The Dirt on Dirt

The last few days, I have had the pleasure of playing tennis at three different clay court facilities in central Italy, and for a clay court junkie such as myself, it has been a real education.

Without a doubt, there is something special for an American to hit balls on “the dirt.” The red clay in Italy is more “powdery” than the Har-Tru we offer in the US and makes a very different sound under foot as you play. It is, for lack of a better word…a sexier surface. But like a flashy Italian sports car that spends a lot of time in the repair shop, it is not without its issues. Even after a wonderful two days, I still don’t think it is as good as the green stuff back home and here is why…

1. The Dirt is Dirty – This is coming from a guy that didn’t shower for 10 straight days in college…and I lost the bet to my roommate, which stunk in more ways than one. Anyway, I now know why so many of the Europeans where grey or black socks and dark colored tennis gear. I always thought there sense of style was poor, but “tennis whites” on a red clay court is not a good idea. I will have to throw the white sox I had on today in the trash. There is no way my wife would allow them back in the house.

2. The Dirt is Inconsistent – One of the better points of a Har-Tru court is that it plays fairly similarly when it is really wet or nearly dry. The dirt…not so much! On one half of one court, the surface played at least 4 different ways. From hard-and-fast to wet-and-gummy; the courts were a little bit of everything all wrapped into one. And on top of that, they had been hand watered in an effort to make them as consistent as possible.

3. The Dirt is Mobile – We saw a good bit of accumulation due to wind and water erosion. In fact, I heard a story about a private club near Roland Garros in Paris where the housewives who lived around the courts raised so much hell, that the club had to remove the red clay courts. Want to know why? Because the clay was so fine and powdery on top that when the wind blew and the courts dried out, all there laundry would have a red haze from the “dirt” settling on it while the clothes hung in the backyards to dry. I would have gotten tired of double and triple washing my laundry as well.

4. The Dirt is Expensive – A ton of red clay topdressing costs about $200 Euros ( a little over $300 USD) plus the freight to get it there. Har-Tru is usually about half the cost…and since the red clay washes and blows away easier, they have to put down more each year than the clubs in the US.

Now I admit that I may be a bit partial on this subject, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a great time playing on the dirt, but for all of you in America who yearn for real red clay, watch what you wish for … ‘cause you might just get it.

It may be more exotic, more sexy, more traditional, but I will happily look forward to next week, when I get to play on good ‘ole green Har-Tru in my beloved USA again.

Arrivederci!

Randy Futty
General Manager
Lee Tennis