BUDE now has its very own croquet club and the committee are looking for new members to join.

The group play at Bude Haven Recreation Ground off Leven Terrace in Bude, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 10am, and are now welcoming anyone interested to come along to try golf croquet. Just wear soft shoes — trainers are ideal — and the club will supply the rest. As well as this, the first couple of sessions with guidance will be free!

The official opening for the club, by the Mayor of Bude and Stratton, Lea Deely, will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, April 2.

The game involves getting a coloured ball through several hoops in the correct order. When playing singles, there are two balls to deal with, or when playing doubles, each person has their own ball. Players play against another person or a two-person team, who try to achieve the same objective — getting one of their balls through the same hoop.

As soon as one side’s ball succeeds, all move on to attack the next hoop. One team will play with the blue and black balls, and the other with red and yellow, and the four are played in strict order.

While both sides are trying to ‘hoop’ their balls — where the fun starts — each is trying to prevent the other succeeding. Judging what the opposition will do to try to hoop a ball and obstruct the other team and taking appropriate action to frustrate them is essential. Some measures taken will be defensive, some protective and some plain aggressive.

Each game usually involves hooping 13 hoops and the first team to score seven hoops wins that game. Some hoops are ‘hooped’ quickly, and some can take ages because of everybody trying to frustrate the opposition, not to mention bad shots missing hoops.

Under ideal conditions, the lawn will be flat, like a bowling green. It is fairly simple, after a bit of practice, to hit the ball in the right direction, but how far it goes is the more difficult part to master, and depends on when the grass was cut, the softness of the ground and the moisture on the grass.

However, at the Rec, there is another dimension to deal with — the lawn is not like a bowling green, so one has to adjust one’s shots for gradient too, some quite steep, and there are little bumps all over the place!

Sometimes it is a matter of guesswork where and how hard to hit the ball — but at least it’s the same for everybody.

A spokesperson for the club said: “So, do come along and give it a try. We will do all we can to help and guide you. Some hardly need guidance, taking to it like a duck to water, some needing rather more practice and encouragement. That’s what we are there for!”

For more information, phone Tony on 01840 230 091 or Brian on 01566 774 892.