NEED HELP making a RED CLAY COURT playable again.......

[jason586]

I am renting a property that has a red clay court in the backyard, but it has not been used for years. I removed all the tall overbrush and grass last fall, but some of the grass and weeds are returning as not all the roots were removed. I reremoved the weeds in the middle part of the court just to experiment to see if I could get the court semi-playable. I've watered a few times and there is a roller as well that was left behind that I've been rolling over the court. So far after a few days of doing this, the clay is still soft and mostly dry and the ball does not bounce much. I don't want to put much money into the court as it is not my property, but I do not mind working on it and the owner of the property does not mind at all if I try to work on the court or play on it. I have played mostly on hard courts before now, so I am just trying to google and figure out what to do as I do not have much experience with clay courts.

If anyone has experience or suggestions, it would be appreciated.

 

[Lukhas]

If anyone has experience or suggestions, it would be appreciated.

I can't really help you, but usually in my area, clay courts are entirely resurfaced every Spring. That includes ripping the lines and posts off to really make a playable surface. There are some threads on the forum with people who made a clay court (I'm sure of it), so you should use the search function to see if you can find something useful.

 

[PBODY99]

If the lines are in good repair you will not have to relay. Do you have any Calcium Chloride which we use to help the court retain the water and red color.
This might help.clay base

 

[KluddKalle]

I am renting a property that has a red clay court in the backyard, but it has not been used for years. I removed all the tall overbrush and grass last fall, but some of the grass and weeds are returning as not all the roots were removed. I reremoved the weeds in the middle part of the court just to experiment to see if I could get the court semi-playable. I've watered a few times and there is a roller as well that was left behind that I've been rolling over the court. So far after a few days of doing this, the clay is still soft and mostly dry and the ball does not bounce much. I don't want to put much money into the court as it is not my property, but I do not mind working on it and the owner of the property does not mind at all if I try to work on the court or play on it. I have played mostly on hard courts before now, so I am just trying to google and figure out what to do as I do not have much experience with clay courts.

If anyone has experience or suggestions, it would be appreciated.

I have quite a lot of experience in maintaining red clay courts. I help out with two that are close to my home, but it’s not my occupation or anything. But over the years I have learned a lot.

This is the short version: What a clay court needs first of all is a lot of compressing with a roller. We usually use a machine (like a drivable lawn mover with a heavy roller in the front) and for both courts this usually takes 1-2 days. I would guess about 25-40 laps in each direction (along the court and crossing it). During this we water the courts a couple of times and sweep them with brushes.

After this the lines need stretching and being pressed down. This is the part I genuinely HATE. My body hates it, my mind too. It’s time consuming and tough. We literally walk slowly along the lines hammering them down with a tool for this (a long shaft with a flat heavy thing at the bottom, kind of like a hammer).

When we’re done with this we cover the courts with road salt and water them richly. This helps bind the clay and retain water during the season.

All in all it’s a lot of work, mostly time consuming but you also need to add new clay each season.