Kiawah Island

[officerdibble]

I'm taking a family holiday on Kiawah Island in August and would really appreciate any advice on playing tennis whilst I'm there (it would only be me playing).

I'm happy to do some drills / development if there is good quality coaching available, or just to hit if there is a way to track down a suitable hitting partner.

I'm from the UK (we don't have the same player rating) but I would say I'm around 4.5 to 5.0 from what I've read online.

Does anyone have tips? I realise I'm some way out from the trip, but if booking ahead is important it would be silly to leave it too late.

 

[TroutSc]

Heading there today for the weekend for a tourney. I'll see what I can find out while there.

Think there's 2 tennis clubs:

Roy Barth tennis center located at 2 Sanctuary Beach Dr., Kiawah Island 29455
And
West Beach Tennis Club
located at 1 Shipwatch Dr, Kiawah Island, 29455.

 

[officerdibble]

Heading there today for the weekend for a tourney. I'll see what I can find out while there.

Think there's 2 tennis clubs:

Roy Barth tennis center located at 2 Sanctuary Beach Dr., Kiawah Island 29455
And
West Beach Tennis Club
located at 1 Shipwatch Dr, Kiawah Island, 29455.

Thanks. Anything you can tell me will be more than I know!

Have a great weekend. Hope the matches go well for you.

 

[tkoziol]

I'm the head pro at a facility in Charleston. I do clinics, hitting sessions, and lessons. You'd probably want to do a hitting session unless your looking to build on your existing strokes. Its about a 30 min drive from Kiawah Island. Let me know if you are interested and want the address: kozioltennis@gmail.com.

 

[officerdibble]

I'm the head pro at a facility in Charleston. I do clinics, hitting sessions, and lessons. You'd probably want to do a hitting session unless your looking to build on your existing strokes. Its about a 30 min drive from Kiawah Island. Let me know if you are interested and want the address: kozioltennis@gmail.com.

Thanks. An email has been sent your way.

 

[vinouspleasure]

hi, we were to kiawah about every other year while our kids were growing up. They have stroke-a-day clinics for $30/hour. You're in a group of up to five people, the playing range can be mixed and I've never seen a 4.5 in a group. If you can get a good group together, the pros will tailor the session to your strength. One year my wife and I were the only people playing tennis in the clinic and we hit with the pro jonathan barth each day. He tailored the session to our level and it was challenging/fun. also, I've used the game matching service and had some great matches with some of the residents.

before you do that, I suggest getting a better handle on your usta level. The USTA descriptions of levels are very deceiving and I've seen 3.0s rate themselves 4.5. If you haven't played at university level, you're almost definitely not a 5.0. The last thing you want to do is setup a 5.0 match and find you're a strong 3.5...no fun for you or your opponents. One of the pros will be able to tell pretty quickly.

also, not sure what the weather is like where you live but I can tell you it's going to be very hot and humid in august. Plan to play early or late and hydrate, hydrate and hydrate. Don't ignore this advice. Also, be prepared for mosquitoes that time of year. I never ventured outside without the strongest repellent.

At many clubs in the U.S. teaching pros are 4.0s. The pros at kiawah are very strong. My favorites are Jonathan, David boyd and brandon. David and brandon are really nice guys and they love to see you win a point. IMO jonathan is a little edgy...I think he used to get a little competitive if you beat him in a point but that just made it more fun.

I strongly suggest the pro exhibition doubles game, especially if roy barth is still playing, it's a lot of fun to watch. One year, for whatever reason, roy walked on to our court and spent about 10 minutes fixing my volley...which was probably the strongest part of my game.Now when people ask me how I learned to volley so well I think back to those 10 minutes.

enjoy!