The 4 last news
Playing croquet at 100
Congratulations to Jean, firstly on the occasion of her 100th birthday which was earlier this summer; and secondly, on playing in her first GC open tournament on 19th September at Sussex County.
Jean is a member of Lodsworth Croquet Club and a contingent of club members came to play and support her.
The competition was in four divisions. Divisions 1 and 2 were sub-divided into 2 blocks of 4 players with semi-and final rounds for the top 2. Div 1 was won by Rob Harper, and Div 2 by Francis Ainley.
Division 3 was a block of 6 players and was won by David Larkin. Division 4 was also 6 players and was won by Sue Caulfield.
A special prize was awarded to Jean Farguson for being (we believe) the first centenarian player in golf croquet at Sussex.
Thanks to Linda to managing the event.
Full results
| Div 1 block A | SA | BC | PG | MD | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Ancell | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| Bob Clark | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 4 | |
| Paul Green | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Martin Daniels | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Div 1 block B | RH | DS | SH | TJ | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Harper | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Douglas Shand | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | |
| Sam Holder | 1 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 2 | |
| Tony Jolly | 3 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Main Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Daniels | Martin Daniels 7-6 | Rob Harper 7-6 |
| Sam Holder | ||
| Rob Harper | Rob Harper 7-0 | |
| Paul Green | ||
| Plate Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Simon Ancell | Tony Jolly 7-6 | Tony Jolly 7-6 |
| Tony Jolly | ||
| Bob Clark | Douglas Shand 7-5 | |
| Douglas Shand | ||
Playoffs: Sam Holder w/o v Paul Green; Simon Ancell 7-6 v Bob Clark
| Div 2 block A | DW | TW | VL | TB | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic Webb | 6 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 3 | |
| Tim Weller | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Vincent L'Estrange | 4 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
| Tim Bick | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| Div 2 block B | MG | RC | DK | FA | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Gentry | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 4 | |
| Robyn Clark | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| David King | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Francis Ainley | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 |
| Main Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Tim Bick | David King 7-3 | Francis Ainley 7-4 |
| David King | ||
| Francis Ainley | Francis Ainley 7-6 | |
| Tim Weller | ||
| Plate Semi-Final | Final | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Dominic Webb | Mike Gentry 7-4 | Vincent L'Estrange 7-6 |
| Mike Gentry | ||
| Robyn Clark | Vincent L'Estrange 7-3 | |
| Vincent L'Estrange | ||
Playoffs: Tim Bick 7-4 v Tim Weller; Dominic Webb 7-4 v Robyn Clark
| Div 3 | DL | KM | PWH | DC | JL | BH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Larkin | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Kathy McColgan | 7 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | ||
| Peter W Hill | 1 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 6 | |
| David Cogrossi | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||
| John Low | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| Beryl Hughes | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Div 4 | GT | SC | SS | JF | JS | JH | Wins | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Tucker | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Sue Caulfield | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | |
| Stewart Sims | 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | |
| Jean Farguson | 3 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| Jane Sims | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jo Huffener | 7 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Today we had an informal AC handicap doubles 14pt competition.Although advertised as an open event only Sussex members entered, so we kept it simple.
With 4 pairs we had 3 rounds in beautiful weather.
Bob and Robyn Clark won the Toblerones, courtesy of Linda, with 2 wins and a draw;
Sadly there were no peg outs so no team got the extra 2 points on offer.
There is a final AC competition on 24th October (handicap singles). At the moment it is in danger of being cancelled so it would be good if our growing band of high handicapped AC players could enter and make it a good event.
John
The Croquet England National Inter-Club Short Croquet Competition 2026 Winners
Today a team comprising David Dickens, Steve Chapman, Rob Harper and Nigel Billingham represented Sussex County in the final of the Croquet England National Inter-Club Short Croquet Competition 2026 against Peterborough Croquet Club . The match was hosted by Watford Croquet Club (as approximately midway between both clubs) and we won this nail-biting match 6-5.
The morning session was won by us 3-0 , with our doubles pairing of Nigel and Rob beating a strong Peterborough pairing by +7, with both Steve and David winning their singles by +14 and +11 respectively.
After a great lunch, play resumed and Peterborough won the first round of singles 3-1 , with only Rob managing to win his match . Going into the final round of singles, we were 4-3 ahead, needing to win a further two singles match. Luckily Nigel won his match in quick time (+12) which just needed one further win.
Peterborough won the next two tight matches (+2 and +1) leaving the match all square with Rob to finish. He won his match +2 which sealed the win for Sussex.
The trophy was awarded during afternoon tea (along with bubbles - alcohol free of course) and we all made our way back around the M25 content with a good result for the club.
Nigel Billingham
Congratulations to them and to EVERYONE who has played in the competition.
Sussex County open Doubles 11th September 2026
We had a field of 32 players that’s 16 pairs which i split into 4 blocks of 4 for the morning session.
In the afternoon the top two in block A and B joined up as did the bottom two. I did the same with Blocks C and D with no two pairs playing each other they all played five games. It seems that our doubles tournaments are limited to 5 games which make for a comfortable day
The full result is as follows
Blocks A & B
!st Douglas Shand & John Gosden 4 Wins + 12
2nd Steve Chapman & Paul Green 4 wins + 3
3rd Gavin Taylor & Martin Daniels 3 Wins + 5
4th Michael Gentry & Trevor Houghton- Berry 3 wins -3
Block C & D
1st Mark Barnham & David Larkin 4 WIns +7
2nd Kathy McColgan & David Cogrossi 3 wins +6
3rd Peter Hill & Jane Sim 3 wins +4
4th( Tim Bick & Francis Ainley 3 wins +
( Dave Funnel & Diane Rolfe 3 wins +3
Roger