(1) The Drive:
         Once you have made your "Roquet" (hit another ball) successfully, you are ready to take "Croquet". This is the placing of the Striker's ball against the Roqueted ball.

        The Drive is the basic "Croquet" stroke or shot - the same as the Roquet shot with stance and swing. The length of the drive depends on the height you put into the back swing and finishing with a lazy follow through.
        The object is to send both balls straight forward. In which case, you aim through both balls, towards that position  you want the Target ball to reach. At the same time, locating the Striker ball where it can Roquet or rush the next ball or run a Hoop.

        The Distance Ratio:
        The Croqueted ball should travel about three times the distance of the Striker ball. It is vital for you to know this ratio (i.e. about 1 to 3) and with practice you will know exactly where each ball will travel with the amount of force applied. The ratio varies slightly for each person, mallet and lawn. Practice will show you more precisely, what to expect.

         (2) The Stop Shot:
         The object here is to send the Croqueted ball much further (up to 7 times or more) than the Striker's ball.
        Stalk the balls which have been set up similar to the Drive. Line them up with the position to send the Target ball, and with a final position for the Striker's ball in mind.
        Stand further back from the Striker's ball than for the Drive. The mallet hits the Strikers ball below the centre (about 4 O'clock) with the lower edge. The heel of the mallet is grounded - hence the stop with no follow through.

         Stop Shots are like back spin in Snooker and Stab Drop Kick in Rugby. You can see it similar or better on TV when the Golf ball hits the green and then rolls backward)

        By hitting below the centre of the ball, a reverse spin is imparted to the Striker ball.  It slows down quickly, while the other ball spins forward and thus goes even further. The result is the much bigger ratio than the Drive (sometimes up to 12 to 1 but usually about 5 to 6 to 1).

        That Ratio Again:
        With practice, you will find that you are able to control the ratio from about 6 and up. And so position the two balls for your Tactics.

        Some mallets are better than others because of their weight, balance, and curved bottom of the head. When buying an expensive, new mallet make sure you check out a similar one to ensure a good ratio. Most factory made mallets are useless for this function.

See Croquet Mallet Selection for specifications.

         (3) The Roll(s):

         Half-Roll:
       (a) Usually, Rolls are done by the side rather than the mallet "penduluming" between the legs. The "Half Roll" is made with the top grip high, but the lower hand down about midway and  front foot (about) alongside the balls.
        Rather than striking the ball, you sweep over the top of the balls, striking at about 2 o'clock. This causes the Striker ball to go half as far as the other ball because of the forward spin imparted. The front ball obtains a reverse spin because of the "gear meshing", thus slowing it up.
        The Ratio is about 2 to 1. That is, the front ball goes twice the distance of the Striker ball. Or the Striker goes half the distance of the other ball. Hopefully, both balls will now be in the planned position for the Tactic employed.

        Full Roll:
       (b) The "Full roll" causes both balls to stay together. It is made with the grip further down the shaft. Strike, or rather sweep, the ball at an angle of about 45 degrees (about 1.30 O'clock). Because they would stay together, it is necessary for them to be aimed a little off so that the Striker ball does not tend to try to climb over the other ball.
        The reason for this is when you hit the Striker ball further up from the horizontal you managed to put more top spin on. This results in back spin on the other ball in meshing like two gear wheels. This back spin slows up the front ball while forward spin speeds up the Striker ball. This causes the Striker ball to tend to overtake the front ball.

      You might appreciate Spin Bowlers and the effect they try to impart to the ball in Cricket.

                (Continued Right Column)       

         {Next}  {Back}  {Index} {Comment} {E-mail}  

      The Pass Roll:
        (c) The "Pass roll" causes the Striker ball to overtake the other ball - but to the side. The mallet shaft is gripped right down without touching the mallet head (a fault) and sweeping the Striker ball while the forward foot is much further in front.  

      (4) The Take-Off:
        This shot is done when you wish to leave the other ball (Croqueted) where it is, but position your Striker ball at an advantage - perhaps up to 25 - 30 metres away.  Usually used to reach out to the opposition to break them up or pick them up for use in loading the Hoops in a Break.
        The ball in hand (Striker ball) is placed next to the Roqueted ball. The "V" formed is pointing to the position to which you wish to hit your ball.
        The two balls are touching so the Roqueted ball will just move. Some prefer to set up in this way and then draw the Striker ball back a fraction to ensure a movement of the other ball when Striker's ball is hit.

        NB The Croqueted ball must be seen to shake at least or it is a fault = you're out.
 

       If the Take-off is from the left side (for right handed persons) then the "V" points to the terminal point. But if taking off from the left, the point of aim is more to the left. Reversed for left handed players. How much is best tested on the lawn as it differs for each player. Why there is a different "V" aiming point for left and right is not well understood - it just happens.

           (5) The Split Shots:
           This is a Croquet shot played at an angle so that both balls end up in Tactical positions. There appears to be many resolutions and occasion for much technical debate for this shot.  The shot is used extensively on Hoop approaches.

           (One better solution - possible not the best yet)
           The "ball in hand" is placed touching  the Croqueted ball. A straight line through both balls would lead to the position the Croqueted ball is destined. This destination point is plotted and then the Striker ball's destination point is plotted. A line joining these two plotted positions is bisected and this is the aiming point for your mallet swing.
           Stalk this aiming point, after having computed the ratio of the distance both balls need to travel to play the necessary shot as either:-
        a stop shot (1 : 5 or more)
        a drive (1 : 3 or more)
        a half roll (1 : 2)
        a full roll (1 : 1)
        or a passing roll (4 : 3 or more)

         The Resultant:
         The resultant of the stroke is dependant upon:-
        (i)  the height of the back swing and
        (ii) the angle the mallet makes with the "kiss" on the target ball. (The O'clock bit)
        (iii) the vertical angle of the mallet
        (iv) the "speed" of the lawn
        (v) and the orbital spin (torque) caused by the tangential impact.

         Basically, all this is rubbish for when you walk onto the battle field your brain will usually malfunction or cease to function altogether. Brain dead? Not really!

        With practice, your learning will be stored in your sub-conscious mind and it will do the job automatically. The problem is to be able to reach into your sub-conscious mind to retrieve the knowledge you gained from your practice.

         Sometimes, you will be amazed and delighted, at how your brain can compute all this stuff and put both the balls where you want them - exactly.      

        Physics:
        A student of physics or navigation would notice that the line joining the two positions for the split is the resultant of the parallelogram of forces.
        Remember!
        Either a drive shot, any of the roll shots (using vertical angle = top spin) or even the stop shot (bottom spin) can be implemented, depending on how far either or both balls have to travel for your Tactics.

        A straight follows the Vector coordinates

       Y = MX + B      but then you knew that. Right?

       (6) The Cannon
       This shot is used when three balls are in mutual contact (e.g. a Roqueted ball goes over the boundary next to an other)

        The Roqueted ball is placed on the yard line where it exited. The other two balls (in hand) can now be placed touching the Roqueted ball but not each other ( however, within 30mm (10 degrees) of each other. 

         When hit, the Striker's ball makes a Rush on the other ball, while taking Croquet (a thick Take-Off) on the Roqueted ball.  Thus a Roquet/Rush has been obtained on the third ball with the advantage of a further Croquet and Continuation shot.

         The initial Roqueted ball of the Cannon is not allowed to go out. However, the Striker's ball and the newly Roqueted ball may (the Strikers ball has again become a "ball in hand".
       This is a classic shot and the Study of the Cannon can and should be undertaken when the player has the expertise to understand the implications.