Parts of a Croquet Set – Mallet, Hoops, Peg and Court

All 14 parts on the diagram

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The set 9

Mallet A head with a shaft fixed to the middle of it.
Ball The four balls: yellow, black, red and blue.
Peg (stake) It stands in the center of the six-hoop court; Americans say stake.
Mallet head Either end of the head may strike the ball.
End face The end face is the part that strikes the ball.
Crown The crown joins the two uprights.
Uprights A hoop is two uprights joined by a crown.
Clip Its color matches a ball. It marks the hoop that ball goes for next.
Corner flag There is one for each corner: blue, red, black and yellow.

The courts 5

Hoop (wicket) Called a hoop in most countries. Called a wicket in the United States.
Boundary The court is a rectangle, and its boundary is marked.
Yard-line A ball that leaves the court is put back on the yard-line.
Baulk-line There are two, the A and B baulk-lines.
Turning stake Players hit this stake and come back. They first go up one side of the double diamond.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) The Croquet Association, The Laws of Association Croquet, 6th edition, Laws 2 (The Court) and 3 (Equipment and Accessories), archived copies of 2002 at https://web.archive.org/web/2002/http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/laws/6th/2.asp and https://web.archive.org/web/2002/http://www.oxfordcroquet.com/laws/6th/3.asp; (2) United States Croquet Association, Rules of American Croquet (rule 1 and the glossary) and Rules of Backyard Croquet, archived copies of 2007 and 2012 at https://web.archive.org/web/2007/http://www.croquetamerica.com/croquet/rules/american/glossary.php and https://web.archive.org/web/2012/http://www.croquetamerica.com/croquet/rules/backyard/; (3) Wikipedia, Croquet, text only. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's set, nothing traced. The six-hoop setting follows Law 2 of the Laws of Association Croquet. Licence: own work

How it works

A croquet set is mallets, balls, hoops and a peg; clips and corner flags are extras. The first view names the pieces, the second the six-hoop court, the third the nine-wicket backyard court.

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The pieces, then where they go

Numbers 1 to 9 are the set: the mallet with its head and end face, the four balls, the peg, a hoop with its crown and two uprights, a clip and a corner flag. Numbers 10 to 13 are the six-hoop court from above: six hoops and a peg in the center, the boundary, the dashed yard-line inside it and the two baulk-lines. Number 14 is on the nine-wicket court: nine wickets in a double diamond with a stake at each end. Hoops, pegs and flags are drawn larger than scale on both courts.

Hoop and wicket are one thing, and so are peg and stake: the second word of each pair is the American one.
The yard-line is dashed here because it is not painted on a real court.

Questions and answers

What comes in a croquet set?

Mallets, balls, hoops (called wickets in the United States) and a peg or stakes. Colored clips, which mark the hoop each ball goes for next, and corner flags are optional extras.

How many hoops are in a croquet set?

Six for association croquet, with one peg in the center of the court. The American backyard game uses nine wickets and two stakes, set out in a double diamond with a stake at each end.

What are the parts of a croquet mallet?

A head and a shaft fixed to the middle of it. The two flat ends of the head are the end faces, and an end face is the part that strikes the ball.

What is the peg in croquet?

The post in the center of the six-hoop court. A ball is struck through all six hoops in both directions and then hits the peg. American rules call it the stake.

What is the yard-line in croquet?

A line one yard inside the boundary, all the way round. The court has no mark for it. A ball that leaves the court is put back on the yard-line.