Four Irish players: Ed, Simon, Evan and Jack are competing in the singles competiton for the title of Golf Croquet World Champion.
Another Irish player, Mark won it in London in 2011 but is not defending his title. Mark achieved the distinction of being the first non-Egyptian player to win the World Championship, so we will be using that as inspiration!
The championship takes place April 21st-28th in Cairo, home to the World's strongest players. It will be a tough battle ahead, but the Irish have trained hard and will be no pushovers, insh'Allah.
Results can be followed here: http://www.croquetscores.com/2013/gc/world-championship
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Tactic #1
Here is a common situation: Blue has to clear Red from in front of hoop 8, it is pointless to clear Red to the Boundary and remain "in lawn" as Blue is in danger of being cleared away (much further) himself.
A better tactic is to nudge Red out of position and to deflect away towards the boundary where Blue's position is now "safe".
Red will more than likely take position again in front of the hoop, Black does the same - aiming to be "wired" from Yellow behind the hoop or Red.
Unless Yellow can block Blue's clearance on Red, Blue can then attempt to clear Red to the far side of the lawn, who will have a difficult clearance on Black to save the point.
A better tactic is to nudge Red out of position and to deflect away towards the boundary where Blue's position is now "safe".
Red will more than likely take position again in front of the hoop, Black does the same - aiming to be "wired" from Yellow behind the hoop or Red.
Unless Yellow can block Blue's clearance on Red, Blue can then attempt to clear Red to the far side of the lawn, who will have a difficult clearance on Black to save the point.
This blog has been created as a prelude to the book I have started to write:
"Golf Croquet: 101 Tactics and Ideas".
Golf Croquet is a great sport, involving tactics, strategy and physical accuracy.
The standard lawn measures 28x35 yards, each ball about 4" and weighs 1 lb.
The 6 hoops are only 1/32" wider than the balls and set firm in the ground.
The layout of the hoops and "course" does not change, and each hoop is run twice (in opposite directions).
The objective is score 7 points (1 point = 1 hoop) before your opponent does.
Each time a point is scored, both players then move on to the next hoop and contest that.
It is always Blue & Black vs Red & Yellow.
Each turn consists of just a single shot and always in the sequence of Blue, Red, Black, Yellow, Blue, Red etc etc.
Each blog post will look at one specific idea or tactic, not forgetting the important strategical side of the game. Remember:
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
"Golf Croquet: 101 Tactics and Ideas".
Golf Croquet is a great sport, involving tactics, strategy and physical accuracy.
The standard lawn measures 28x35 yards, each ball about 4" and weighs 1 lb.
The 6 hoops are only 1/32" wider than the balls and set firm in the ground.
The layout of the hoops and "course" does not change, and each hoop is run twice (in opposite directions).
The objective is score 7 points (1 point = 1 hoop) before your opponent does.
Each time a point is scored, both players then move on to the next hoop and contest that.
It is always Blue & Black vs Red & Yellow.
Each turn consists of just a single shot and always in the sequence of Blue, Red, Black, Yellow, Blue, Red etc etc.
Each blog post will look at one specific idea or tactic, not forgetting the important strategical side of the game. Remember:
“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War
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