26 (playing when not entitled) applies.

A6.5 PEELING AN OPPONENT’S BALL An opponent’s ball may be peeled without penalty, except that if the opponent has a number of mandatory peels outstanding equal to the number of hoop points remaining to be scored by the opponent’s two balls, that number of mandatory peels outstanding is reduced by one for each peel made on either of the opponent’s balls.

A6.6 PEGGING OUT

A6.6.1 PEGGING OUT THE STRIKER’S BALL Law 43 restricts when the striker’s ball may be pegged out.

A6.6.2 NO PEG-OUT BEFORE COMPLETION OF MANDATORY PEELS The striker may not score the peg point in order for the striker’s ball in a stroke unless, either before or during that stroke, the striker’s last mandatory peel was completed. In such circumstances, if the striker removes the striker’s ball from the court after it has hit the peg, Law 31 applies.

A6.6.3 CANCELLATION OF MANDATORY PEELS If the striker pegs out an opponent’s ball when the opponent still has mandatory peels outstanding, those mandatory peels are cancelled.

A6.7 WIRING LIFT Law 16 applies but the first part of Law 16.1 is amended to read “At the start of a turn, if the opponent is responsible for the position of a ball of the striker’s side which is not in contact with another ball and is wired from its partner ball, as defined in Law 16.3, or, if that ball has been pegged out, from all other balls, the striker may:”.

A6.8 TIME-LIMITED GAMES In a time-limited game, the winner is determined in accordance with Law 61.1.7, with any uncompleted mandatory peels being ignored.