Arizona Croquet Club

Founded 1975


The Arizona Croquet Club welcomes you to the game of croquet. The full-size court measures 86 x 105 feet with strings or paint marking the boundary of play. A single peg is placed in the center of the lawn with six wickets arranged at precise locations. Play begins at the blue hoop and ends at the red hoop called rover. Four balls are used by two teams of players, never by four individuals. Blue and Black team against Red and Yellow; or Pink and White against Green and Brown; or Blue stripe and Black stripe against Red stripe and Yellow stripe. It is possible to play more than one game of croquet on the same lawn with the use of either the second colors or the use of solids and stripes. It is often easier for spectators to concentrate on one game at a time.

The object of the game is to get both team balls through each hoop in order and peg both balls out. Each ball must go through each of the six hoops twice before pegging out. Players may help each other complete running of their hoops by knocking them through as they go around the court – this is called peeling and is a challenging part of advanced play.

During a players turn, the striker earns a continuation stroke when he either hits a ball or completes the running of his next hoop. After hitting a ball, the player earns two strokes, the first is called the croquet stroke and the second is the continuation stroke. During the croquet stroke the player places the striker ball in contact with the croqueted ball and drives both balls to their desired locations on the court. The player may hit and drive each ball once before going through his next hoop. In the continuation stroke, the player may run a hoop or hit another ball. If he fails to do either of these tasks, the turn ends and next team begins its turn. The team may elect to play either one of its balls at the start of the turn.

The turn may also end if the striker drives a ball out during the croquet shot or commits a fault. Balls driven out of bounds are marked 1 yard in from the boundary. A fault for example might be using the side of the mallet to strike the ball instead of using the face of the mallet. Other examples, kicking the ball, hitting the ball more than once, hitting the wrong ball or crushing the ball against the hoop.



For more information about the club, the game of croquet, coaching or learning the game, please contact Paul Bennett, club secretary, at 3412 E. Sells Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85018, or check out our web-site at http://www.azcroquet.com Our club court is located at 6022 N 64th Place in Paradise Valley.