Jumping through hoops for the ideal playing surface!
One of the many surprise effects of the Covid-19 pandemic has been a huge upswing in the popularity of Croquet. Being a game that can be played while observing Social Distancing and on almost any size of lawn, The Croquet Association has reported a massive surge in both sales of equipment and enquiries for memberships of the 176 clubs on their register. So huge is the demand that clubs are having to turn prospective new members away, as even their waiting lists have become over-subscribed. Current research puts an estimate of 10,000 players active in UK Croquet Clubs, with perhaps another 20,000 playing informally at home.
A Lawntech-tended Croquet Club
There is a lot to enjoy about Croquet, whether you’re driven by the competitive challenge of a tournament or prefer a relaxed and sociable knock-about with friends and family at home (perhaps with a tray of Pimm’s on hand, on a long summer afternoon).
Here in the UK, Croquet can be played formally at Domestic, Regional, National and International levels, and the game is popular all over the world; The United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and Egypt all have thriving Croquet communities.
Although often seen as being quintessentially English, there is a lot of conjecture about the true origins of the game. We do know that by 1870 it was widely played across Europe and beyond, even being included as an event at the Paris Olympics in 1900. Unfortunately it only attracted 10 players and a single spectator, so has sadly not appeared on the programme since.
Croquet can be as formal or relaxed as you like – as can the way you dress for it
Croquet’s accessibility means the game can be played by everyone from tiny tots to the most senior members of the family, and very little equipment is needed. Mallets, balls and hoops are all that is required, apart from the playing surface of course and that’s where Lawntech comes in. We already maintain croquet lawns for clubs, hotels, sports grounds and private homes, and can offer specially tailored maintenance programmes to keep them in top condition throughout the playing season (which runs from early April to October).
Many of our domestic clients set aside lawns at home for croquet, with little or no deviation from the standard Annual Lawn Care Programme which serves their other lawns so well. What about croquet clubs, though?
How does Lawntech create the best possible lawn surface for Croquet?
For competition use, the needs of a croquet lawn are very similar to those of a Bowling Green. We covered those needs in detail over the last two weeks’ blog posts, but in a nutshell we are striving to make a lawn which is as flat as possible and runs true. While both games can be enjoyed at a leisurely pace, there are occasions when a Bowling Green needs to run fast. This is not so true for Croquet Lawns, however.
Like Bowling Greens, Croquet Lawns which are sand-based will be free-draining and resistant to wear. An advantage which a Croquet has in this regard is that while a Bowling will be prone to wear in specific high-traffic areas of footfall, Croquet hoops can be moved to alleviate this by spreading the wear more evenly. Croquet Clubs often prefer to keep the grass cut short, to assist free running of the balls. This being so, our 12-month Lawn Maintenance Plan for Croquet Clubs will include 15 Fertiliser treatments across the year. 3 of these will be granular, with the remaining 12 being liquid applications at fortnightly intervals during the playing season (early April to October). There will also be 2 liquid iron-based Moss Control treatments for the year, one in the autumn (November – December) and the other in winter, January – February.
It really is great to see games like Croquet becoming so popular again, even if it has taken a global pandemic to bring about this happy state of affairs. If you are involved in a Croquet Club which might benefit from Lawntech’s expertise and experience or would like us to maintain a lawn at home for you to play on, we would be delighted to hear from you. Feel free to use the Contact page on our website, email info@lawn-tech.co.uk or call us on 01722 744300. We will be happy to help in any way we can.
