There is no crying in baseball and no cursing in croquet.

When one competitor at the weekend's Greater Northwest Team Championships in Kirkland, Pierre Dunn of Team Canada, muffed a shot, he exclaimed, "Mother of pearl!"

When his teammate, Steve Dimond, mis-hit, he said, "Holy doodle!"

Croquet is a civil sport of finesse and skill, says Marian Smith of the Puget Sound Croquet Club. The struck balls have a clearance of only 1/16-inch through the hoops — called wickets — and the 105-foot by 84-foot playing field is golf-green smooth.

At the championships, hosted by Kirkland's Puget Sound Croquet Club, Oregon, Washington and Western Canada (British Columbia) each was represented by a foursome.

On Sunday, the Canadians were still reveling in their sweep of first, second and third places in the club's Seattle Open nine years ago.

But there's no trash-talking in croquet, "unless it's to yourself," says Dimond.

Yet this isn't the backyard game at Grandma's house. It's precise, intense and played with $200 mallets and $60 balls.

It's a mix of chess and billiards on turf, and players say there is more strategy than in golf.

Oregon's team won the weekend tournament, with Western Canada second and Washington third.