HCC Golf Croquet Singles Tournament 4th June 2026

The GC singles tournament attracted 14 competitive members this year who all played 7 matches through a mixture of wind, rain and sun! It was necessary to include a final between Roddy Willett and Peter Rule who could not be separated both having 7 wins and a plus 24 net hoops! Congratulations to Roddy who after a long day won the final 7-4. A huge thanks to Gary Lewis and David Boxell for managing the tournament and keeping everything running smoothly. It was very much a team effort setting up in the morning and thanks to everyone for their help. 
https://croquetscores.com/2026/gc/hunstanton-club-singles-level-play 
 
 

GC Grass Roots Competition 23rd May

The GC Grass Roots level play competition was won by Bev Runchman with an impressive 5 wins out of 6 games. Huge congratulations Bev.

7 club members contested this entry level tournament as a taster for the CqE D Level Series in August. Handicaps ranged from 12 – 16 and experience from complete beginners to seasoned club stalwarts.

The players were blessed with a wonderful Sunny Hunny day in an all-play-all format.

The full results are available on Croquet Scores at: https://croquetscores.com/2026/gc/hunstanton-grass-roots

It is to be hoped that more club members will consider entering this event next year.

David Boxell

Manager, Grass Roots, HCC 23/05/2026.

 

Left – Winner Bev Runchman being presented with the Grass Roots salver by Janet Kendal, Chair HCC. 

Right – Back row left to right: Susan Statham, Richard Chipps, Charles Mackenzie, Steve Runchman, Madelaine Williams and Mary Core. Front Row: Bev Runchman and Janet Kendal

Golf Croquet Open Series Tournament 16th -17th May

(The Hampson Trophy)

16 and  17 May 2026

This year the first national Golf Croquet event staged by the club attracted 14 participants travelling from all over the country and as far as Switzerland and Wales. The clubs lawns had, as always been prepared to a very high standard by our Green Keeper Johnny Ives and received many complimentary comments from our visitors.

Under favourable weather conditions, play broken down into two blocks of seven, which on the first day each participant was required to play seven no time limit 13 point games in which the top four of each block would on the second day progress into a quarter final round consisting of one 19 point game each. The remaining six would continue to play each other in a block of five games each to determine the Plate Winner.

On the second day the eight Quarter-Finalists were required to play one round of nineteen point games in which the four winners would proceed into a Semi-Final Round of best of three Thirteen point games, which turned out to be Lionel Tibble (Northampton), Ian Lines (Peterborough), Debbie Lines (Peterborough) and Stephen Cornelius (Peterborough). In the following Semi-Finals Ian beat Lionel by two games to none and Debbie saw off Stephen also by two games without score leading to a three game final match between husband and wife.

In the final game which proved entertaining and exciting to watch by the spectators, Ian scored first blood beating Debbie 7 – 2. However, Debbie then made a spirited recovery wining the next two games 7 – 5 and 7 – 4 running out the overall deserved winner. Local member Colin Spencer took the Shield and Sarah Clements of (Chester) was the overall winner of the subsequent Plate Event.

Overall a very successful weekend and thanks go out to those members who voluntarily turned out to prepare the club and refreshments on each day in which a total of 80 games were played and successfully downloaded to Croquet England.

It should be mentioned that local club members Pauline Donner and Gary Lewis each managed to achieve a handicap drop of one to 4 and 5 respectively. Congratulations to them both.

Terrey Sparks

GC Course April -May

The fourth Introduction to GC course finished today, 5th May, with this year’s cohort being lucky enough to have sunshine in all four sessions (albeit very chilly for the first two). They were a lovely bunch and made excellent progress; we look forward to welcoming many of them as full members on club afternoons and then in competitions.

Robert Prichard AC tournament 2 – 4 May

Robert Prichard (AC) Weekend Tournament – (The Fermoy Cup)

   The first national club tournament of the summer took place at the club over the 3 Day Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Due to the high standard of the lawns it attracted 19 entrants of a high prestigious standard ranging from International Standard down to Club Level. This event is one of the oldest AC tournaments and has been competed for annually since the 1930’s. The standard of play was of the highest calibre and as expected the winner was not determined until the final round when Ian Lines ended up the winner against Mark Avery, both highly regarded internationally players.

  The weather, as is usually the case, was variable for the time of year and was a mixture of sun, windy conditions and chilly North Easterly winds which were borne with fortitude by all those present.

   Overall, thanks must go to all those members behind the scenes which include Greenkeeper ‘Jonny’ plus the Hoop – Setters and those unseen club members who turned up voluntarily providing all the little luxuries such as delicious teas and club house cleaning  without whom would make it impossible to run such a tournament which is of great benefit to the club finances and reputation.

Terrey Sparks

 

Club opening prep Thurs 9th April (reserve day Friday 10th)

Please could as many members as possible help with hoop setting ( 2 sets of hoop holes on all 5 lawns) and preparing the clubhouse ready to open Monday 13th to welcome the 2026 cohort of trainees to the first of their 4 morning training sessions. The club will then be open as usual for the first doubles afternoon of the season. Many hands make light work and there are jobs for all abilities- please help to share the workload!

Invitation Weekend 25/26th July

After a surge of entries, all places have been fillled for the weekend and there will be a waiting/reserve list in case of any dropouts. Allocation will be 1st May. We look forward to an enjoyable weekend of competition with friends old and new.

Coffee Morning Feb 23rd

How lovely to see so many members – existing and potential – at the coffee morning at Norfolk Lavender. 

Happy New Year!

Welcome back everyone. It’s wet and cold and miserable today and balmy days on the croquet lawns still seem a long way off, but at least it is getting lighter.

Your Committee and volunteers have been hard at work planning for next season. Huge, heavy, replacement sleepers have been ordered, delivered and moved (in the cold and wet – thank you, Pete, Janet, Gwenda and Charlie) – part of ongoing maintenance and improvements to keep the club in good condition. Dan has been busy getting to grips with the finances and receiving your subs and 100 club money – please keep them coming in.

Social news – the coffee morning has been booked at Norfolk Lavender, Monday 23rd Feb, from 10-12. Come for the whole time, stay for lunch, or just pop in for a while. It was lovely to see so many of you (over 30) at the last one, hope you can come again. Norfolk Lavender is having another move around so I am not quite sure where we shall be exactly, but either ask the staff or follow the noise and you will find us.

There have been a few minor changes to the calendar since it was first uploaded. Do check the dates and plan your season. Entry forms and regulations for the Invitation Weekend (25/26 July)can be found under Tournaments. Allocation date is 1st May so please apply promptly to help Terrey plan.