2010 Pat Apple

The Pat Apple tournament is a testament to the pioneering of he Mission Hills croquet club founder and her efforts to make this the best venue in the country. This is one of the rare handicap format tournaments in the United States. Several players were experiencing their first association rules games with the kind safety net of several bisques in each game. We had 17 players in two flights of singles with 16 in two blocks of waterford doubles.

The opening reception was hosted by the Gordon and Roswitha Smale at their beautiful home where tournament director, Ben Rothman, scrambled to please the players by shuffling the schedule around like a black jack dealer.

In a happy initiation, Helen Orgill managed to go undefeated in the doubles block and took the first place trophy undisputedly. This tournament was a first to Mike and Brenda Corrigan who showed great improvement game to game as they became more familiar with the rules and tactics. None of the three had ever played a game of association rues before, talk about trial by fire!

The shot of the tournament came from Ruth Stotter in a grudge match against her husband. The potentially divisive handicap game against Larry, a successful divorce attorney, went to overtime tied at 11 with Ruth's balls for hoop 3 and 4-back. Ruth hit her partner near hoop five and had one of Larry's balls near hoop three, which was the striker ball's wicket. Onlookers thought any drama would come on a hoop shot after a nice take off to the ball in question, but Ruth would have none of it. The famed storyteller chose to make her own drama by rolling the 50 feet down towards hoop three and the nearby ball. On this well executed full roll, Ruth ended up five feet from the ball she needed while she managed to send her partner through 4-back. That's right, from 16 yards Ruth peeled 4-back to win in overtime. Who needs the stress of shooting a hoop when you can just end the game right there.

Despite the advantage of bisques, championship flight came down to those with the lowest handicaps. Ron Hendry played a level match against Mike Orgill in the semi-finals with only one loss in the entire tournament. That one loss came from undefeated Bob Van Tassell who dispatched of last year's finalist, Jim Butts, in another no bisque game to earn the spot against Ron in the final. Even after using his half-bisque to get control, Ron's hoop shooting was no match for “Sandy” Bob's consistent play and exciting hit ins. Bob managed to take his first tournament win in championship flight and instantly double it with an undefeated record in doubles as well. Van Tassell was kind enough to host a cocktail hour on his court side rooftop bar after the dominant victory, proving he can be a gracious host as well as a championship calibre croquet player.

First Flight
Doubles Jubilee
1.Helen Orgill
2.Jerry Evans
3.Ruth Stotter
4.Brenda Corrigan
5.Mike Corrigan
6.Preston Ormsby
7.LouAnn Evans
8.Larry Stotter

Championship Flight
Delicious Doubles
1.Bob Van Tassell
2.Judy Dahlstrom
3.Mike Orgill
4.Marty Ormsby
5.Ron Hendry
6.Gordon Milse
7.Art Silber
8.Toni Kemp

Second Flight Singles
McIntosh Ladder
1.Judy Dahlstrom
2.Ruth Stotter
3.Karen Comeau
4.Larry Stotter

First Flight Singles
Fuji Ladder
1.Mick Greagsby
2.Toni Kemp
3.Bob Riddell
4.Bob Kays
5.Phyllis Butts
5.Gordon Milse

Championship Singles
Gala Ladder
1.Bob Van Tassell
2.Ron Hendry
3.Mike Orgill
4.Jim Butts
5.Marty Ormsby
5.Marvin Salles

Association Rules Tactics

Association Rules Openings:

With the exception of a few advanced players and those with a death wish, the decision to play first in an Association Rules game is one of tempered realism. They don't believe the opponent can hit. For that matter, they don't think they will hit in on third turn either, which is why they run from the baulk line. The goal of the player who plays first is usually to control the game on the fifth turn. The most common first shot is to the maximum distance (or slightly south/west of it) on the east boundary. Fifth turn is special because the player is not required to start from the baulk line, and they are the first to have the freedom to play either of their balls. Their wager, so far, is that they could take advantage of this turn and start the game in control. Alternatively, the opposition is hoping against hope.

The second ball in an association rules game can play it conservative. If they feel the opposition cannot make a good offensive play or a nice leave, they can play to a defensive position to make all fifth turns more difficult. On the other hand, the second ball may play to an enticing position that leaves a risky shot for the third ball and the possibility of a seemingly short shot on fourth turn. In this case, the player is optimistic. “The opponent may miss, but I will not,” is the mantra. Most openings follow these philosophies. It is the games where neither player gets a break going that interest me.

The Mid-Game:

When the situation leaves striker with an easy roquet, but no odds on opportunity for offense, the tactical possibilities are endless. When American players complain about the lack of strategy in the association game, it becomes annoyingly clear that they have never tried to play a canny turn in which they must position all four balls in beneficial positions without making a hoop. Those five to seven shots can yield incredibly shrewd positions if the striker has a clever sense of sadistic humour.

The basic priorities of an association leave are: 1) make hoops, 2) separate the opponents while giving the striker or partner an easy play, and 3) make the opponent's play as difficult as possible. If there is a better than 75% chance to make a hoop, take it. Otherwise, change to the second priority of separating the opponents.

There are many beneficial positions one can occupy while fulfilling the simple task of separating the opponents. The striker may join near the boundary (with a rush is better) while leaving the opponents more than 4 yards on court. Positioning the opponents in useful positions like your hoops or pioneer hoops is preferable. One of the best leaves involves cross-wiring the opponent balls at the hoop you wish to make. This leaves them blocked from hitting each other while quite close in proximity to your hoop. Whichever ball the adversary plays, they will leave one of their balls at that very hoop (that is, unless they hit in). This leave is nearly impossible for beginner players as it requires incredible luck or skill to end your turn with the opponents in such a precarious position. A much more likely, and thus useful, leave is to finish the turn joined with your partner ball near either one of your hoops while leaving the opponents on court (hopefully at useful pioneer hoops). If this is a corner hoop, you can leave a trap discouraging any shots at your balls while leaving a possible break. At the very worst, with both opponent balls separated, the next turn should yield at least one point scored before you must focus on separating the opponents once more.

Every so often, you are left with a difficult shot to start the turn. If you are not confident that you will have more than one shot this turn (let us say, under 50%) it is important to put yourself in the opponent's shoes. Which ball, if left in its current position, is most helpful to the adversary. The best play may be to take that ball away. Next, consider your easiest shot. This shot could maximize your chances of taking control. Last, but not to be forgotten, is the risk of missing these shots. Which of these misses will cost us the most and truly aid the opposition.

I apologize for not going into specifics, but these general guidelines apply to the multi-faceted scenarios that arise in the midst of a match. Hopefully any one of these lessons can help on multiple occasions during your journey into the madness that is competitive croquet.

Mission Hills Tourney Logos

Maybe I'm just proud because I went out on the town tonight, but here are some logos I cooked up for the 2010 tournaments here in the desert... so far. More to come.

Backing the Ball

Backing the ball is a concept that works best in American rules (hence the example) but can be used in the Association game and 9-wicket quite often. The concept is to discourage an opponent's shot at a ball on court. In this example the striker (Blue) has an opportunity to move the ball in question, but this play can work from a distance when moving the on court ball is not an option.

So Blue has just made hoop 2, but realizes that hitting partner will not give her a great (90% or better) chance of making hoop 3. With partner on court and no spent ball in the game (yellow is still for hoop 1) setting up partner is too risky. In fact, Red is so close and has Black at its hoop that he will assuredly try to hit that ball. Blue's best option is to go out of bounds, but there's only one place that will truly discourage Red's shot. Anticipating Red's line of play (Red dotted line), Blue shoots out of bounds behind the Black ball (Blue Line). This adds a huge risk to Red's supposed shot and encourages Red to take a less aggressive shot, like cornering.



Whew! Crisis averted.

Note: This will not work when Red has another ball to hit (i.e. Yellow).

Insane Turn from the 2009 Nationals

Watch one of my most amazing turns in American Rules, and it happened to be a
National Championship game.

The hoop, the attack, the crazy split, the hit in, and the subsequent break.