Croquet and Gateball Mallet Swing Guide
Canberra Club leads the way

What makes croquet such a demanding sport is that in any mallet stroke there are four major variables - line of swing, mallet face alignment, height and speed. All of these begin behind you, where it is difficult to check any component, especially when the really vital discipline is to keep watching the striker ball!

The hypothesis that led to the design of the swing guide was that some degree of control over the first two variables would improve accuracy, and help the novice overcome the hurdle of making the initial roquet.

The design criteria were that any device should be easily portable, compact for storage, accommodate a reasonable range of back swing, fit in the boot of a car, be low cost and then offer some control of swing direction and club face alignment.

The unit comprises a channel slightly wider than a mallet head, with sides that curve to follow a normal back-swing, a centre groove to help alignment, control positions for amount of back swing and pins to secure it on the lawn once it is accurately aligned. When set up it obviates the need to stalk the ball (in practice only), it enables repeated trials of the same shot from exactly the same position, so it speeds up the practice routine. The key principle is to listen during both directions of the swing - a rattle or scraping sound means that the guide is working hard; a quiet swing either way indicates effective mallet control. Regrettably it won't handle casting - only strokes that start within the channel.

Tests by a range of players have demonstrated that it gives accurate roquets from five yards and makes running a hoop from two yards a snap

The second invention derived from the frustration of gateball practice for a novice - hit the ball, miss the target, retrieve the ball and start again. The aim was to develop accuracy, and return. 'U-Tube' comprises two lengths of 4" plastic pipe, and two right angle bends. A timber offcut is fixed to the return end to give the necessary incline to roll the ball out to the player. The pipe diameter is smaller than a gate and larger than a ball, so the practice is realistic.

It is easily taken apart for storage or transport, and, with a few cushions for furniture protection, works equally well on carpet at home or in a hotel room. It is easily possible to achieve a practice rate of six to eight strokes a minute.

The third invention is derivative from the croquet swing guide and aims to provide swing line and mallet face alignment for the much smaller and lighter gateball mallet.

With the addition of two plywood spacing liners, which can be quickly added or removed with the operation of just three Phillips head screws, it can double as a Gateball Swing Guide. It still has to be operationally tested by the members of the winning Victorian State Championship team, but, in unofficial tests by a novice, has put eight out of ten balls in succession into the "U-Tube Returnaball" from four yards, and made another ten "touches" from five yards- solo practice with high productivity!

Progression of the three phases at our Club ( Canberra ) was gradual. The croquet swing guide came first, and needed three versions to get it right.  The gateball pipe unit came next as a
stand-alone practice aid. The adaption of the original croquet swing guide to gateball usage came later.

A personal comment: the initial reaction of club members was interesting - skepticism, facetious or patronising comment, dismissal, reluctance to try it. However, once one of the more venturesome members tried it and acknowledged its immediate benefit, gradually others stepped up and became, if not convert, at least less skeptical!
I was reminded of a line from Gray's 'Elegy in a Country Churchyard' (which was mandatory in primary school education 'way back in my day) about the village preacher, "They came to scoff and remained to pray." I guess that is the lot of the innovator in today's society.