Croquet owes much of its recent
growth in popularity to having a well-developed handicapping system. As
in
golf, once a newcomer to the sport has grasped the basics he/she will be
given
a handicap of 12. The best players will be on scratch or better.
Each
point on the handicap scales allows a player to claim a free turn
(called a
'bisque') at any point during a game. So, two players, be they male or
female,
ten years old or 90, or even fit or disabled, can play each other off
their own
handicaps, on equal terms, with no quarter given and none taken.
Top-level croquet is, of course,
played without handicaps and at a club level handicaps are entirely optional.
Initial handicaps are awarded by the Handicaps Committee or are calculated as follows.
The player completes three circuits of the hoops (18 in all) and a count of his total number of strokes is taken. This number is compared with a scale of handicaps to arrive at his/her handicap.
The scale is as set out below:
| Strokes taken |
Handicap |
Index Awarded |
| 50 - 54 |
7 |
250 |
| 55 - 60 |
8 |
200 |
| 61 - 64 |
9 |
150 |
| 64 - 70 |
10 |
100 |
| 71 - 78 |
11 |
50 |
| >79 |
12 |
0
|
Subsequently changes to this handicap are achieved through play against other handicapped players against another series of charts which result in either increasing or reducing the handicap in relation to the index. See below.
;) A player’s index is changed after each qualifying game
by increasing it after a win and decreasing it after a loss. For
handicap games the winner’s index increases by 10 and the loser’s index
decreases by 10. For level play games the Table below should be used to
determine the number of points that are exchanged.
|
|
| Handicap |
Steps Difference |
Points Change |
Trigger Point |
| 0 |
|
|
1000 |
| |
4 |
200 |
|
| 1 |
|
|
800 |
| |
3 |
150 |
|
| 2 |
|
|
650 |
| |
3 |
150 |
|
| 3 |
|
|
500 |
| |
2 |
100 |
|
| 4 |
|
|
400 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 5 |
|
|
350 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 6 |
|
|
300 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 7 |
|
|
250 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 8 |
|
|
200 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 9 |
|
|
150 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 10 |
|
|
100 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 11 |
|
|
50 |
| |
1 |
50 |
|
| 12 |
|
|
0 | |
|---|
|
|
An alternative to this system allows a Handicapping Committee to award initial handicaps based on observed play. A list of these handicaps is displayed on the Club Notice Board and is available below. Members who would prefer the conventional system noted above should contact the Club Captain for more information on the use and awarding of handicaps.
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