Baden 6-Player Champions Croquet Set with Soft Grip Handles Medium

I bought this set two years ago and its still holding strong! I love it. I play by myself mostly and sometimes with my brother.The wickets are sturdy which is a MUST for anyone.Things to remember and advise IF purchased:Do not use a metal hammer to hammer in the 2 colored stakes or wickets. DO NOT!!!Use a soft rubber mallet for each. (technically you should only use it with the stakes NOT the wickets) If you don't do this will create indentation in the wood and probably bend the wickets. You shouldn't even use a hammer on wickets anyway. Unless they are golf wickets, which theses are not.Make sure the ground is soft when hammering into if not, buy a cheap plastic stake (used for tents and such) and "pre-drill" a hole into the ground where the stakes will be. All in all, playing on soft ground is better and its easier on your wickets and stakes.The stakes and wickets are NOT weak, Unless you ABUSE them and are ROUGH with them. Do not presume they are weak, you cant treat them like crap. Duhh.This is a regulation garden style croquet set. Its not interchangeable with golf croquet accessories.Problems:One problem I ran into is that one mallet handle split upwards where the brass fitting lies (on the end). I believe the split happened because the mallet head was not screwed on all the way. So make sure you regularly check the tightness of the mallet head while playing. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN THE MALLET HEAD. You might strip or break the fitting!!!!!I was able to fix it simply. All I did was take some strong wood glue, put the brass fitting back in its place, and clamped it with a vise joint plier, using a towel of course. I think its actually stronger now than before. I have had no problem since and you cant even notice the crack line.Another modest problem is that the white coating on the wickets tends to tear off at its ends from long use and or rough ground. The coating is like "Flex seal" or "plastic-dip." Simple solution: Tear the old coating off and re-dip it in the white stuff rubberized/plastic coating. Looks brand new. Its not a problem if you can fix it.Positives: I love that there is 6 players. Love the handles. Love the carrying case. love the quality of the stakes and wickets. Good set to buy if you treat and apply it correctly. Balls are holding up well.PS If something breaks, Baden will send you a new part free of charge.

I've revised your review:"After an extensive search for the perfect croquet set, I've finally come across one that truly impresses me. This set is touted as championship-grade, and while the balls might strike some as slightly smaller than expected, I've come to believe that this size could be intentional. The mallets, on the other hand, boast remarkable quality with their weightiness and impressive shine. Additionally, the inclusion of a carrying case is a thoughtful touch, allowing me to easily store the set during the winter months."

The product looked beautiful, was packaged nicely, and seems sturdy. The problem is that the orange mallet came damaged and the stem looks different than the other mallets. I called Baden and they told me it was Amazon's problem. I figured it would be easiest for them to just send a replacement mallet. They said to sent the whole set back to Amazon and get a new set coming. Seems like it would make more sense just to send out a new mallet.

Overall, a very nice set. The all wood mallet heads are what I like, and the metal threading will improve durability for sure. The all wood threads wear away. Heads are a bit more narrow than i would have like, but still good. Balls are OK, not as large or heavy as i've had in past. Padded handles are great. Wickets seem sturdy. Good carry case.

I put an incorrect delivery address on my order and contacted Badensports.com to correct the delivery. Customer Service at this small company feels personal & pleasant. I am very happy I gave my business to Baden sports. And the product(s) they sell are outstanding quality.

The set is very nice but the balls do not last. We purchased the set just over a month ago and have probably played a dozen games with it. Now three out of the six balls rattle when they roll and feel like something is loose inside of the ball. So now we are trying to find a replacement set of balls that are the same size and at at a reasonable cost. 3 month update the threaded fitting that connects the mallet to the handle is made of cheap brass and they break after very little use. Two have broken already with gentle adult use. The set is beautiful looking but just does not hold up and not worth it's cost.

After purchasing another inexpensive Croquet set (that promptly broke), my wife and I decided to go up a notch in quality and purchased this Baden set for our family. We have been very happy with it. The mallets are of high quality, and the stakes and equipment are well made. We did have one problem after several times of use, as a couple of the mallets cracked. Baden was VERY helpful and promptly replaced these. This is a high quality product I would recommend 100%.

Re: Baden G201 Croquet set. I must say that I am very impressed with the apparent quality of all the items in this croquet set. It comes in a nice nylon zippered carrying bag and the mallets screw together with brass fittings. The wickets are plastic coated and very heavy metal. The balls are a hard resin/plastic.We got to give this croquet set a good workout yesterday and the results were very satisfying. All parts and pieces for this croquet set performed flawlessly, nothing broke and everything survived the session with flying colors, the balls showed a little wear but I think this is to be expected.I think the padded mallet handles are certainly worth the extra money, several of the players commented on how much they liked the mallets.I went thru a lot of reviews of the many other different croquet sets available, it seems like most of them have quality/durability issues.We would recommend this croquet set to our family and friends without hesitation or reservation.