Notes from Robert Fulford Masterclass

With thanks to Thomas Halliday, herewith some brief notes to summarise Robert's tips, in case you were interested. I missed some of what he said while I was helping get sandwiches out, but:

Mallet swing
1 - For more power, apart from swinging from the shoulders think about 'translation' - moving the mallet as a whole forward while swinging. This puts more momentum into the ball. A bit of wrist movement will also help but at the expense of accuracy.
2 - Feel the 'pause' at the top of your backswing. This will help the mallet to naturally fall along its pendulum swing, and not waste the energy you've put into the backswing by dragging it forward too fast.
3 - Balance is important. This could mean taking a staggered stance to be more stable, or allowing your body to rock back and forwards on your feet slightly with the weight of the mallet.

Positioning
1 - General rule: position slightly beyond the hoop so that the ball that clears you doesn't roll into hoop-running position.
2 - Be brave when running hoops - if it is 50:50, go for it.
3 - If you are blocking, get tight into the hoop.
4 - Think about short boundaries at corner hoops. If you are cleared, being on the boundary side means you won't be cleared very far. If you are further into the lawn, you might be cleared across the whole lawn.

General Strategy
1 - Your balls should be working together, so be patient. Clearing a ball in front of a hoop is usually best done with the ball playing just before it. Otherwise it will just come back and you have no other option.
2 - First ball to the next hoop should almost never be promoted. If the first ball takes a perfect position and you aren't confident of clearing it from distance, promoting your partner might be your only chance.

Jumps
1 - A jump shot is a normal swing taken further forward over the ball - nothing complicated about it. Very close jumps are tricky and might be better played with a 'roll shot' stance.

He also mentioned and recommended the book by Ian Burridge, which is called Golf Croquet for Tournament Players. I already have a copy and can also recommend it - for high handicappers, there are big Golden Rules at the start of each chapter, with a lot of nuance and explanation underneath for those playing at B or A level.

https://www.croquetengland.org.uk/product/golf-croquet-for-tournament-players/