Triple Peel Practise Routine
In my experience, the best way to learn the triple is to start with the delayed triple. It is harder than a standard triple but opportunities for the standard are far fewer than the delayed. There are few difficult shots involved, it is the organisation of the balls which is critical.
It is based on Keith Wylie’s book Advanced Croquet Tactics but for some reason it was edited out of the softback edition.
You are playing Yellow and peeling Red.
Start with Red in the jaws of 4 back as though you have just run 3 and jawsed the peel. Place Yellow in a likely position near Red with the get away ball (Blue) nearby and Black as a pioneer at 4. You should have a rush on Blue up the lawn towards hoop 4. So, that is your “set piece” starting position.
Now rush Blue up the lawn so that you can split Blue to 5 and your ball to the pioneer at 4. This rush up the lawn can easily go wrong. I prefer to rush short rather than risk getting too near, or the wrong side of the pioneer and being unable to send Blue all the way to 5.
Make 4. Then send Black as a pioneer to 6 as you go to Blue which is waiting for you at 5. Make 5 and send Blue to 1 Back as you go to the ball at 6. The position of Blue is important and our practise group has found that it is best placed about 3 yards east of hoop 1 back about hoop high. This makes it easy to pick up after peeling 4 back See bold type below. In approaching 6, send Black to the right of the hoop. Run 6 and croquet Black leaving it about 3 feet to the right of 6 and a foot or two beyond (ie North East of 6). Play a take off from Black to 4 Back. Rush Peel Red. Now you have a very tricky shot but it is the key to this “delayed triple”. Split Red to 2 Back as you go to the pioneer at 1 Back. This shot deserves quite a lot of practise but the time will be well spent because it is a shot that crops up time and again and if you can pull it off accurately your game will move up another notch. It is about a 1/3rd roll for me – you may find a different ratio works better. Our practise group found that Red should be aimed to the left of 2 back to allow a fair amount of pull. Depending on your position, the aiming point for mallet is about 2 to 3 feet right of penult.
Make 1 Back and send Blue to 3 Back as you go either to Black near Penult or straight to 2 back if you prefer. As you will soon discover, Black is your pioneer for 4 Back which you will use after peeling Penult, so if you do go to it on the way to 2 back it is an opportunity to fiddle with its position. Take off to 2 Back. In approaching 2 Back off Red, place Red so that after the hoop you can rush it back to Penult. (Accuracy here is very important and is much easier if you have a well placed pioneer at 2 Back). This rush is quite critical. Aim to rush Red in front of Penult. If you are lucky enough to get it there, peel it immediately. Usually all you need to do is to leave it somewhere near Penult where it can later be rushed into peeling position, so don’t put it too near the hoop at this point otherwise the rush will have to be very gentle. Croquet Black and take off to 3 Back (leaving Black in a suitable position for use as a pioneer for 4 Back after the Penult peel).
3 Back. This is another hoop that requires special attention. After the hoop you will need a forward rush towards Penult. This could be make or break for your triple so getting that rush is of paramount importance. For that reason I always try to rush the pioneer several feet South of 3 back and play a drive or stop shot approach so that Blue is well placed for that rush. Make the hoop and rush Blue to an area either between Penult and Peg or North of the balls at Penult. Blue is going to be your pioneer for Penult BUT BUT BUT you will be approaching Penult from somewhere around the Peg. So either (a) rush Blue directly there or (b) croquet it there from a position North of Penult. After (a) do a take off to the peelee Red (b) in the croquet shot send your ball to Red. Obviously a tight position here is important as you need to rush Red into peeling position. Peel Red well clear of the hoop, if that isn't possibe play Red into the jaws of Penult and get a rush on Black to 4 Back with Yellow. Play the rush, make 4 Back and rush Black back towards the action so that you can send it to Rover and get a good position on Red. If (a) Red was peeled, get a position on Red so you can rush it and then croquet Red to Rover getting a position on Blue (the Penult pioneer) or (b) if Red was jawsed, rush peel Red so that you can send it to Rover and get a position on your Penult pioneer. PLEASE NOTE, this technique means that you are placing Red at Rover from a very close distance so you should get it into a good position.
Make Penult and all you have to do now is the Rover peel. Absolutely the best way to do this is an Irish peel – if possible with a drive rather than a roll (more accurate). If your ball fails to run it almost always stays in a perfect running position. With this method it is important to have both oppo balls to one side so that after running Rover you can roquet one of them and and use the roqueted ball to bombard the peelee away from the hoop f necessary. Then use the other ball to get a rush on Red to the peg. The Reddish Amendment If Red is not in an easy position, oOur practise group found that after running penult, it is a good idea to play a roll, sending the getaway ball (Blue) to the same side of Rover as Black but slightly beyond the hoop and Yellow as close as possible to Red. This means that you can peel Red with a stop shot and you are still live on Black. This can be used to bombard Red away from the hoop if necessary AND get a good running position in front of Rover for Yellow.
When practising, it is probably best to split the complete routine into small segments so that you can practise each element repeatedly until you have mastered the shots – then string it all together.
Good luck.
Duncan
In my experience, the best way to learn the triple is to start with the delayed triple. It is harder than a standard triple but opportunities for the standard are far fewer than the delayed. There are few difficult shots involved, it is the organisation of the balls which is critical.
It is based on Keith Wylie’s book Advanced Croquet Tactics but for some reason it was edited out of the softback edition.
You are playing Yellow and peeling Red.
Start with Red in the jaws of 4 back as though you have just run 3 and jawsed the peel. Place Yellow in a likely position near Red with the get away ball (Blue) nearby and Black as a pioneer at 4. You should have a rush on Blue up the lawn towards hoop 4. So, that is your “set piece” starting position.
Now rush Blue up the lawn so that you can split Blue to 5 and your ball to the pioneer at 4. This rush up the lawn can easily go wrong. I prefer to rush short rather than risk getting too near, or the wrong side of the pioneer and being unable to send Blue all the way to 5.
Make 4. Then send Black as a pioneer to 6 as you go to Blue which is waiting for you at 5. Make 5 and send Blue to 1 Back as you go to the ball at 6. The position of Blue is important and our practise group has found that it is best placed about 3 yards east of hoop 1 back about hoop high. This makes it easy to pick up after peeling 4 back See bold type below. In approaching 6, send Black to the right of the hoop. Run 6 and croquet Black leaving it about 3 feet to the right of 6 and a foot or two beyond (ie North East of 6). Play a take off from Black to 4 Back. Rush Peel Red. Now you have a very tricky shot but it is the key to this “delayed triple”. Split Red to 2 Back as you go to the pioneer at 1 Back. This shot deserves quite a lot of practise but the time will be well spent because it is a shot that crops up time and again and if you can pull it off accurately your game will move up another notch. It is about a 1/3rd roll for me – you may find a different ratio works better. Our practise group found that Red should be aimed to the left of 2 back to allow a fair amount of pull. Depending on your position, the aiming point for mallet is about 2 to 3 feet right of penult.
Make 1 Back and send Blue to 3 Back as you go either to Black near Penult or straight to 2 back if you prefer. As you will soon discover, Black is your pioneer for 4 Back which you will use after peeling Penult, so if you do go to it on the way to 2 back it is an opportunity to fiddle with its position. Take off to 2 Back. In approaching 2 Back off Red, place Red so that after the hoop you can rush it back to Penult. (Accuracy here is very important and is much easier if you have a well placed pioneer at 2 Back). This rush is quite critical. Aim to rush Red in front of Penult. If you are lucky enough to get it there, peel it immediately. Usually all you need to do is to leave it somewhere near Penult where it can later be rushed into peeling position, so don’t put it too near the hoop at this point otherwise the rush will have to be very gentle. Croquet Black and take off to 3 Back (leaving Black in a suitable position for use as a pioneer for 4 Back after the Penult peel).
3 Back. This is another hoop that requires special attention. After the hoop you will need a forward rush towards Penult. This could be make or break for your triple so getting that rush is of paramount importance. For that reason I always try to rush the pioneer several feet South of 3 back and play a drive or stop shot approach so that Blue is well placed for that rush. Make the hoop and rush Blue to an area either between Penult and Peg or North of the balls at Penult. Blue is going to be your pioneer for Penult BUT BUT BUT you will be approaching Penult from somewhere around the Peg. So either (a) rush Blue directly there or (b) croquet it there from a position North of Penult. After (a) do a take off to the peelee Red (b) in the croquet shot send your ball to Red. Obviously a tight position here is important as you need to rush Red into peeling position. Peel Red well clear of the hoop, if that isn't possibe play Red into the jaws of Penult and get a rush on Black to 4 Back with Yellow. Play the rush, make 4 Back and rush Black back towards the action so that you can send it to Rover and get a good position on Red. If (a) Red was peeled, get a position on Red so you can rush it and then croquet Red to Rover getting a position on Blue (the Penult pioneer) or (b) if Red was jawsed, rush peel Red so that you can send it to Rover and get a position on your Penult pioneer. PLEASE NOTE, this technique means that you are placing Red at Rover from a very close distance so you should get it into a good position.
Make Penult and all you have to do now is the Rover peel. Absolutely the best way to do this is an Irish peel – if possible with a drive rather than a roll (more accurate). If your ball fails to run it almost always stays in a perfect running position. With this method it is important to have both oppo balls to one side so that after running Rover you can roquet one of them and and use the roqueted ball to bombard the peelee away from the hoop f necessary. Then use the other ball to get a rush on Red to the peg. The Reddish Amendment If Red is not in an easy position, oOur practise group found that after running penult, it is a good idea to play a roll, sending the getaway ball (Blue) to the same side of Rover as Black but slightly beyond the hoop and Yellow as close as possible to Red. This means that you can peel Red with a stop shot and you are still live on Black. This can be used to bombard Red away from the hoop if necessary AND get a good running position in front of Rover for Yellow.
When practising, it is probably best to split the complete routine into small segments so that you can practise each element repeatedly until you have mastered the shots – then string it all together.
Good luck.
Duncan