4 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
Dear All,
I would like to know how many days can a single grass tennis court be played if we suppose that the court is played 4-5 days per day.
-How many days does this court need to recover before one can play again on it?
The idea is to built enough courts to enable a rotation. When one is in use the other ( 1 or 2 or 3.. i have no idea) is recovering. Is it possible to have a court playable for the whole season duration that is to say 3 monthes ? I have heard that a court is playable only a fortnight pro year ! Is it true ? When I see Wimbledon courts after a fortnight competion I guess it is.
For one court open how many court should be closed to ensure a good rotation ?
best regards,
Benjamin from Aix-en-Provence (France)
Hi Benjamin,
We have three grass courts at our club and five hard. the grass courts are in use from May-September. We do not rotate, but then usage during the week is minimal. I guess it would depend on how much your courts will be used and how many members you have, also of course the weather.
Our courts were well used last season and by the end of season were in a bad way but they have repaired well.
Good luck, love your area of France by the way.
Vic.
5 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
Hi Vic,
Thanks for your reply. I would like to rent the grass courts 4-5 hours per day every day during the season, of course only if the weather conditons are suitable. With this heavy playing rate how many days can the court withstand without rotate and without playing until total grass wear ? How many days does need the court to recover before it is playable again ? I looking for a strategy that would enable me to open at least one court every day with a hypothetical frequentation rate of 4h/day 7/7.Using rotation strategy I would like to know how many courts are necessary.
best regards,
Benjamin
5 Mar 2010 by Mike Last edited 5 Mar 2010
Difficult question to answer when we have no spec in front of us to base any opinions on - there are a lot of variables that would need to be considered before anyone could give an accurate, quantifiable response. A lot would depend on the spec of the courts, the materials used in the construction, the surrounding area (would there be shade, wind movement etc) your maintenance practices, weather conditions and the age/ability of the users.
Mike
5 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
Dear Mike,
Thanks for your help. The underlying idea is to select the right venue according to specification that would derive from the following need:
- play 4-5 hours per day 7/7 the whole saison
I am planing to propose my project to French tennis club willing to rediscover lawn tennis. Before investigating any host club I am trying to define specifications or a selecting criteria list (optimal venue for frequentation, optimal exposition (no shading), optimal soil, optimal pressure and flow rate for watering, optimal surroundings such as the presence of a golf next to the place to get a synergie on maintenance, optimal rate flow for irrigation and so on) that could enable such a court to have the best "productivity".
For instance:
Topsoil: what is the ideal mix ? if we consider importing topsoil
best regards,
Benjamin
5 Mar 2010 by Mike
Ok - first stage, before any spec is laid out is to have a site investigation by a qualified consultant, with the focus being on the subsoil type - you could have a spec drawn up for the best court in the world, but if that spec doesn't marry to your existing subsoil, you will have problems further down the line. This is the critical first step, and the finding will dictate all decisions on the spec of the court.
Mike
5 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
"A site investigation" ? I don't have any site to investigate right now. But if you tell me it is recommended to have such or such subsoil because ... I could from there call on my targeted club near the Chanel sea shore and ask them about the subsoil in the surrounding. At the present time, it'is just about discussing very generally of the best surroundings or conditions such as:
-According to you and your experience in your club what is said to be the best/ more suitable subsoil (s) for grass courts. I have read an LTA document done in partnership with Wimbledon and the STRI that gives guidelines to built grass courts. But they don't talk about subsoil. For them subsoil is neutral and does not have any kind of influence since they have their court encapsulated/surrounded in a precast concrete edging (that means isolated) on both side. They also have a drainage layer that cope with all types of subsol formation.
5 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
 |
5 Mar 2010 by Mike Last edited 5 Mar 2010
Interesting diagram outlining what a 'typical' construction might be, and what I would consider to be a general construction guideline, but it is no more than this. Even if the booklet goes into great detail regarding depths, materials, drainage rates, soil target bulk density etc, variances would still apply given the site specific conditions. Every construction, irrespective of what surface it is, has to be site specific in my opinion, and site specific conditions can only be identified by site investigations.
Edit - i'll give you an example. Last year, we had 3 tarmac courts installed - different surface, I know, but bear with me. A typical construction ensued, following guidelines. Once the sub base layer was set, the surface was ready for the first course of tarmac. When the tarmac machine was brought onto the surface, it sank! No suggestion of this type of thing happening in the guidelines, but a site investigation would have identified that this was very probable, and had this taken place, a different construction would have been implemented. I hope that you see my point?
Mike
Where are you Anthony Asquith?
Surely Ant knows the answer.
The ciderman rolls
Benjamin,
Your normal topsoil for tennis would be a medium clay loam, might be worth talking to Surrey Loams Ltd, who would provide you with a specification.
That is a lot of usage you are talking about and way above what we have. Maybe you need more than three and use two for a period, then repair them whilst using the next two, then go back to the repaired ones? Beyond my knowledge I'm afraid.
Since the question revolves around Grass courts I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the relevance to wearability of the type of...
...
... Grass ?
What species would be recommended for that climate and soil type?
And the Height-of-Cut will have a bearing on the wearability or at least the recovery time.
Bonjour Benjamin, It is some years since I visited Aix but I very much enjoyed my time there.
Mange Tout!
(Sorry, couldn't resist!)
GOGGA
6 Mar 2010 by benjamin Tiercelin
Dear Sumomosr,
I intend to have the courts built in a club located near the Chanel sea shores in a well frequented resort station and not to far from Paris so as to offer an easy access with public transportation. The climate there is quite the same that in South Wimbledon isn't it ? That's why I intend to sew 100% ryegrass like in WIMB.
best regards,
Benjamin
Benjamin,
My very good friend Margaret at Surrey Loams has been trying to answer your email but on three occassions her reply has been returned. Could you please make contact with her again as she has all the information that you require.
Regards,
Vic.
Back to Top - Go to Next Unread Message
This Message is closed, you may not post a reply at this time
