Clay court tennis courts

Crisp

Crisp

Professional
I am looking at building a Clay Court at my house on an existing syn grass court. I refuse to coach players of decent ability on synthetic grass as I feel it is not a relevant surface for point play and construction. The change to clay will enable me to use this court for the better players and avoid the toll on my body that accompanies the lessons I do on hard court. Have any coaches or serious players out there changed from being predominantly on hard court to clay. And if so did you notice benefits to the toll it was taking on your body. I have never spent much time on clay but feel it is a good move longevity wise but would like some opinions from others who may have experienced this change already. Your thoughts would be appreciated.
 
neverstopplaying

neverstopplaying

Professional
Yes the difference on on the body is huge. I play with people of all ages and everyone over 30 agrees. The difference is especially noticeable when returning to a hard court, which i just dont do anymore at 53.

Also its great development for kids, as the balls are much less predictable. they have to learn to stay light on their feet and really watch the ball.

You may want to give consideration to a hybrid clay court, such as nova pro clay or claytech. search on tt for reasons. I have one of these at home. I also let the local academy use it for training their top junjors 12-18, which they use daily.
 
mikeler

mikeler

Moderator
neverstopplaying said:
Yes the difference on on the body is huge. I play with people of all ages and everyone over 30 agrees. The difference is especially noticeable when returning to a hard court, which i just dont do anymore at 53.

Also its great development for kids, as the balls are much less predictable. they have to learn to stay light on their feet and really watch the ball.

You may want to give consideration to a hybrid clay court, such as nova pro clay or claytech. search on tt for reasons. I have one of these at home. I also let the local academy use it for training their top junjors 12-18, which they use daily.
Click to expand...

I started playing full time on clay at 35. Several older players with knee issue have commented that if they could go back in time, they would do the same thing. When I play on hard courts, I definitely feel it in my legs and lower back.
 
GlenK

GlenK

Professional
My whole tennis life I've played on both. When I was young I was a member of hard and soft court clubs since tournaments were on various surfaces.

Now as an old fart I am a member at a hard court club, but still play at least once a week on a har-tru court at a friend's house. Still like the variety of mixing it up. Once I get to old for hard courts I'll make the switch to clay.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
Ok thanks for the info guys. Just trying to get a few more years out of the body and be able to hit at a higher level while I still can. The added benefits to the high level juniors Ida big benefit too. Setting up a kind of tennis ranch, not a club pers se: definitely a little different than anything else in the area.
 
phishbiscuits

phishbiscuits

Rookie
Upkeep

Hi Crisp:

The costs of maintaining a red clay court are astronomical. Without regular maintenance you'll have holes, clumps, uneven line tape, etc.

HarTru, while certainly not the same, seems like a much more economical option, especially since it sounds like your court gets used frequently.

Just my humble opinion...
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
No problem phish, thanks for the input. Don't mind the maintenance as tennis is my full time job and the court will be at my house so the maintenance will just be all part of it.
 
Lukhas

Lukhas

Legend
Aren't there some synthetic clay courts that are cheaper in maintenance? Worth a Google search.
 
neverstopplaying

neverstopplaying

Professional
I mentioned two popular synthetic clay courts in my earlier post: Clay Tech and Nova Proplay. Both these courts have a HarTru (or red clay) surface, but are much easier to maintain because the subsurface is not clay. They play exactly like a well roomed clay court.

They are much much less maintenance than HarTru, or red clay.

tbuggle: HarTru is brand of crushed stone that is used to make most of the 'clay' courts in North America. It is not a synthetic clay court.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
Going with real clay, the wheels are in motion. Will probably be up to eight weeks away from completion depending on the weather.
 
S

struggle

Legend
neverstopplaying said:
tbuggle: HarTru is brand of crushed stone that is used to make most of the 'clay' courts in North America. It is not a synthetic clay court.
Click to expand...

tru, but it ain't "clay" in the "red dirt girl" sense (Emmylou Harris). it's made from basalt.

i play on hartru alot and yes we call it "clay" although i refer to it as dirt.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
For those interested I will post some pics today. Can you believe it still isn't finished 7 months down the track. Ridiculous.
 
S

spinovic

Hall of Fame
I can believe it. The only predictable thing about any construction I have ever been involved with is that it never goes as expected and always takes longer.

Would love to see some pics and I hope it turns out well. Keep at it, it'll be worth it.
 
D

dominikk1985

Legend
As in the grasscourt thread I think having a drainage and foundation below the clay is very important. especially if you are in more rainy regions.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
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Crisp

Crisp

Professional
Ok so the clay court is being built over an existing syn grass or omni court. The product is Terre Davis Clay sourced from Italy. Having an existing court through up some problems. Like how to build with an existing fence line etc. if you have any questions feel free to ask.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
I can't give a $$ quote I'm afraid as I signed a confidentiality agreement with respect to price. I took 8 weeks for the product to be shipped from Italy and the cost of the product was far less than the cost for construction even with the base already there due to it being laid on an existing omni court. Sorry I can't give you a $$ figure.
 
mmk

mmk

Hall of Fame
Crisp said:
Actually I am not in USA I am in Australia.
Click to expand...

That explains the artificial grass court. The only place I've ever seen those is in Australia. I never got a chance to play on one (more like I never felt like paying to play on one), how does it compare to real grass, clay and hard court?
 
I

IdrinkYourMilkshake

Rookie
Crisp said:
I can't give a $$ quote I'm afraid as I signed a confidentiality agreement with respect to price. I took 8 weeks for the product to be shipped from Italy and the cost of the product was far less than the cost for construction even with the base already there due to it being laid on an existing omni court. Sorry I can't give you a $$ figure.
Click to expand...

That's ok, thanks. What makes this clay better than anything you could get locally?
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
mmk said:
That explains the artificial grass court. The only place I've ever seen those is in Australia. I never got a chance to play on one (more like I never felt like paying to play on one), how does it compare to real grass, clay and hard court?
Click to expand...

Syn grass is terrible its playing characteristics are not similar to any other surface and it is not really tennis if you ask me. Many clubs have put it in cause it is cheap and many manafacturers want to put it in because they make good money on it.
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
IdrinkYourMilkshake said:
That's ok, thanks. What makes this clay better than anything you could get locally?
Click to expand...

Locally the only available product is called en-tout-cas. It is similar to clay but has much larger particles on top, doesn't have as even of a playing surface. I wanted some type of European clay that would suit our environment. This is what I could source that did that.
 
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S

seb23

Rookie
Crisp said:
Syn grass is terrible its playing characteristics are not similar to any other surface and it is not really tennis if you ask me. Many clubs have put it in cause it is cheap and many manafacturers want to put it in because they make good money on it.
Click to expand...

I'm not a fan of them either but the one thing i would say is that if I play on artificial grass earlier in the day and then hard courts later on I feel I have so much more time as playing on the artificial grass seems to heighten my senses and speed up my reaction times and anticipation
 
Fifth Set

Fifth Set

Professional
This is a very cool project - thanks for sharing the details and photos!

Can you tell us more about the specifics?

What kind of clay is this? Who is the manufacturer? If it can be shipped to Australia then theoretically it could be shipped anywhere!

Also, what are you doing for watering? Presumably this clay like most needs to remain moist in order for it to be playable.

Where in Australia are you? It must be somewhere outside of central Sydney or Melbourne where land is at such a premium. I have long thought that many parts of Australia have the ideal tennis climate and would be a fantastic place to have your own court - so on that note if I had to guess you are on the outskirts of Brisbane?

EDIT: Is it this stuff? Looks fantastic.
http://www.terredavis.it/index.php/en/special-red-clays/tennis-red-clays
 
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Crisp

Crisp

Professional
Fifth Set said:
This is a very cool project - thanks for sharing the details and photos!

Can you tell us more about the specifics?

What kind of clay is this? Who is the manufacturer? If it can be shipped to Australia then theoretically it could be shipped anywhere!

Also, what are you doing for watering? Presumably this clay like most needs to remain moist in order for it to be playable.

Where in Australia are you? It must be somewhere outside of central Sydney or Melbourne where land is at such a premium. I have long thought that many parts of Australia have the ideal tennis climate and would be a fantastic place to have your own court - so on that note if I had to guess you are on the outskirts of Brisbane?

EDIT: Is it this stuff? Looks fantastic.
http://www.terredavis.it/index.php/en/special-red-clays/tennis-red-clays
Click to expand...

Nice research there. Yes it is that clay from Italy. Will be great once itis all go(hopefully) I am an hour or so below Melbourne. Theoretically could be shipped anywhere there is an Australian importer of this product and he has been great to deal with. Maybe there is an American importer too. Watering by hand for now but will look at a sprinkler system a month or two down the track as this will be easier in the long run. Any other questions of interest feel free.
 
R

Rjtennis

Hall of Fame
Crisp said:
For those interested I will post some pics today. Can you believe it still isn't finished 7 months down the track. Ridiculous.[/

Red clay is great to play and train on. I think it is ideal for junior to learn how to construct and finish a point. Your students are very lucky!!
Click to expand...
 
R

raging

Professional
Crisp said:
Rjtennis said:
Hope they think so too
Click to expand...

Crisp - this is very good call.

You will definitely notice this in wear and tear on your body.
As feedback I can only tell you from Coaching about 15 years in Australia(mixture of grass but mainly hard courts) and then 13 years in Germany (6months on red clay, 6 months on indoor carpet).

Obviously much older now and the body is falling apart :) But there is no way I would have been able to do over 45 hours a week in summer if it hadn't been for red clay.
Now coaching elsewhere on mainly hard/astro mix. I notice the difference, even doing 20 hours on hard court, more wear on tennis balls, feet, knees, etc. But we all get older..

You will definitely notice it in the later years how much more cushioning it gives your knees, feet and even.. back! The clay will prolong your coaching career.
Not only will you enjoy it more but your students will learn to slide, set-up, and produce strokes instead of guessing or getting a skiddy bounce like astro.

You can only get good feedback from the guys at Melbourne Park.
I know they spent ages researching this surface and company. Maintenance is obviously more intense but as it is at your house, a labour of love.

Nice one.
Click to expand...
 
Crisp

Crisp

Professional
This is the news I was waiting to hear. Less wear and tear on body and better for my players to learn on. Super!!
 
THESEXPISTOL

THESEXPISTOL

Hall of Fame
You will definitely notice less wear and tear on the body. I play mostly (90% of the time) on red clay and i can play 3/4 hours everyday (if my fitness allows it) and i won't have pain. Last summer i was playing 2 hours day in and out on a good quality hardcourt and after a month i've got a serious inflammation on both knees. I guess the fact that i slide in hardcourts didn't helped either...
 
corbind

corbind

Professional
Okay Crisp, ya ready to adopt me? Certainly I'd do the court maintenance. All ya'd have to do is build a little shed for my domicile (a la Trailer Park Boys) and I'd be set! :cool:

You'll be spending some quality time on your new court. Keep the pics coming.
 
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