Concerned about how to improve the performance of your clay or hard courts? Looking for a long-range plan to upgrade your facility, and need help with the process? Is your facility seeing the effects of age, and you’re not sure just what it needs? When it comes to construction, understanding the life cycle of a tennis court, facility maintenance and upkeep, or longterm budgeting, it’s easy for Teaching Professionals, General Managers, Board members, and court owners to feel overwhelmed by recommendations from players, builders, and club personnel. That’s why Har-Tru Consulting offers a range of services, including the “Court Analysis Survey” or CAS, as a guide to improving your tennis facility. Har-Tru has consulted with more than 250 tennis facilities and has surveyed over 2,000 tennis courts.

But Har-Tru, best known as the makers of the Har-Tru surfacing, sports coatings, and court maintenance accessories, goes beyond simply looking at the clay and hard surfaces, although that is a big part of the CAS. The survey includes gathering and documenting historical site data, geotechnical information, court orientation, computer-generated 3-D topographical surface maps, surface thickness and base stone measurements, analysis of the irrigation systems, drainage, curbing, lighting, nets, net posts, fencing, and court player amenities.

“Our goal is to create a roadmap that will allow a court owner or facility to offer the best tennis court experience over the long-run,” says Ed Montecalvo, who has over 25 years of experience with Har-Tru. “The report we create includes recommendations for short and long-term capital budgeting for the entire court infrastructure”. Har-Tru Consulting also offers training seminars for facility staff, irrigation system troubleshooting and design, and owner’s representative consulting. “Our job is to take the guesswork out of upgrading the courts and training your staff, and to do it in a way that everyone will understand and ultimately support”, says Montecalvo.

The information gathered for the CAS is put into a bound, fullcolor, easy-to-read report, complete with photos, charts, and computer-generated drawings specific to the facility being analyzed. According to Har-Tru, the CAS is requested for a number of reasons: > For construction or maintenance guidance prior to facility renovations or new construction. >To evaluate existing court conditions and offer improvements for court maintenance. >To identify capital improvements for long-term planning and budgeting. The CAS report becomes a living document, outlasting the periodic turnover of Board members and planning cycles. For more on Har-Tru Consulting, call 877-4-HARTRU or click this Har-Tru link to the consult page.