CARE OF COURTS
A WELL made court, whether of clay or turf, is an achievement to be proud of, and it will give more satisfaction than any other one thing; but it is essential that it should be kept in prime condition all the time. Constant watchfulness and attention are the price we pay for the proper maintenance of a first-class tennis court. The clay court will degenerate as rapidly as a macadam road, without proper repairs, and the turf court will lose its beauty and usefulness much faster than a green lawn if not attended to. A little intelligent care given to the court each week will preserve it from utter ruin, which must inevitably result if damages are not repaired at once.
The clay or dirt court must be gone over about every second day to fill in and roll down depressions made by the feet of the players. On courts where playing is almost continuous, the rule is to make repairs every day or after every ten sets have been played on them. The simplest and most effective way to keep a clay court in repair is to take a straight log or thick piece of wood, five to eight feet in length, and nail to it coarse bagging or jute cloth. If the edges are frayed out, so much the better. Attach ropes to either end of this log, and drag it across the court several times. The ragged edges of the cloth will smooth out the surface and work the dirt into holes or depressions. If hard ridges or lumps still exist these must be loosened by hand or a hoe.
After the drag has smoothed out the surface, it should be watered, in dry weather, and then rolled. A good hand roller is almost essential to the preservation of the court. The operator should always walk in front of the roller and not behind it. The rolling should continue until the surface is rendered entirely smooth. After the rolling the wet surface should be allowed to dry before the courts are marked out again.
The care of the grass court must depend a good deal upon how much it is used and the condition of the weather. In very wet seasons, the turf is soft and spongy, and the heels of the players cut deeper into it. This produces slight depressions that may in time increase, so as to ruin the surface if not attended to at once. On the other hand, in very dry weather, the grass is more easily scoured and killed, and there must be frequent wetting to keep the turf in good condition.
The grass courts should always be watered at night after the play. Any time after the last game will do, although about sun-down is a good time. Cutting should be done early in the morning after the watering, and then the roller should be applied. This puts the court in fine condition for playing. If the grass is cut in the morning without previous watering at night, it may be injured by the hot sun, especially if the heavy roller is applied. The simple rule is: water at night, cut in the morning, and then roll.
All bare strips of grass should be replaced as soon as possible with fresh sod. Cut out the old sod evenly and put down good new sod with edges fitting snugly. Sometimes new seed sown occasionally will answer the purpose, but not in the spots where the feet of the players work the greatest damage. If many deep depressions have been made by the feet of the players in wet weather, they should be filled in with more dirt and fresh sod planted and tamped down firmly.
There is opportunity at the side of the court for some feature in the way of a shelter or seats for the spectators
Every spring the grass court needs special attention. In March or February all extensive repairs should be made to the damaged turf. New sod should be put down wherever the grass is poor or worn, and if fitted snugly in place, new seed sown, and a good top-dressing of manure supplied, the court should be in fine condition by playing time. Of course regular manuring should be done in the fall of the year, the same as for the lawn, and in the spring it should be raked off and the surface rolled. Before rolling, however, the grass should be swept. Sweeping is much better than raking even through the summer season, for the tines of the rake are apt to dig up the grass roots.
Sweeping is also good for worm casts, which spoil a good many courts. The broom scatters the little mounds caused by the worms, and then the roller smooths the surface so that no irregularities are apparent. Some sprinkle lime water over the places where the worms are numerous, and as this brings them squirming to the surface they are swept away and destroyed.
It goes without saying that all tennis players should be required to wear rubber-soled shoes without heels. The damage to the court from shoes with heels is sometimes so great when the turf is soft that it will take half a season to repair it. Where tennis courts are a part of the general lawn a horse machine may be used for cutting the grass. In such cases the hoofs of the horses should be padded to prevent leaving sharp imprints in the turf.
If these directions for keeping a tennis court in good condition are faithfully followed there is no reason why a first-class court cannot be maintained indefinitely at little expense. It may be, in addition to this care, that a little work in exterminating weeds will be called for through the growing season. Obnoxious weeds must never be allowed to spread and get a foothold, or they will crowd out and kill the finer grass. They must be pulled or dug up by the roots as fast as they appear, and never be allowed to go to seed.