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On Saturday, 8 August, Chester Chariots welcomed a friendly Crake Valley team consisting of Chris Williamson, Paul Galley and John Bowes for a  North West Federation level play golf croquet league match

Chester’s lawns were very brown with no grass on any of the four lawns. The day was hot, with a slight breeze and by lunchtime Chester had taken a 5 – 4 lead with multiple wins by Garry Greenwood (captain), Sarah Clements and Chris Thomas.

After lunch the games remained close with many games going to the golden hoop. Crake took the advantage by going 9 – 8 up with one game left to play but Sarah managed to beat Paul (resulting in six out of six wins for Sarah) and the overall score an amicable draw.

To be fair to Crake they played very well considering the condition of the lawns and the home advantage afforded to the Chester players.

On the following Wednesday, 12 August, Chester Senators played at Tattenhall in the NW Federation golf croquet handicap league on one of the hottest days this summer. On arrival the temperature was already high and rapidly rising. The first half of play was very close, but then Chester put on a spurt and won 10-8. There were some exceptional shots from players on both teams and we were all glad when the match was over so we could relax in the shade. Despite the challenging conditions, excessive heat and parched lawns (just like ours!), we had a very enjoyable day. Tattenhall made us very welcome and at the end of the match we were served delicious homemade cake.

On Sunday, 23 August, Chester played at home against Bowdon Weekdayers in the NW Federation short lawn league.

For this match, Bowdon Weekdayers fielded their “A” team – a very strong team under the captaincy of Nigel Matthews (with a handicap challenge of 5 peels), Ken Cooper (with 3 peels) and Paul Harris (with 1 bisque or free shot).

The Chester team was Andy Wilson-Chalon (2 bisques), Sally Slater (3.5 bisques) and Sarah Clements (5 bisques).

The day started well for Bowdon winning the first round of games 3 to Chester 0. However things got a lot better after that, with Chester winning 5 of the next 6 games to take the final result to a 5 – 4 win for Chester.

Then on Tuesday, 25 August, a Chester team of Sarah Clements, Rick Davies, David Boyd and Robin Tasker travelled to Southport for an away match in the NW Federation 26-point handicap association croquet league. In doing so, the Chester players swapped the brown and super-fast home lawns for the lush greenery of Southport. In many respects it was a delight to be playing croquet on a green grassy surface but the relative slowness of the lawns, and the challenge of adjusting to those conditions probably made the difference.

In the morning session and in cool weather at the start of the day Southport prevailed to lead 2-1 by lunchtime with Rick Davies the only Chester scorer. In the afternoon and in the hot sunshine, Rick again and Sarah Clements both won their singles games but neither David Boyd nor Robin Tasker managed to add to the Chester tally although David did lose by a very narrow margin. As a consequence Southport gained the victory they needed to win the match 4-3 and to secure an unassailable lead at the top of this season’s league table. But no excuses: Southport played well and deserved their victory. And a cool beer was shared with the Southport team to celebrate their victory!

In yet another match on the following day, Wednesday, 26 August, a Chester team travelled to Westmorland for a NW Federation short lawn league match.

For this away match, the Chester team was Andy Wilson-Chalon (handicap 2), Derek Bell-Jones (2.5) and Helen Brophy (3.5). Westmorland fielded their team under the captaincy of Roger Brooks (with a handicap challenge of 4 peels) with Robert Harvey (handicap 3.5) and Phil Hyman (handicap 4).

A pity Roger Brooks wasn’t playing for Chester as his other club for he comfortably won all three of his matches, even with having to make 4 peels, though Helen Brophy came closest to holding him back. Derek Bell-Jones won two matches whilst Helen Brophy and Andy Wilson-Chalon won one each.

The result was a 5 – 4 win for Westmorland gaining 82 hoops compared with 72 by Chester.

 

 

 

 

On Wednesday, 12 August, Chester Senators played at Tattenhall in the NW Federation golf croquet handicap league on one of the hottest days this summer. On arrival the temperature was already high and rapidly rising. The first half of play was very close, but then Chester put on a spurt and won 10-8. There were some exceptional shots from players on both teams and we were all glad when the match was over so we could relax in the shade. Despite the challenging conditions, excessive heat and parched lawns (just like ours!), we had a very enjoyable day. Tattenhall made us very welcome and at the end of the match we were served delicious homemade cake.

On Thursday, 6 August, Chester Centurions played away against Birkdale in the NW Federation level play golf croquet league. The Chester team of Jude Wise (captain), Liz Jordan and David Mann enjoyed the day at Southport. The day was perfect, sunny and gradually became hotter as the day wore on as it has done for weeks now. However, we all found their beautiful green lawns difficult after our parched home lawns. Our balls struggled to reach the positions we wanted them to, and of course Birkdale team had no problem and were very good all round resulting in their victory of 15 – 3. Liz was the woman of the match through securing 2 wins and out of her 4 lost games 3 were at the golden hoop! We did put up a good fight and our scores were ok but not good enough to win.

On the following day, a further Chester Centurions team played at home against Bowdon in the same NW Federation level play golf croquet league. Bowdon sent their strongest players, Angharrad Walters -3, David Cornes 0 and Alan Dix 2 , against our team David Boyd 1, Andy Wilson-Chalon 5 and Jude Wise (captain) 6, so we expected it to be a challenge!  Both teams enjoyed all the games and we did our best and played well considering it was a very hot day and the lawns were running extremely fast. David Boyd won our one and only win at the golden hoop, but we all managed to get some reasonable scores against the strong opposition.

The hoops are early hoops when the game was being introduced in England at the Great Exhibition in 1851. It wasn’t until the 1870s that the current inside width of 3¾ in was adopted. So the set is a vintage set with the prestigious Harrods name.

If you are interested, please reply to John Hemsworth at the e-mail address above.

Following the prolonged sunny and dry weather with peak daytime temperatures repeatedly exceeding 30° C, croquet clubs across the country are now finding themselves playing on lawns which have managed to stay recognisably green or those, like Chester, which are parched and brown. And what a difference it makes to play.

On Wednesday, 15 July, the Chester Chariots team of Garry Greenwood, Mark Lloyd and Sarah Clements travelled to play Bowdon in a NW  Federation level play golf croquet league match.

Bowdon fielded a strong team consisting of Welsh international player, Angharrad Walters, plus Sandra Cornes and Nigel Matthews.

The weather was good and the lawns a lot greener than at Chester so the ball ran a lot slower.

At lunchtime Bowdon were winning comfortably and this continued through the day and although Sarah Clements managed to get four wins in total the final score was 13 games (117 hoops) for Bowdon to Chester’s 5 games and 82 hoops.

As usual Bowdon were very hospitable and the games played in a friendly manner with the added bonus of a magnum ice cream given by Bowdon to each of the Chester players. Thank you.

On Tuesday, 28 July, the  Chester team of David Boyd, Rick Davies, Sally Slater and Robin Tasker travelled to Coronation Park at Bury to play the second round in the national Longman Cup association croquet handicap competition. The team were re-introduced to the novelty of playing on green grass and found the experience mysteriously difficult with take-offs and hoop approach shots falling alarmingly short.

Lunch was reached with Chester 0-3 down although the doubles and one singles game were close calls, Chester going down by a couple of hoops on both games. Bisques, a very accomplished opponent and to an extent the slow paced court mentality the other singles games rapidly completed.

The afternoon session saw little improvement although Rick played extremely well to record our only victory of the day. And so for Chester the 2026 Longman Cup journey ended with Bury thoroughly deserving their 6-1 victory.

On the following day, Wednesday, 29 July, there was a home match against Bowdon in the new NW Federation One Ball League. After their reintroduction to grass at Bury the day before, Rick Davies and Robin Tasker joined with Doreen Curtis to play on the unpredictable straw and speed of Chester’s lawns.

It was a wonderfully relaxed day of competitive but friendly croquet played by both sides with a real spirit of enjoyment. Once the Byzantine handicap system of One Ball had been negotiated and the bisque allocations determined, the games commenced.

And, while there were considerable ebbs and flows during games, the majority were decided by one or two hoops with neither side ever more than one game ahead. It was therefore no surprise that with Chester taking the final game, the match score finished all square at 9-all.

So it turns out the authors of the One Ball handicap system did know what they were doing. Or perhaps the challenges of the Chester lawns represents a great leveller!

Chester hosted the NW Federation Millennium 26-point AC Handicap Tournament on Saturday, 25 July. Only four players – two from Bowdon and two from Chester – had entered the tournament which was disappointing but those present enjoyed a competitive day on Chester’s fast courts and showed great skill from the start.

The day began in warm sunshine and in the first round of matches, Mike Flannery (11) from Bowdon beat Ant Fletcher (12) 18-4 as Ant struggled to get the measure of the court. Meanwhile Sally Slater (14) was narrowly beaten by Bowdon’s Robert Cutts-Watson (10) 15-18 as she came back strongly as time was reached.

After an early lunch the second round matches pitted Sally against Ant who following the break found his touch and playing neat controlled croquet – well mostly anyway! – won 18-9. The other match between Mike and Robert was of high quality with some excellent breaks. Mike established a good lead but then Robert pegged him back and got to within 3 hoops of parity but just failed to get position on 3-back. This allowed Mike to run out the 21-16 winner.

The tea break allowed all to recuperate with the help of chocolate fudge cake, strawberries and squirty cream ready for the final round.
Robert and Ant fought out a tough match which by their admission was not one for the crowds with Robert holding on to a 17-11 win. Meanwhile in the other match Sally started strongly and established a small lead but Mike replied with some excellent and precise croquet to peg out in just over two hour of play to win 26-13.

Once all the results had been compiled and points calculated Mike Flannery was the deserved winner of the 2026 Millennium AC 26-point Handicap Tournament remaining undefeated through the day and with 65 hoops run in the process. His was a fine display of consistent hitting in, controlled croquet shots and excellent hoop running on the rapid Chester courts.

With the manager’s failure to recover the Tournament trophy from a previous winner in time, Mike was presented with his very own Chester mug as a surrogate prize for his endeavours. The real thing will follow in due course!

As the third heatwave of the summer continues, so do the NW Federation league matches.

On Saturday, 18 July, Chester Senators played Pendle in the NW Federation golf croquet handicap league. The match was originally scheduled to be played at Chester but was moved to Pendle as the Chester lawns have been so parched and brown and unpredictably fast and erratic. At Pendle there was green, dew drenched grass everywhere and the lawns were flat. The morning temperatures stayed in the high teens with an occasional rain shower !

The result was a 14 – 4 win for Pendle but the Chester team all played well and spent a very happy day with convivial hosts in a beautiful setting. We didn’t come away empty handed as we were awarded a cup which the team was very proud to receive and bring home.

On the following day, Chester was host to Bowdon Griffins in the NW Federation association croquet 26 point handicap league. Here the lawns proved a real challenge to both teams with the slightest of shots overshooting and balls making unpredictable turns at the end of their runs. As an added challenge, the Chester team found themselves facing 53½ bisques – free shots – by the Bowden players compared with just 4 bisques for one of the Chester players.

As a result the Chester team of David Guyton (captain), David Boyd, Robin Tasker and Ant Fletcher, who was playing in his first full lawn association croquet league match, found themselves having to work hard against a keen and competent visiting team. In the morning games, Chester won the doubles and one of the two singles games, all three games finishing with very narrow hoop differences. The four singles games in the afternoon were similarly hard fought with both teams winning two games each giving Chester an overall 4 – 3 win against the Bowdon Griffins team.

Then on Wednesday, 22 July, Chester Centurions played away against Bury Sovereigns in the NW golf croquet level plat league.

The match was won Bury, 10 games to 8 but it was a tight finish and could easily have gone either way with seven golden hoops, four won by Chester. It was a long day not finishing until almost 5:30 p.m. played at Whitehead Park at Bury on a pleasantly cool morning turning into a warm sunny afternoon. The match was played in great spirit with Bury led by Simon Attwell support by Richard Leach and David Barrett; such a joy to be on the lawns with David, quite the master tactician.

Chester led by Rick Davies supported by Edward Baskerville and Greg Orriell had a combined average handicap of 4 against 5 for Bury so we were closely matched teams. In the event Bury scored 112 hoops whilst Chester managed 101. At the second tea interval when we were offered lemon drizzle cake and ice creams the score was Bury 8 and Chester 7. The match hinged on the final session with two golden hoops games, one going to Bury and they took the third game too.

Rookie Greg Orriell on handicap 7 had a splendid first outing with Chester Centurions winning three of his games and making good use of his renowned jump shots, snatching victory from Simon in a 7 – 5 finish before lunch. After the scorching heat that has baked Westminster Park, it was pleasing to find the surface at Whitehead Park nicely playable even if rather brown in places.

Thanks to Bury Sovereigns and Simon for making the Chester team so welcome and giving us such an enjoyable day’s golf croquet.

 

 

Early in July, Sarah Clements continued her success story by travelling up to Crake Valley in the southern Lake District, to win the Golf Croquet National A series tournament against strong opposition.

On Saturday, 4 July, Chester hosted a heat of the new “Northern Stars” one-day Golf Croquet Open competition. The weather was indifferent, but 12 players with handicaps ranging from -3 to 8 played in two blocks in the morning and a knockout in the afternoon. The morning play put Euan Bridges and Neil Adams out in front with Chris Higgins, Roger Brooks and Martyn (Sam) Seal showing promise.  The Championship knockout  saw Euan beat Sam and Neil beat Chris to set up a thrilling 19 point final between Euan and Neil, which Euan finally won at 10-9.

On the following Saturday, 18 July, a team of four golf croquet players travelled into deepest Wales to play a friendly against Llanidloes. This was a very enjoyable match, which Chester narrowly won and we look forward to welcoming Llanidloes to Chester in August for a return match.  Hopefully this will turn into an annual event.

Chester Croquet Club has been spreading the Chester name about lately ! Over the weekend of 28-29 June a group of members took part in both association and golf croquet competitions in the Southport Croquet Festival, which involved a number of other teams from all over the North West region. Whilst no trophies were won, there were many close games and a lot of fun was had.

Meanwhile, over in Ireland Chester’s Sarah Clements was making her first appearance as part of the England ladies croquet team squad, taking part in the Women’s Golf Croquet European Championships against players from all over Europe. Congratulations to Sarah, she did us proud !

Back in Chester on Sunday, 28 June, the club welcomed 11 members of the local branch of the Cambridge Society to an afternoon of progressive golf croquet. Bright sunshine with a cooling breeze gave perfect playing conditions, though the parched lawns were running very fast, making short hits difficult. Home made quiche with cakes and scones at teatime meant everyone left for home happy. Chester knows how to entertain !

Later in the week the Chester Senators played a handicap golf croquet match away against Llanfairfechan in a windy but mild North Wales. The teams were level at 5 all by lunchtime, but the hosts edged ahead to finish the afternoon ahead at 10-8. Maybe the lovely cakes the hosts provided at lunchtime had an effect !

Chester Chariots meanwhile faced Bury Sovereigns in a level play golf croquet match on a very hot and dry day in Chester. Fast lawns made the task difficult for all players over a very long days play, but Chester finally pushed ahead during the afternoon, securing a 12 – 6 win.

Following a short lawn match away against Llanfairfechan on Sunday, 14 June, Chester made another trip on Thursday, 2 July, this time the Chester Senators team playing away in the NW golf croquet handicap league.

The morning was a little windy and overcast but gradually brightened as the day progressed. The first doubles match took an hour and a half proving a tough challenge ending in 7 – 6 to Chester. By lunchtime the scores were even at 5 – 5 so we had a relaxing break assisted by some lovely cakes provided by our very gracious hosts.  The afternoon finished with Llanfairfechan edging ahead by two games to lead 10 – 8. The day ended in bright sunshine and smiles all round!