The hosts will set up the “pitch’’ - or playing field - on the front lawn of the house and in a grassy park across the street. The tournament will be played according to the rules of “Golf Croquet,’’ a variation of the traditional game that calls for 12 metal hoops - or wickets as they tend to be called on this side of the Atlantic.
“We were going for something evocative of bygone days,’’ said Patrick Browne, the society’s director.
The fund-raiser will help the society meet its goals of maintaining two museums, providing education programs, preserving artifacts, maintaining archives, and encouraging public interest in the town’s history.
To assure that tournament participants get into the swing of things, the society has called on one of America’s best known croquet players, Bob Kroeger, a former member of the US National Croquet Team and a member of the Croquet Hall of Fame. Currently the director of the US Croquet Association Instructional Schools, Kroeger will give a primer on the rules of Golf Croquet to players before the first mallet is swung.
“His credentials are amazing. He’s the go-to guy,’’ Browne said of Kroeger.
Kroeger, who lives in Dennis and describes himself as “a full-time traveling croquet professional’’ concentrating on promoting all forms of the sport, is the author of the “Official USCA Shot-making Manual’’ along with a set of croquet strategy books, written with fellow hall of famer Teddy Prentis.
The rules for Golf Croquet make for a game that “can be picked up rapidly by beginners,’’ Kroeger said. Teams compete to strike the first ball through each wicket. Once the first player’s ball is through, his team gets one point, and everyone turns their shot-making skills to the next wicket in sequence. If the teams are tied after 12 wickets, wicket number 3 serves as the tie-breaker.
