Croquet Players Hoop It Up at National Championships in Newport, R.I., Players Match Wits and Strategize on Lush Courts

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A PLAYER who hasn't donned rain gear over his all-white outfit leans casually on his mallet, his other hand perched on his waist. Is he bored? Daydreaming?

Actually, he's strategizing - thinking five or six moves ahead. His concentration becomes visible when his turn comes up. He holds the mallet between his feet. Then he makes a barely perceptible swing ... cluck.

Laughter and applause erupt from the sparse audience, indicating how amazing his stroke was: His ball jumped over the one he was "dead on" (croquet lingo for "you hit it already and can't again until you've gone through the next hoop"); it then went through the hoop (or wicket which only gives the ball …