Milder weather of the previous week was very welcome with players turning out in the proverbial droves.

Tuesday is always a popular day, with the “golf” version of the game the rule for this day.

Golf? Croquet? Que? (What?)

There are several versions of croquet, and the ‘golf’ version refers to the sequence of play in which each player takes one hit in turn, rotating through the same order throughout the whole game.

Of all the versions of play, this is the most commonly played in all Australian clubs as well as the most social.

Ray Doyle, our secretary, was the coach on duty last Wednesday evening for our scheduled training, coaching, and practice session. The topic on this occasion was the technique and strategy of “hooping”.

For a beginner, being able to hit a ball through a hoop, is a major achievement. This is called “running” a hoop.

A player with some experience. will realise that there may be more to it than just getting the wretched thing through that irksome impediment.

If a ball runs a hoop, but stops after only a few centimetres, the next hit is severely compromised, as the hoop itself blocks the mallet’s easy access to the ball. South Stake will express an impolite evaluation at this time!

There are times, however, when there is an advantage to not running the hoop completely. This is the situation called “jawsing”. A ball is “jawsed” if it sits within the hoop.

Deliberately jawsing a ball can be advantageous when playing from odd-to-even numbered hoops. If jawsed, the player’s next hit will complete the run and get the advantage of being the first ball to play towards the next hoop.

Alternative considerations include, how far the ball travels after running a hoop. Depending on the placement of the opposition balls, a player may prefer to run an odd-numbered hoop all the way out to the boundary.

The angle at which the ball runs through the hoop may also be a consideration.

Clearly, Ray had his work cut out for him that evening.

The Wednesday evening of the previous week saw Kate Colwell back on court. She was breaking in a new set of knees and, on Thursday, she finished a full morning of play!

We also confidently expect Tracey Keenan back very soon.

Last Saturday members enjoyed following a marathon game taking nearly an hour and a half with Peter Clarke and Robyn Biggs playing against Mavis Grant and Bruce Seddon.

Great stuff! All of which explains Kate’s exclamation: “I just want to play croquet.”