When we first started playing croquet, we set up the court to fit in our backyard. But I wanted to know more about the official size of a croquet court, and how I could scale that to fit in the space we had. So after hours of research, this is what I’ve come up with.
The international rules of association croquet state that the court must be 105′ long by 84′ wide. No wicket may be within 21′ of the outside boundaries of the court. Six wickets will be used in total, two set 21′ feet from the center stake, and the others 21 feet from either edge in the corners of the court.
That’s a little confusing to just read it that way, so I’ve made some charts and diagrams to show the exact layout. There are also a lot better ways to play croquet than using the international court layout, which I’ll show you next.

You can group most forms and variants of croquet into two categories, six wicket and nine wicket croquet. American croquet, association croquet, and golf croquet all use six wickets and have similar court layouts, but use different rules and standards for game-play.
Nine wicket croquet is the most popular for backyard games with families or groups just enjoying the game as a recreational activity.
You’ll need a decent Croquet set like this Baden Deluxe Series Croquet Set (link to Amazon) that we use, or check out the comparisons we did against the most popular croquet sets here, Croquet Set Costs and Compare to find one that will fit your needs.
9-Wicket Croquet Court Layout
I recommend playing 9-Wicket croquet for most people just playing for fun in their backyards. 6-Wicket croquet is more for professional croquet players that compete in clubs or internationally around the world. I’ll show the 6-Wicket croquet court later on, but for now, let’s focus on the most popular play style in North America, 9-Wicket croquet.
A 9-Wicket croquet court can be used to play the official 9-Wicket croquet, or the more laid back family style croquet, which allows some flexibility to the court.
The 9-Wicket croquet court is sometimes to referred to as the double diamond court, you’ll see why once we get to setting it up. This form of croquet is the most popular in the US, because it’s more of a social game for gatherings and fun.
Official 9-Wicket Croquet Court
The official 9-Wicket croquet court has more stipulations than a family 9-Wicket croquet court. This court isn’t typically used by backyard recreational players.
- 100′ by 50′ rectangle
- Short maintained grass
- 9 Wickets
- 2 Stakes
- Up to 6 players
- Boundaries marked by flags or chalk

This set up needs exact measurements and is used in tournament games. Most people use the family style croquet dimensions below.
Family 9-Wicket Croquet Court
The family 9-Wicket croquet is a more relaxed and enjoyable court meant for social gatherings and recreational play. The grass doesn’t need to be maintained, and the court dimensions are flexible.
Sometimes referred to as extreme croquet because the court will be set up around trees, bushes, and other obstacles. In our backyard we took the official 9-Wicket croquet court, and halved all the measurements so it would fit in our space.
Here’s the layout we use:

Here’s a printable version of this diagram without the green background, hopefully that will save you some money on printer ink.
Feel free to print that out and use it as a guide when setting up your court. Don’t forget, you can have obstacles on your court if you need to. Everyone will face the same obstacles so it won’t give an unfair advantage to any one player.
Steps To Measure and Set Up A 9-Wicket Court
Start by laying out the wickets and stakes near where you think they’ll end up, it makes the set up easier. You’ll want to double these measurements below if you plan on making an official, full-size, 9-Wicket croquet court.
Here’s a quick video walk through of the court set up we do in our backyard.
Double diamond, 9-Wicket court set up:
- Measure 3 feet from the center of the short side boundary and place a stake
- Measure 3 feet from the stake and place your first wicket (in line with the stake, at center court)
- Measure 3 feet from the first wicket and place your second wicket (in line with the stake, at center court)
- Measure 16 feet from your second wicket and place the third wicket (this will be the end of the first diamond wicket)
- Get directly in between the second and third wicket (8 feet from 2nd wicket) and measure towards the sides of the court 9 feet and place a wicket on both sides
- That has created the first diamond of the double diamond 9-Wicket croquet court, now mirror what has already been done
- Measure 16 feet from the end of the first diamond and place a 6th wicket (in line with the stake, at center court)
- Measure 8 feet from the end of the first diamond, then 9 feet to either side, and place another wicket on either side
- Measure 3 feet from the 6th wicket and place your last wicket (in line with the stake, at center court)
- Measure 3 feet from your last wicket (9th wicket) and place the other stake (in line with the first stake, at center court)
- 9-Wicket croquet court complete
It’s recommended that you put flags on the corners or around the perimeter of the court to mark the boundaries. There are rules about hitting a ball past the boundaries. We’ll sometimes play without boundaries to make the game less technical and just enjoy the fun of it.
6-Wicket Croquet Court Layout
A 6-Wicket croquet court is mostly used for professional games or tournaments, but there are variations of 6-Wicket croquet that are fun to play in the backyard. The version we play is a lot less rigid on direction of play, but the court layout is the same.
Association Croquet Court
This is the official croquet court used in Association Croquet games, usually to decide the winner of a championship or who will go on to international competitions.
- 105′ by 84′
- Short grass (1/4″ thick)
- Large flat playing area
- 6 Wickets
- 1 Stake
- 2 Teams (played as singles or doubles)
There are always only two teams that can play Association Croquet, when playing doubles, two people on each team get their own ball. When playing singles, one player will play two balls. Typically, it would be blue and black balls vs red and yellow.
The court is measured out in units, one unit being 21 feet on an official size 6-Wicket croquet court. Meaning the court is 5 units (105′) long and 4 units (84′) wide.

Here’s a printable version of this diagram without the green background, hopefully that will save you some money on printer ink.
These are the dimensions used by the United States Croquet Association (USCA) for tournament matches.
When we set this court up in our backyard we adjust a unit to be only 10 feet. That gives us a 40′ by 50′ court which is much more manageable in our backyard. Plus, we think the game is more fun that way, none of us are professional croquet players, so the shorter distances make for a funner game.
Golf Croquet Court
A golf croquet court is set up the same way that an Association Croquet court is set up. The only difference are the rules and direction of play in a tie game. Simply use the diagram above for setting up a Golf Croquet court.
Steps To Measure and Set Up A 6-Wicket Court
Start by laying out the wickets and stake near where they will end up, this makes the set up process easier. If you want to play on an official, full-size, Association Croquet court, you’ll want to use 21 feet as your unit, we use 10 feet on our court.
- Place a stake at exactly center of the court (2 units from the short side and 2.5 units from the long side of the court)
- Measure 10 feet (or 1 unit) from the stake towards the short side of the court and place a wicket with the open end facing the stake
- Measure 1 unit in from the from the short side and 1 unit in from the long side of the court, and place a wicket
- You can also measure a half unit down from your first wicket, then 1 unit to either side, and place a wicket on either side of your first wicket
- All wickets should be facing the same direction (open end towards the short side of the court)
- Now simply mirror the wicket placements on the other side of the court
- Measure 10 feet (1 unit) from the stake and place a wicket
- Measure 1/2 unit from that wicket, then 1 unit to either side, and place a wicket
- Your 6-Wicket croquet court is complete
It’s recommended to put flags on each corner or along the perimeter of the court. The official Association Croquet courts actually require flags or chalk to mark the boundaries of the play area. We don’t typically play with boundaries, the more relaxed we can make the game, the funner it is for us.
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