West Side Tennis Club: Superintendent Preserves Tradition in an Evolving Sport
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
West Side Tennis Club provides four different types of court surfaces for its members. West Side Tennis Club: Superintendent Preserves Tradition In An Evolving Sport ennis comes into full swing during bility and value of the superintendent or private tennis clubs in the world and fulfills the summer. Television coverage of groundskeeper. its promise to members that they will not Tthe Grand Slam and the u.S. Open Jim Sheridan, club superintendent at have to wait more than one hour to get on boosts the popularity of the game. Courts The West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, a court fill with everyone from novices to life-long NY, has witnessed the changes in tennis Tennis Tradition hobbyists seeking exercise outdoors. over two generations. His father, Owen West Side still serves metropolitan New Like golf, tennis is a sport for all ages. Sheridan, began grooming the 13 acres of York as well as an international member- As a person grows older and finds flag colonial bentgrass and clay courts in 1932. ship. It hosts numerous tournaments be- football, basketball, and softball a bit too Located just outside New York City, West tween May and October. Tennis much to handle, tennis is an excellent alter- Side helped launch tennis in the United professionals of all ages, countries, and native. He can set his own pace on a tennis States and for decades was the site of the genders frequent its courts during the year. court and, with regular practice, can remain U.S. Open. Most of them know Jim Sheridan on a first competitive long into retirement From the What has taken place at the club closely name basis. sport's origin, men and women have partic- follows the evolution of tennis in this coun- They should. He started working there ipated equally. try from a gentlemen's sport to a highly under his father when he was 14 years old. Tennis facilities are adapting to the var- commercialized attraction. It helped build He continued part-time throughout high ied condition and skill levels of our matur- recognition for tennis, served as a primary school and college. His father encouraged ing population. Today, a choice of tennis stage for television coverage, and then him to complete a degree in Ornamental surfaces helps control the safety and pace drew the line when the Open outgrew its Horticulture and Turf Management at Cor- of the game. It also increases the responsi- stadium. It remains one of the premiere nell University in Ithaca and a Masters in 12 Golf & sport TURF Business Administration at Fordham Uni- versity in the Bronx. Even after he became administrator of grounds at Fordham in 1976, he exchanged information with his father. In 1980, he assumed the superintendent's position after his father retired. It didn't take Sheridan long to begin changing the way athletic facilities were managed at Fordham. "Before you can per- manently solve the problems associated with athletic fields, you have to treat them separately from the rest of campus mainte- nance," he told the university's administra- tion. The fields really should be under a separate budget with specially trained per- sonnel. You don't get results without mak- ing a commitment, one that isn't constantly being challenged by other campus needs. Fordham adopted Sheridan's idea and has Bentgrass courts are mowed at 5/16-inch. since rebuilt its main fields. Now the ath- letic department is in the process of rein- niques to keep the bent growing vigor- Court Maintenance stating the school's once successful football ously. Each year we host the Men's Eastern "This country has ventured away from program. and National Women's Senior Grass Court traditional tennis surfaces partly because of "Fordham is like an oasis in the middle Championships. the maintenance involved in clay and grass of the Bronx," he boasts. "It's a beautiful "There's definitely a place for grass courts," Sheridan points out. "They require campus that helps build pride in the midst courts in tennis today," continued Sheri- a daily regimen of maintenance practices. of the city." dan. "After a lull ten years ago, the use of Most parks don't have the budget or The same can be said for the tennis club. our grass courts picked up again. Some trained staff to manage anything besides When the club moved from the west side of players prefer grass over anything else. We hard courts. As a result, most people learn Manhattan to Forest Hills in 1913, the area make sure they have a place to play." tennis on hard surfaces and aren't exposed was farmland. It soon featured 36 grass to the differences grass and clay courts courts and more than 20 clay. The stadium Variety of Surfaces offer." was built in 1923 to hold 15,000 tennis Today, Sheridan maintains eight grass According to Sheridan, there is a gen- fans, a phenomenal crowd for the times. courts, seven red clay courts, four DecoTurf eral lack of knowledge on how to care for The U.S. Open was held in this stadium courts, and 23 Har-Tru courts. The club more traditional tennis surfaces. He is con- until 1978, when it moved to the National also has three platform tennis courts and stantly receiving phone calls from tennis Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. In covers four Har-Tru courts with a bubble enthusiasts with their own courts. "I fre- 1980, the club hosted its first Tournament for winter play. quently consult members on court care," of Champions. The hard court is actually an adaptation says Sheridan. He also is a regular speaker "The Open was played on grass until of tennis brought on by American court at Har-Tru's annual maintenance school. 1975," said Sheridan. "Then the stadium builders and the glamorization of the fast- "Just like no two golf greens are exactly was converted to Har-Tru because the play- paced, power game played by young profes- alike, no two grass or clay courts are the ers wanted more uniformity. Maintaining sionals in this country. Hard courts play same," explains Sheridan. "There is a wide grass for tournament play is a nightmare. faster, have a more predictable bounce, and variation in grass courts because of the soil We'd resod patches along the baselines provide superior footing. They benefit the and the varieties of bentgrass used. Our almost every night. By the end of two younger player and power in regard to courts and nursery were constructed with weeks, though, the courts were essentially shotmaktng. However, they also are less a local topsoil amended with USGA greens dirt. The climate and the construction of forgiving on knees and leg muscles. mix. The surface is probably in the range of the courts here is a lot different from Wim- Clay and grass courts take some of the 70 percent sand and 30 percent humus. We bledon. The soil there contains more clay speed off the ball when it bounces. The aerate, drill seed, topdress, and roll the than our topsoil. Even when the grass emphasis is placed on shotmaklng. Most courts in October. Deep aeration in April wears thin, play can continue." foreign tennis professionals develop their has also proven helpful." The popularity of grass courts contin- skills on clay and grass. In fact, most major Sheridan has gradually incorporated dif- ued to wane during the '80s. The original tournaments outside the United States are ferent varieties of creeping bentgrass and 36 courts were converted to other surfaces held on other than hard surface courts. perennial ryegrass into the courts. "I've gradually over the years. First to 22 and West Side has four Deco-Turf hard tried using just one variety in the past and now to eight. "Grass is nice for the recrea- courts for its members who enjoy the fast found that mixtures are more wear toler- tional player," states Sheridan. "We protect game. But the majority of its courts are ant," he reports. The courts are now a our courts by rotating them daily, maintain- surfaced to please those who like more mixture of ryegrass and Cobra, Penncross, ing a sod nursery, and using a few tech- traditional playing conditions. continued on page 14 July, 1991 13 West Side Tennis Club Har-Tru. Brushing, filling in low spots, and continued from page 13 maintaining the right level of moisture are and Penneagle bents. constant jobs for clay-type courts. We man- "In the '40s, my father tried age our red clay courts differently from the Ugandagrass on a portion of the nursery," Har-Tru. The Har-Tru is crushed light-green adds Sheridan. "It didn't green up until the stone. It drains better than clay, but it also end of June." requires more water to maintain its firm- The other items Sheridan watches ness. The advantage of Har-Tru is the ma- closely are moisture and fertility. "Our irri- terial is consistent," claims Sheridan. gation system is all manual with quick-cou- "Clays vary a great deal and they also pler heads," he says. "There is no zoning. contain fines which cling to the ball and I'd prefer an automatic system, but our clothing." There is enough to clay court night irrigation man knows to watch the management that it takes Sheridan more grass courts very closely." than three hours to cover the subject at the Since the rootzone contains a high por- Har-Tru school. tion of sand, Sheridan tries to avoid quick- Six years ago, Sheridan received so release nitrogen sources.