Enfield Croquet Club
News 2026
Colin's in-off gives him the win
David Frost Successfully Defends 2-Shot GC Title
Thursday 2 July – Thomas Halliday
Murphy Shield Exit After Tough Away Match at Leighton‑Linslade
Monday 15 June – Thomas Halliday
A tough away match at Leighton-Linslade today in the Murphy Shield. The lawns were very slow – the council mows their lawn and last did it a week ago. To give you an idea of how slow, I was simply unable to clear an opponent more than about 20 yards.
The morning went fully against us. David Frost and I lost the doubles 7–6 7–6 against Bill Ironside and Judith Pengelly, Andrew Yianni lost to David Ball, and although Nigel Owen went 6–0 up in the first game, and eventually won that game, he lost in three to Rose Gillett.
We needed a clean sweep of the afternoon matches, and although Nigel beat David Ball and I beat Bill Ironside, both in straight games, David and Andrew lost their singles matches.
We are therefore eliminated from the Murphy Shield, losing 5 matches to 2.
Enfield West Defeat Meldreth in GC Handicap League
Friday 12 June
Enfield Secures First GC Open League Victory Over
Watford
Wednesday 10 June – Thomas Halliday
Well. When Watford come to play in the GC Open League, we consider it to be a visit from our big local rivals. Whether they view it that way or not is not clear, as until today, we've never beaten them in this competition. We got close four years ago, when a downpour flooded our club and ended a match prematurely at 9–9, but in a game with our best against their best, we've generally come up second.
We shared the doubles, with Kim Taylor and Colin Carver taking things carefully and tactically to beat England international Nick Archer (-2) and veteran Arthur Reed (2), who told me today that he once played against someone who dined with Disraeli. (When he was about 18, he played a woman in her 90s – born about 1865 – whose parents were friends with Disraeli.)
David Frost and I were summarily taken apart by Hong Kong's finest, Eddie Chung (0) and Simon 'Big Dog' Hathrell (1), who couldn't miss.
Simon then thrashed me in the singles, for a 2–1 lead for Watford.
But that proved to be the low point of the day. Although Nick bettered Kim with a late surge, David saw off Eddie and Colin beat Arthur to leave us at 3–3, just as the rain began to fall.
There then followed something of a miracle spell of play – 10 games in a row with Enfield winning, running hoops and clearing from everywhere, while Watford struggled with even getting in position. The only further loss of the day came from Colin against Nick, who is shortly to go to the Home Internationals with England – hardly a shameful defeat! Captain David was unbeaten in singles.
A 14–4 victory against the defending league champions, our first-ever victory over Watford in this event, and such an emphatic one, is exciting for our prospects. Next up, Wrest Park come visiting later this month, before we go to perennial contenders Northampton for a crucial away tie.
David Frost Wins Close Run One Ball Tournament
Thursday 4 June
After the recent heatwave, the weather returned to its more familiar English character – a high of 19°C and scattered showers. Interruptions to play were brief, and the day was pleasant enough overall.
Thanks are due to Thomas Halliday, who set up the scoresheet and rota and got us all started before having to leave for work commitments.
After seven rounds of handicap one-ball, debutant Colin Bateman and veteran David Frost were level on six wins apiece. The tie was broken on who beat whom: Colin's sole defeat had come against David, and so David Frost was declared the winner.
Enfield Recover from Slow Start to Win at Northampton in GC 3+
League
Wednesday 27 May
The Enfield team of Colin Carver, Nigel Owen, Andrew Yianni and Graham Curtis travelled to Northampton for this GC 3+ League fixture. With an aggregate handicap of 19 compared with Northampton’s 25, Enfield started as slight favourites on paper.
However, the match began poorly for the visitors, with Enfield losing both opening doubles. From that point on, though, the team responded strongly, producing a series of solid performances to turn the contest around and establish a 6–4 lead by lunchtime.
Enfield maintained that momentum throughout the afternoon session, continuing to edge the singles contests and ultimately securing an 11–7 victory.
Colin Carver Wins High-Bisquers AC Tournament at
Blewbury
Saturday 23, Sunday 24 May – David Long
Colin (R) Receives Trophy From David Long
A gloriously sunny Bank Holiday weekend saw just 6 competitors battling it out for this year’s Hi-Bisquers trophy: Carol Jamieson & David Long represented Blewbury against Charles Briggs & Neil George (both Caversham), Colin Carver (Enfield), and Graham Brookshank (Cheltenham). Apart from Colin (on a 16 handicap) and Carol (on 20), everyone else was on the competition’s minimum handicap of 14.
With time for an all-play-all league, draws were allowed to keep the competition running smoothly. After 3 matches on the first day, Carol had a clear lead with 2 wins and a draw. Three players were behind her on 1 win and a draw (yes, two of the 9 games played had been draws, and others very tight – vindicating the match format of 18-point games played to a base of 4).
Going into the last match, only two players could win the tournament, fittingly the two highest bisquers: Carol was still the player to beat, with one victory more than Colin. But Carol’s previous form deserted her as she lost 11–14 to Charles, while Colin slowly overhauled David to a 13–8 victory. 3.5 wins each, and let’s see, what were the stated tie-break criteria?
First was who-beat-whom… but the first-round match between Colin and Carol had been one of the draws (15–15). The competition result would hinge on total hoops scored: prior to that last match, the pair had been equal on that too, with 62 hoops apiece. So Colin’s last two hoops against David proved decisive, and won him the trophy.
Enfield West Draw Against Barnet in GC Handicap
League
Monday 21 May
Enfield West travelled to Barnet, coming away with another draw.
Representing Enfield were Nicola Hyde, Graham Curtis and Rob Havill, who faced former Enfield member Dave Hill, alongside Nicola Mack and Adam Pyrke. The match proved evenly contested throughout, with the final score five games each. Enfield West did, however, have a slightly better scoring fraction percentage.
Watford Win Out in Closely Fought GC 3+ Clash
Monday 18 May – Colin Carver
Colin Carver, Nigel Owen, Brian Dawes and Rob Havill played the home match against our arch rivals Watford.
On paper Watford held a very slight advantage with a handicap total of 19 against Enfield's 20 and unfortunately that proved to be the case. The opening doubles were halved before Enfield took 3 of the first round of singles. The second singles round was halved to give Enfield a 6–4 advantage at lunch.
Whether it was the famous Enfield après lunch collapse or a brief period of rain, but Watford took all 4 games of the next round which proved decisive. With the final singles round and reverse doubles being halved, Watford closed out a narrow victory 11–9 (111 v 107 hoops).
David Barnicoat and Andrew Yianni Win GC Handicap
Doubles
Thursday 7 May
A very enjoyable day for the second internal tournament of the season – great fun – lovely weather – and the result was a win for David Barnicoat and Andrew Yianni with Colin Carver and Gillian Porter finishing runners-up.
The day also produced a strong contender for the club’s longest-ever game. Kim Taylor and Rob Havill faced Sue Bateman and Angela Clay in a marathon contest lasting 2 hours and 20 minutes.
With a starting score of -4:0, no time limit in place and some uncharacteristically wayward play from the lower-handicapped side, the match developed into an epic encounter. In the end, Kim and Rob prevailed 7–5.
Enfield Beat Watford in Season Opener of AC Beds & Herts League
Friday 1 May – Thomas Halliday
It was so, so hot today – perhaps the humidity. We needed Air Conditioning not Association Croquet.
Watford came to visit in the opener of the Beds and Herts League – always a good rivalry – and we were all struggling with conditions. Almost all of us, anyway. Nigel Owen played a blinder in both doubles and singles, helping me to a +21 doubles win before going on to win +25 in the singles over Adam Huby. David Frost and Colin Carver also won their doubles in style, +19.
I was playing Andre Machell in the singles. We traded small breaks and, for a while, it looked like Andre was going to edge home, but I had a good long hit in to seize the innings, and from there pulled off a seven hoop break to win +3.
David's match against Geoff Johnson and Colin's against Eddie Chung went to time, with lawn 3 being particularly difficult today. Colin finished with an 11-hoop break to win 20–8, while Geoff and David finished 15–15 on time. No draws allowed, so on to a deciding hoop – first to score wins, as long as it takes.
David hit in from a tricky position, then came down to his hoop, roqueting yellow on the non-playing side. His backward take-off was slightly to the side, but only a yard out, and he ran the hoop to seal a 16–15 win in the game, and a 6–0 win in the match!
Enfield KO'd by Surbiton in GC Inter-Club Championship Tier 1
Monday 27 April
Enfield travelled to Surbiton for Round 1 of this knockout competition, comprising seven rubbers of best-of-three level-play games.
Kim Taylor took England international Stephen Mulliner to 6-all in the deciding game. With Mulliner's ball sitting two yards in front of hoop 13, Kim had a golden opportunity to win the golden hoop. He took his shot. The ball flew through the hoop. It was, heartbreakingly, his opponent's ball.
David Frost also reached the deciding hoop of the deciding game against an England international – Alison Maugham, only to fall 6–7 at the final hurdle.
Colin Carver and Thomas Halliday completed the side, with Thomas claiming Enfield's only rubber win.
The final score of 6–1 looks one-sided, but the match was much closer than those numbers suggest. Our handicaps summed to +6 against Surbiton's -4.
Two More Draws for Enfield in GC Handicap League
Friday 24 April
Enfield West, fielding David Frost, Nigel Owen, Graham Curtis and Patrick Beecham, were evenly matched throughout by Enfield East comprising Thomas Halliday, Colin Carver, Andrew Yianni and Frank Palmer, resulting in a 9–9 draw.
Both teams will be pleased to be off the mark, and with neither side yet beaten, an unbeaten run remains a possibility for both.
Enfield Draw Against Wrest Park in GC 3+ League
Tuesday 21 April
Enfield's team of Nigel Owen, Nicola Hyde and Graham Curtis hosted Wrest Park in what proved to be a closely contested match.
Wrest Park made a strong start, taking both the doubles and singles in the opening round. In the second round Enfield won the doubles and Wrest Park the singles, however in the third round Enfield won both the doubles and the singles to level the match three games all.
The intensity of these hard-fought exchanges had, however, left the match running behind schedule. After a quick lunch, both sides agreed to impose a time limit on the remaining games (which were all completed within time).
Rounds four and five maintained the tight pattern, each yielding one win per side, meaning everything came down to the sixth and final round. Nigel and Nicola rose to the occasion, winning their doubles 7–5 to set the stage for a dramatic conclusion.
Graham contests hoop 12 to level the match
It fell to Graham to take on Wrest Park's top seed George Collin, with the overall result hanging on the outcome. Finding himself 5–6 down, Graham dug deep to win hoop 12 and force a golden hoop decider. In a tense clearing battle, George edged it for Wrest Park – leaving the match honours shared at six games each.
David Frost Wins Wrest Park GC A-Level Series
Tournament
Saturday 18, Sunday 19 April
David and Colin Carver represented Enfield at the Wrest Park GC A-Level Series Tournament, which attracted a strong field of 16 players, split into two blocks of eight.
Both players were drawn in the same block. David produced a consistent performance in the qualifying stage to finish second and progress to the main knockout, while Colin placed sixth, moving into the plate competition.
All matches throughout the event were played as best-of-three games. David continued his fine form in the knockout rounds, advancing to the final where he faced Les Heard. In a closely fought and high-quality match, David edged the match 7–6, 3–7, 7–6 to secure the title and qualify for the national final.
Enfield’s GC Open Campaign Begins with Convincing Win
Wednesday 15 April
Enfield launched their competitive season in style with a home victory over Leighton-Linslade, recording an impressive 14–4 win.
It was a strong all-round team performance, with David Frost leading the way by finishing the day unbeaten. Colin Carver, Kim Taylor and Thomas Halliday all performed well but were unable to overcome Leighton’s top player, John Watson, who was in excellent form. Leighton’s other success came from their number two, Judith Hand, who secured a 7–2 win.
Thomas Halliday Wins Season Opening Tournament
Thursday 2 April
Lunchtime at the 10-10
The club’s opening 10-10 Golf Croquet Doubles Tournament proved to be a resounding success, with a record turnout of 22 players and a small group of spectators who came along to enjoy the occasion. It was fantastic to see all lawns in full use throughout the day, setting a lively and encouraging tone for the season ahead.
The weather played its part too. Although the morning began a little overcast, the sun made a welcome appearance by lunchtime and stayed with us for most of the afternoon, adding to the enjoyment of the event.
The competition itself was both friendly and keenly contested. Congratulations go to Thomas, who not only organised the tournament superbly but also emerged as the winner – purely coincidental of course! Colin Carver secured second place, with Chris Twomey finishing third. Well done to all three for their excellent performances.
A special thank you goes to Gillian Porter for ensuring everyone was so well catered for during the day. The excellent refreshments were very much appreciated by all.
Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable event and a perfect way to open the new season. Thank you to everyone who took part and contributed to such a successful day.
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