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AUSSIE CROQUET: With this stroke Aussie Croquet starts transforming the game into Association Croquet. You only need to introduce the stroke quickly, include it into the game, then continue playing the game and coaching the fine points while the game progresses. This way you are always playing a game while learning the strokes, rather than boring sessions just learning strokes
ROQUET-CROQUET-CONTINUATION
When your ball ( the striker's
ball) strikes another ball it is called a roquet
and is said to have roqueted that ball. Striking another ball can be just
hitting another ball or, if you are close to the ball you are hitting,
it can hit that ball to a specific location. This particular kind
of roquet is identified by calling it a rush.
When you roquet or rush one of the other three balls on the court, your ball becomes "a ball in hand" which means you have to pick it up and place it against the ball you hit in preparation for playing a double ball stroke which is called a croquet stroke.
CROQUET SPEAK
The terminology used in describing
a croquet stroke is: your ball is the striker's
ball; the ball you hit is the roqueted
ball. When you place the striker's ball in
contact with the roqueted ball, the roqueted ball is then referred to as
the croqueted ball
because, in the croquet stroke, the striker's ball propels it to a chosen
destination. When you place the striker's ball in contact with the roqueted
ball you are said to be taking croquet
from it.
Two Options.
When you take croquet from another
ball you have two choices, each having their own terminology:
In taking croquet you can place
your ball BESIDE or BEHIND the roqueted ball.
If BESIDE you are preparing to play a croquet stroke called a TAKE
OFF.
If BEHIND you are preparing to play a croquet stroke called a SPLIT
SHOT.
PLACING THE
STRIKER'S BALL
SEATING THE
STRIKER'S BALL
AIMING THE
STRIKER'S BALL
HITTING THE
TAKE OFF
THE PULL FACTOR
TAKE OFF FROM
BOTH SIDES
BEWARE THE
THICK TAKE OFF
* This stroke is used when you want
to hit the striker's ball to a specific destination and leave the
croqueted ball behind
to stay where it is.
Placing
the striker's ball.
With striker's ball in hand, stand
behind the roqueted ball facing the destination you want it to go to.
Then walk up and place the striker's
ball beside the roqueted ball (see photo).
Seating
the striker's ball.
This is crucial because, if the
striker's ball isn't in contact with the croqueted ball when the stroke
is played, it is a fault and your turn ends. To steady the croqueted ball
you are permitted to press it gently into the turf with hand or foot. To
seat the striker's ball against the croqueted ball, you can also press
it into the turf a little at the same time as you press it against the
croqueted ball. This helps it sit firmly against the croqueted ball.
Aiming
the striker's ball accurately.
Two good methods.
(a)
(b)
(a) The right angle, (b) The arrow head.
The right angle: a line through
the edges of
The arrow head: the gap between the two balls
the two balls is at right angles
to the direction as they sit
side by side is in the shape of an arrow
the striker's ball will take. Slightly
adjust the head.
You adjust the striker's ball so that arrow head
position of the striker's ball
forward or back points
to the target. Reverse arrowhead: the shaft of
until you are satisfied that the
two balls are at the arrow points
to the target.
right angles to the target. (The
Laws of the
(The target is not another ball - it is a piece of
game do not allow you to adjust
the position grass in front
of a hoop or near another ball).
of the croqueted ball).
(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
The Laws of the game say that the striker's ball must cause the croqueted ball to move or shake in the croquet stroke. If it doesn't move or shake it is a fault, your turn ends and the opposition can decide whether the balls are either replaced in their original position or left where they come to rest.
So this means you can't anymore hit straight at the target as in (a) above - a little disconcerting at first - but have to hit the striker's ball slightly into the croqueted ball as in (b) above. This causes the croqueted ball to move aside about 30 cm. The striker's ball still heads for the target because it glances off the croqueted ball in the direction you have aimed it. Well .... not exactly where you've aimed it. What!!!
THE PULL FACTOR In (c) above black tends to cling momentarily to blue because the surface of the balls are rough. This friction pulls black off line a little. Oh, you say! Yep, I say. So?
Allowing for pull. Easy. If you know, by trial and error over time, that the striker's ball is likely to pull on average say, 20cm to the right over a certain distance, all you have to do is aim the stroke 20cm to the left so now the striker's ball is pulled straight at the target.
Consistency of pull. The surface of a croquet ball is milled - which means that it has a pattern of grooves over the surface. That pattern is not always uniform. You can reduce the inconsistency of pull by always placing the same part of the striker's ball against the croqueted ball in any Take Off or Split croquet stroke. * The Law doesn't permit you to rotate or move the croqueted ball in placing balls for the croquet stroke.
Coaches! Don't teach this pull factor until your player has mastered the basics of the stroke. Certainly don't mention it to one-off corporate, community or school groups playing Aussie Croquet - they come to play an instant game. The fine details come later.
Take Off
from Both Sidesof the croqueted ball.
A good general rule is: Take off
from the RHS of the Croqueted ball if the striker's ball has to go to the
RHS of the target.
In the (a) below you can see that
to take off from the RHS of Red gives blue more space to get from behind
the hoop to the front to be in a good position to run the hoop.
In addition, as shown in (b) above, the pull factor works for you when blue takes off from the right of red by pulling and curving blue into the target instead of away from the target.
Beware
the Thick Take Off! If you aim to hit the striker's ball further
into the croqueted ball this will make the croqueted ball move aside even
further, which is not necessary if you want the croqueted ball to stay
nearby. Unfortunately the scare merchants who whine "did that ball move"
bully some players to hit well into the striker's ball to make sure it
really moves. This not only puts you in danger of putting the croqueted
ball out over the border - penalty: end of turn - but it takes energy away
from the striker's ball causing it to end up short of the target.
Later on you can use this thick
take off to advantage to place the croqueted ball to a chosen destination
a metre or three away. But your bread and butter take off only needs to
move the croqueted ball a few cms.
Call a Referee if you a doing a very fine take off - eg on a corner to corner take off. It is both courteous to your opponent and advantageous to you to have an independant observer verify that the croqueted ball did move. That way you can concentrate fully on the stroke you are playing.
Note.In all strokes the centre of the mallet face strikes the centre of the ball you are about to hit. So hitting croquet strokes where you and your mallet are not facing the target doesn't mean you don't still hit centre on centre.
