I have been asked what I would buy if I wanted a Tournament Quality croquet set.   None of the boxed sets I have seen so far have entirely satisfactory components, hence I would advise that you buy the components separately.

Some of the individual items are excessively priced in my view and not difficult to either manufacture them yourself or ask a skilled friend  to make them. For example corner pegs – 8 little bits of broom handle for £29?  The peg is £20 for a 1½” cylinder of around 2 foot in length painted white at the bottom (it need not be coloured).  Flags are similarly expensive but readily made.

I would only consider buying cast/welded hoops with solid carrots.  The hoops with “X” cross-section carrots are not adequate in my opinion.

I would buy robust mallets for club members to borrow.  Consequently I would only consider those with carbon fibre or fibreglass shafts.  Wooden shafts get broken!  For personal use ... it’s your choice!

Some items found in boxed croquet sets are plain useless.  The wooden ‘smasher’ mallet for hammering hoops  is simply a waste of time.  A 2-3lb rubber headed mallet can be bought for less than £4 (http://www.toolstation.com), and is ideal. These do not ‘smash’ the paintwork on the hoops either!   The two-pronged ‘hoop dibber’ is also a waste of time and money.

Most of this equipment is standard stock at The Croquet Association Shop, which has very good prices (quoted above – October 2009).  Members can get a discount ... hence joining may be a worthwhile step.