GALLERY: Things get tactical with croquet
AUCKLAND PARK – Golf Croquet National Championships starts its week long tournaments
Country Club Johannesburg hosts the Golf Croquet National Championships on 16 to 20 November. The tournament runs for the week with the finals on 20 November.
The lawns were prepped and the players were ready for the first day of the championships that was set to be one for the books. The players came from all across this beautiful nation of ours. Clad in white and sporting their famous accessory, the mallet. Like every sporting game, there was a standout player and his name is Victor Dladla. Hailed as the one to look out for, Dladla left nothing to chance.
His story is unlike any of the other players he plays with on the perfectly manicured pitch. Dladla grew up in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal in the village of Nkandla, herding his fathers cattle . His highest grade passed was Grade 7 in 1986. In the same year, he joined his brother here, in Johannesburg who worked at the Country Club.
Through the sport Dladla has played internationally in England, Egypt and Ireland.
“I like it because I never thought I would meet these people I play with,” said Dladla. “Also because everything is on you in this game, its just you and the ball.”
Neil McHardy, a fellow croquet sportsman, praised Dladla as being a special player.
“In this sport, one needs to be tactical and technical,” said McHardy ” Sometimes where someone might fall short in the tactical, they make up for in the technical and vice versa. Victor is both tactical and technical and that’s rare.”
On the opening day of the champions Dladla won a doubles game with his partner John Hedding.
The Championships rotate province to province and this year saw it come to Johannesburg.
The games through the week start promptly at 8:30am and end with the last match set at 4pm.
There are different kinds of croquet namely: Garden croquet, Irish croquet, Golf croquet and Association croquet.
Golf croquet, unlike a few of the others, lets the player have one chance to hit the ball and waits for the next chance. There can be two separate games played on pitch.
Details: Country Club Johannesburg stevenn@ccj.co.za or 011 202 1637
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