Contributed by “South Stake”

In the previous instalment of this in-depth article, a croquet ball was interviewed on behalf of all the balls in the club.

We resume their account, with a quick recap of geometry, as it applies to this wonderful game.

•••

“It will be helpful here for you to have an imaginary picture of a circle showing these lines, or even to draw it now on paper, and follow along (pretend to be a university graduate; you will find the sensation strangely disappointing).

When you “stalk” your “target”, you should draw a line directly from your target (another ball, the mouth of the hoop, an opponent’s ankle, and more) to your ball.

That line extends directly over the ball, and runs from one side to the other, passing through the centre.

In case you have forgotten (or never bothered to learn it in the first place), let me remind you the straight line that is drawn from one point on the circumference, through the centre of the circle and on to the opposite point on the circumference, is called the diameter.

Look carefully for the point on the circle where that stalking line (the diameter) reaches the circumference on the side closest to you.

This is where the mallet will hit me. (I would remind you that “hit” is unnecessarily violent and that we prefer “stroke”, but I understand the concept of “impervious”.)

You must find exactly that point, because the slightest deviation, will send your shot awry.

Go back to your imaginary picture of a circle, and now draw a line at right angles to the diameter, at the point that the diameter touches the circumference. Lines at right angles to each other are called perpendicular lines.

This line, which is at right angles to the diameter and is perpendicular, is a special case and is called the tangent.

This is very important. Now, stop wandering – that expression is not attractive – and come back to this.

The head of the mallet should be exactly on the line that is the tangent as, again, the slightest deviation will send your shot awry. The hit must be on that point and made with the centre of the mallet’s face.

You may have heard players speaking about hitting the ball “square on”? Same concept.

Furthermore, the shaft of the mallet must be perpendicular (i.e. straight up and down, at right angles) to the ground.

The follow through must be along the line of that diameter. The slightest deviation will send your shot – yes, you guessed correctly – awry.

You may have stalked correctly and lined up correctly, but if your swing is just the tiniest bit off – your shot will go... (I am aware that “awry” is not a commonly-used word, but balls do have a tendency to go round and round).

Additionally, some people need to be told more than once, and it is a much nicer word, than some others which we blush to hear!"

The third and final part of this “interview”, will appear in a future edition of Dubbo Photo News.