TABLE OF CONTENTS
The 5 Steps to a Perfect Croquet Shot
Learn the fundamental 5 Step shot routine that builds elite consistency. A detailed guide to stalking the ball, alignment, focus and follow-through.
Whether you're a new player building habits or an experienced player who's gotten sloppy, this routine works at every level.
Stalk the ball. Keep your head down. Follow through. Every player has heard it. How many actually do it on every shot?
"I'll tell you who does," says Mary McMahon. "Robert Fletcher, a world croquet champion. He does it every time. Yet we mere mortals think we can go out and play and we don't have to do that."
As Mary says, "I guarantee you that if you really concentrated on that on every shot that you ever hit, whether it be in practice, you will improve because it will become muscle memory."
Here's her five-step shot routine.
Step 1: Stalk the Ball & Create the Picture
Walk up to your ball and build the mental image. "When you stalk and you line yourself up for that target, you have to make sure that your body is in line with it," Mary says. "I am creating the picture of that tunnel and that laneway... I'm thinking a laser line going from my belly button to my target."
Step 2: Concrete Your Feet
Once you have established that perfect line, nothing else moves. "My feet are concreted to the ground," Mary says. "So often I see people, they stalk, they put the mallet down, and then they do this," she says, mimicking a shuffle. "Straight away, you've lost your line."
Step 3: Shift Your Focus from Target to Ball
Your body is lined up. Trust it. Now forget the target and focus on the point of impact. "Once you put your mallet down... you forget about that target ball," she says. "Your focus now is the center of your striking ball."
Step 4: Keep Your Head Down
The most common cause of a missed shot. You lift your head to watch, and your body pulls off the line. "Your head should stay down," Mary says. "Don't lift that head 'til you hear the clang of the balls. Watching it's not going to make it hit the ball."
Step 5: Play the Picture
The last thought before you swing. You've built the image of the ball travelling down the line. Now execute it. "When I go to play the ball, I've created the picture," Mary says. "I now 'play the picture' is what I'm saying in my mind."
Watch the Full Routine
For those who want to see it all together, here is Mary explaining the entire process in one continuous flow.
Do this on every shot in practice. Eventually it stops being a checklist and becomes instinct.
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