Keeping up Down Under

Good 'aye mates - your roving reporter found a lovely welcome at Southport Croquet Club, Gold Coast, Australia.
 
About an hour south of Brisbane and maybe half a mile back from the Pacific, the Club has about 120 members and three lawns - all good, flat and true; the grass is not as fine as ours, but the climate challenges are almost completely the opposite!
 
I was invited to turn up and take pot luck, which I did; and it was an interesting experience! Two gentlemen were playing and one kindly suggested I have a game with his wife, Gabi, who was sitting out. Perfect. Gabi was lovely, I selected a mallet (equipment store just like ours!) and off we went! 

I was playing well and delighted with my game, even 0 - 4 down.  At this point, Gabi's husband quietly walked over and whispered in my ear that he had omitted to mention that his wife was rated No2 ladies player in Queensland and No3 in Australia! Thank you, sir! Well, that was an incentive to at least hold my own! A 4 - 7 loss with hardly a bad stroke on my part was an honourable escape in my book! Gabi had the best hoop running shot I have ever seen - three successful boundary to hoop runs, not one hoop attempt missed all game. I simply had to leave nothing on at any distance - so impressed!  
 
The Club has evolved like ours - once the land was secured, the funds were generated over the years to build a Clubhouse, equipment store, viewing benches, etc, etc. One idea I noticed was their approach to eliminating rabbit runs - they'd create three hoop hole sets at the beginning of the season (aligned right next to each other); then they insert flat topped plugs (rather like wine bottle plugs) to maintain the two sets not being used at any one time. These are rotated regularly and the result is a lack of evidence of any rabbit runs at all.
 
Wildlife issues are a little different - no squirrels to worry about, but they do find the occasional egg laid from ground nesting birds who take a fancy to the odd divot and centre peg hole! 
 
Apologies go to Raouf and Ian - yes, I resorted to my quirky pose!
 
I might try playing Gabi's husband next time!

Cheers,  

Mark Higgins

 

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