Ever Play on Artificial Clay Court?

[raspell38120]

First of all, my apologies for wrong board but with so many posters on this board I thought someone might have info for me. i can be reached @ raspell38120@comcast.net if you want to answer directly.

Anyone ever play on these courts? Country Club of Roswell Georgia has one and supposedly is getting two more instead of Hydracourts. Cherry Hill Country Club has some also. Boulders Resort in Spa north of Phoenix AZ has some.

i'm building a court in Mexico but am worried about the maintenance of a clay court. these seem like an ideal solution of low water and maintenance while maintaining clay court play and ease on body. BUT, I don't want to make a mistake if these are not good surfaces, let me know. The guy at Lee Tennis says they are NOT like the artificial grass with sand on them which I really don't like. But, they are built over concrete so they still seem like they would be harder than regular clay.

Any experience or thoughts would be helpful.

[ximian]

What exactly is it? I've played on a court that was some type of carpet with a sand/clay layer on top. Apparently there was no need to water the courts or do any of the typical clay maintanence. Played alright too, very very easy to slide, and a low, slow bounce.

[Z-Man]

I played on some kind of artificial clay back in high school when I spent a few weeks in Rome. The court was rubbery with pores like a running track. I've never seen anything like it since. Are there any Italians out there who can fill me in on what this was?

[woodie55]

Here in Australia they are called Classic Clay, Poly Clay etc. They are gaining in popularity because of the drought that we are having. Basically they are carpet based courts that have fine clay put on top of them. As noted they are very easy to slide on as the clay is designed to sit on top of the carpet. This means that you have to top up the clay when it starts to settle in the carpet. Some are laid on concrete, some on asphalt and I have heard of others being laid on top of existing clay courts. You have to bag them after each set, just like clay but unlike clay you do not use water on them. Depending on the amount of play on them they normally have a life span of 10 to 15 years, then you have to take up the carpet and put down new carpet and clay. They play a bit quicker than clay courts, especially when damp, but not as quick as synthetic grass. Hope that this helps.

[edmondsm]

So sorry if I'm missing something but on this carpet based clay court is the top layer still pulverized brick?

[woodie55]

Go to classicclay.com for info on the court.

[djones]

Last week I finally played on a court like this.
Here we call 'm Smashcourt.
They were supposed to play just like claycourts.
Well, they didn't!

I called a rather cheap marketing trick to get clubs to install those courts instead of real claycourts.
The ball bounced much lower and way less straight up than on Clay.
You don't hear this nice percussive "tick/pop" sound when the ball bounces, which also makes playing tennis less of a joy, if you ask me.

Anyway the court played much faster due to its low bounce and it looked a bit sloppy too if you ask me, with all that sand sprayed over the court.

Also the feeling of your feet, standing on the court, didn't feel nice either.
Very strange soft and slippery, didn't like it.

I'm totally against all of these courts, they're just rubbish compared to the real deal.

No more artificial grass, or claycourts!

[onkystomper]

i played on the carpet clay court. horrible, just horrible. bounced high on soe shots and shot through like astro turf on others

[austro]

I like both the Astro and the artificial clay! I don't if it was the same other posters here reported on but the artificial clay was very soft and bouncy. It was installed indoors and an alternative to regular carpet. That's how I would view it - as an alternative to carpet rather than real clay.

My personal preferences are:

Clay > AstroTurf > Artificial clay > (Indoor) Carpet > All Hardcourts > Grass

[raspell38120]

Thanks for responses. I had decided to put in artificial clay vs. real clay for many reasons, maintenance, expense, etc. but most seem to be somewhat negative on these courts so I may rethink that. Very helpful. Any comments would be helpful. I understand Country Club of Roswell GA has a court and instead of putting in two Hydracourts (underwater clay) they are putting in two of these. Has anyone played there?

I talked to the pro at Boulders Resort outside Phoenix and he was pretty positive on them. I have reviewed all the websites. Lee Tennis just started carrying these and many pros around the country are being sent info about putting these courts in now so I expect there will soon be more in America.