The short answer
Line your feet and shoulders up with the shot, swing the mallet like a pendulum with your head down until the ball has gone, and follow through. Then pick each shot with three questions in order: can I run the hoop, should I clear or block a threatening opponent, and can I help my partner ball?
This guide is about golf croquet. American six-wicket players say “wicket” for a hoop and “stake” for the peg, and in the US plain “croquet” often means that game. We say hoop and peg.
Which grip should I use?
Use whichever grip feels comfortable and keeps the mallet from twisting in your hands. Players commonly use one of three orthodox grips, and the standard grip is the one most of them choose.
| Grip | How you hold it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Left hand on top, right hand just below, right thumb pointing down and forward, hands close together | The most used |
| Solomon | Both hands at the top of the shaft, knuckles forward, thumbs up | Suits shorter players |
| Irish | Hands lower on the shaft, knuckles back, thumbs down | Powerful, but can strain the wrists |
The table describes right-handers, and left-handers mirror it. Our advice: try all three and keep the one that feels natural.
How should I stand and swing?
Most players use a center-style stance: feet side by side across the line of the shot, with the mallet swung between the legs. A side-style stance is rare. Swing like a pendulum, keep your head down until the ball has gone, and follow through.
Hit the ball with the flat end of the mallet head, never the side. For an ordinary shot, keep the swing low and level instead of chopping down onto the ball.
How do I aim?
Stalk the ball: walk up along the line of the shot until your feet and shoulders line up with it, check your alignment, then take a practice swing over the ball, which players call casting. Then play the stroke, head down.
How do I run a hoop?
For a straight hoop, start about a foot away and swing slowly and smoothly with a full follow-through, without force.
When the ball is off to one side
If the ball sits to one side of the hoop, aim at a point between the middle of the hoop and the upright on the far side, so the ball hits the far upright first and bends through. Past roughly 45 degrees, rolling the ball into the jaws and running the hoop on a later turn is usually the wiser play.
When you set up in front of a hoop
Try to approach a hoop along the line the ball will run through it, not across that line.
What are clearing and blocking?
Clearing means hitting an opponent’s ball out of a threatening spot, and blocking means leaving your own ball in an opponent’s way.
To clear, hit the opponent’s ball with enough power to send it well away. Take care near the hoop being played: if you drive an opponent’s ball through it, the point goes to them. To block, park a ball between the opponent’s ball and either the hoop or your partner ball. A block is strongest when your ball sits close to the opponent’s ball without touching it.
How does a jump shot work?
A jump shot hits the ball sharply downward so it bounces up and over an obstacle, and it is legal as long as the mallet doesn’t damage the lawn.
- Stand well forward, with the mallet at about 45 degrees and a firm grip.
- Hit sharply down so the ball bounces up.
- Pull the mallet away at once, because touching the ball a second time is a fault.
Jump shots help at sharp-angle hoops, to run past a ball lodged in the jaws and to hop a blocker. One warning: if your jumping ball pushes a lodged ball through the hoop, that ball scores for its owner. Ask before you try one on someone else’s lawn, since damage is a fault.
What is nestling, and how do I answer it?
Nestling means leaving a ball in the jaws of a hoop, where it is hard to remove and well placed to be first to the next hoop. Three common answers are to promote your partner ball to the far side of the hoop, to nestle your own ball against the lodged one, or to play a jump shot. To promote a ball is to move it to a better spot.
If your ball has a sure hoop, one nobody can stop you running, you don’t always have to run it at once. Delaying can let your partner ball get ahead. Offside exemptions can also win the next hoop’s position: a ball that reaches its spot by the stroke just played isn’t offside.
How do I decide what to do each turn?
Ask three questions in this order, and play the first one that gets a yes.
- Can I run the hoop? If so, that is usually your move.
- If not, is an opponent threatening to run it? Then clear, block or hamper that opponent.
- If not, can I help my partner ball? Promote it to a better spot.
If all three are no, play your ball toward the hoop so it can run next turn.
Underneath is the basic plan: leave your ball where it can run the hoop next turn, move your partner ball up, and knock your opponents’ balls away. In singles, your partner ball is simply the other ball of your side.
What should I practice?
Our advice: practice the shots you will use in every game, in this order.
- Check that the head points end-on at the ball, so the flat end meets it.
- Run a hoop from about a foot away until it feels easy, then step back a little at a time.
- Use the stalk, check and cast routine on every shot until it becomes automatic.
- Set a ball at an angle to a hoop, aim for the far upright, and try sharper angles to find where it stops working.
- Practice clearing: send a ball well away with a smooth, firm swing.
Want someone to watch your swing? Come and play with us in Birmingham, Alabama. We’ll teach you the shots, with a mallet ready for you. See how to start.
Sources
- Croquet England: Association Croquet Coaching Manual, Beginners
- Oxford Croquet: Beginners’ Croquet Coaching Notes
- Croquet Association: Golf Croquet Coaching Manual, 2015
- Monash Croquet Club: Coaching Notes for Golf Croquet
- Croquet England: Golf Croquet Tactical Decision Tree
- Croquet England: Golf Croquet terms and jargon
- World Croquet Federation: The Rules of Golf Croquet, 6th Edition
- United States Croquet Association: American six-wicket rules
Last updated November 2026.