For this group on the Top 45 list, the racquet facilities and programs are profiled for Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas; Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J.; Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C.; The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga.; Country Club of Detroit (Mich.); Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas; Northwood Country Club in Dallas, Texas; Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.; Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli, Pa.
Club + Resort Business’ capital expenditures study, conducted at the end of 2020 about clubs’ spending plans for 2021 showed that racquet sports are once again growing in popularity and gaining participation numbers. C+RB’s inaugural Top Ranked initiative for Racquet Facilities highlights the club and resort properties with the Top 45 Racquet Facilities and programs, as judged independently by a panel of racquet professionals and industry experts.
The full rankings can be viewed a on the main Top Ranked Listing Page. Here are profiles of the 6-15 Ranked Private Clubs in the Racquet Facilities category.
16. Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas
The Dominion Country Club’s tennis programs offer—literally—an opportunity for every member of the family, no matter if they’ve never played or for a competitive junior or a group of women wanting to learn pickleball. Programming at the San Antonio, Texas club is abundant and available every day of the week and at the core of these offerings is fun.
The facility itself is uniquely serene, and co-mingles the courts with natural surroundings, including a man-made brook that flows through the area.
There are 11 individual tennis courts (no shared surfaces). The Director of Tennis has been at the club for more than 30 years, and four other employees have been part of the team for more than 20 years. This commitment and longevity set this club apart from all others.
Any time of day, the staff will be on the courts, working with members on skills drills or competitive strategies. The cadence ebbs and flows, starting with the morning rush, the after-school programs, and ending with evening matches.
It’s this activity and vibrancy that sets the club apart from the competition and that has solidified its regional reputation for racquet sports excellence. In fact, other clubs covet and copy programs because constant excellence, delivered by an experienced staff, leads to robust participation and member satisfaction.
Since imitation is the best form of flattery, it’s no wonder that other clubs want to paint their pickleball courts in the same hue of blue or try to engage as many junior players as possible in after-school and camp programs. The club’s Mighty Muscle tennis camps (4 to 8-year-olds, offered for 10 weeks each summer) are considered the best in the region and teach eight sport disciplines each day. Best of all, the kids are never indoors and never using their electronic devices.
The tennis academy has sent players to college and introduced the game of tennis children as young as 4. All players in the academy are expected to mentor the program’s youth. On a daily basis, players young and old, tournament players and beginners, warm up together. The team bond created is second to none and is clearly in evidence when players compete in tournaments around the state.
The weekly schedule of events is coupled with year-round special themed opportunities. From Thursday Night Lights (mixed social pickleball and tennis) to Saturday Morning Workouts (all players welcome to participate in physical drills that always cater to their level), activities options are creative and popular.
The Wimbledon White Events are special and very popular, anchored by early-morning watch parties, complete with strawberries and cream, cucumber sandwiches (crusts off, of course), Pimm’s and Champagne bars. The event even includes a call with Wimbledon Royalty Alan Mills (tournament director from 1980-2005), which provides a unique perspective.
Additional annual special events on the calendar are February’s Sweetheart Pickleball, Tax Day Men’s Round Robin Doubles, Kentucky Derby Mixed “Mint Juleps,” Couples Golf and Pickle Ball, and on the day after Thanksgiving, Fit Friday “Burn That Turkey Off”— to name only a few.
17. Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J.
The Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J. offers a robust racquets program featuring team practices, private and group lessons, open-play events, and numerous social functions. Also offered are inter- and intra-club leagues, cardio tennis, and a robust series of popular, one-week summer camps.
The state-of-the-art Har-Tru clay tennis courts feature the HydroCourt subsurface irrigation system, which ensures optimum surface moisture. These courts are available for all-day play and provide perfect, year-round conditions.
Earlier this year, new platform and pickleball facilities were constructed.
The club has a long and successful platform tennis history and is a past host of national championships. World-class staff members include past and present platform tennis champions, including the recently crowned women’s national champion.
The club is a premier training ground for top junior players.
18. Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C.
Hampton Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C. is growing its racquet sport amenities and programming to answer the new demand of pickleball, tennis and bocce, which is sweeping the nation.
Hampton Hall Club and community has always put racquet sports at the top of their list of amenities in the low country; especially as they are a golf optional community.
During the recent CMAA National Conference and local Carolina Chapter education on the the ever-growing racquet sports and pickleball offerings, General Manager/COO, Loraine Vienne, CCM, CAM provided to the HHC Club Board and Adhoc committee several of the educational presentations. The governing body and management team agreed upon the need to continue to expand their facilities to remain at the top in their lifestyle community offerings.
The Hampton Hall Board has been very receptive to current trends in the industry and making Hampton Hall Club a step above the competition in the local market.
Currently, Hampton Hall has more than 42 youth participating in its Junior programming. They also boast more than 19 league teams in the adult player categories.
Hampton Hall is working with an architectural landscape and recreation firm to build six brand new lighted Pickleball courts and (4) new lighted Bocce courts, to complement the Har Tru Clay Tennis courts, pickleball and bocce courts we currently have.
The Head Tennis Professional, Paul Tollefson, has created a series of new pickleball clinics to introduce members and perspective players to the pickleball sport; in addition to his regular adult and junior tennis clinics and lessons.
Bocce has also developed league play, followed by dining opportunities. A full social calendar surrounding racquet and bocce sport players has also been cultivated to complement inner club tournament and round robin play.
The new pickleball clinics are filling up faster than the tennis and pickleball instruction team can schedule them. Since COVID, junior clinics and participation is also on the rise.
Plans for the future, in addition to the new courts, include a new outdoor dining venue to facilitate the desire for social events surrounding the racquet sports and bocce ball play. Hampton Hall is an upper-end mid-market lifestyle community who continues to add value to its membership by funding these projects through its capital and transfer fees. The member support for providing an outstanding “generational” lifestyle experience in the low country is second to none.
19. The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga.
In addition to perfectly maintained tennis courts, paddle, and pickleball courts, The Landings Club in Savannah, Ga. also has eight beautifully maintained bocce courts and a new croquet lawn.
This full set of court sports is cared for by a full-service, newly remodeled pro shop with a USRSA Master Racquet Technician on staff as well.
The club also hosts a USTA Pro Circuit Challenger Tennis event, a USTA National Category I Championship tournament, and is the home of the Georgia 65 & Over State Team Championships.
This is all accomplished while exceeding the expectations of our ever-growing and more diverse membership- players young, old, and everywhere in between have found the court sports programs offered here at The Landings Club to be the best in the business
20. Country Club of Detroit (Mich.)
The Country Club of Detroit (Mich.) is home to one of the country’s premier clay court tennis facilities. As part of the new Summer Village Campus—opened in 2015—CCD’s tennis facilities include a brand new Racquet Center Building and Tennis Pro Shop anchoring eight clay courts, lined in beautiful greenery.
There are plans for four to six permanent pickleball courts for the 2022 season. The grounds, trees, shrubs, and patios surrounding the courts are inviting, gorgeous, and functional.
Country Club of Detroit’s professional staff has trained numerous USTA National Junior and Adult Champions. For over 100 years, CCD has been the cream of the crop for racquet sports and facilities.
21. Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas
Located at the site of the PGA Tour event, Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Colonial Country Club offers a world class experience in tennis.
Members enjoy 10 outdoor courts and three indoor courts that are resurfaced every year.
All the pros on staff have played Division 1 College tennis and certified by the USPTA or PTR.
The pros are focused on a member tailored experience, no matter your skill level.
22. Northwood Country Club in Dallas, Texas
Northwood Country Club tennis has grown over 140% the last five years. The Dallas, Texas club opened a new pro shop and locker room facility, doubled its staff over the last five years, added 17 new programs that are well-attended and added four pickleball courts. The club added outdoor LED lighting, as well. Northwood is one of the most active programs in Dallas, which is a big tennis market.
Home to an historic golf course that hosted the 1952 United States Open golf championship, Northwood’s staff and facilities provide a family-friendly atmosphere for members.
In addition to racquets, the golf course, practice areas were recently restored, and new short course was built. Northwood also features a large resort-style swimming complex, a state-of-the-art Wellness Center and the 65,000-sq. ft. traditional clubhouse.
23. Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif.
Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif., first opened in 1982 as the late Ken Behring’s dream to create a residential and recreational development at the foothills of Mount Diablo. Members enjoy two beautiful golf courses, two clubhouses, a variety of dining and bar venues, two tennis facilities, eight pickleball courts, two racquetball courts, three bocce ball courts, a new 10,000-sq. ft. fitness and wellness center, a competition heated pool, kid care, and a calendar full of events.
Tennis at Blackhawk Country Club is unique. With 18 LED-lighted courts and two facilities available for year-round play, Blackhawk meets and exceeds the needs of all the tennis members, young or old, beginner or advanced, social or competitive. The hub of adult tennis at the club is the Tennis Villas, a 6500-sq. ft. facility on four acres dotted with redwoods and located at the northwestern edge of the Blackhawk community development. The Villas facility is home to 11 individually-fenced-in courts with covered cabanas and refrigerated courtside water fountains.
The facility also has two racquetball courts, a sport court with basketball and pickleball, a newly remodeled pro shop fully loaded with the latest fashions and equipment, food and beverage services, locker rooms, lounge areas, ball walls, a dedicated ball machine court, and a patio seating area with fire pits overlooking center court.
At the Sports Complex, located in the center of the development and adjacent to the Fitness and Wellness Center, Blackhawk has another seven tennis courts, including a stadium court with amphitheater-style seating. The remaining six tennis courts are clustered in pairs at different tiers down a rolling hill with plenty of viewing from various vantage points around the 6-acre property.
The Sports Complex is also home to a growing pickleball program, with six permanent pickleball courts and fencing in between each court. The Sports Complex courts are open for member play, lessons, and clinics and are home to our year-round junior tennis program for ages 5-18 years.
Across these two facilities, Blackhawk has a thriving Adult USTA program, day leagues, adult social mixers, competitive events, adult clinics, and junior clinics and camps, with six teaching pros on staff to support all of the programming and demand for instruction. Given the size of the club, Blackhawk is also able to host tournaments (both junior and adult) and support the surrounding community by providing courts to local high schools, while concurrently offering ample space for member events and play.
Above all else, what makes Blackhawk Country Club unique is its sense of community, which fosters the foundations of lasting relationships that transcend the tennis and pickleball courts. Blackhawk members participate in league play and organized events run by the staff, but they also develop their own traditions and events to share with one another; this uniquely cyclical relationship, along with the lasting friendships and bonds it has created over the years, sets Blackhawk apart.
To Blackhawk members, tennis and pickleball are more than sports; they are inimitable foundations of their lives and community that start on the court but extend far beyond it. Members come to play, but they stay—and keep playing—because the club feels like home.
24. Desert Highlands in Scottsdale, Ariz.
The Desert Highlands’ Racquet Club sports 13 tennis courts featuring all three Grand Slam surfaces–grass, clay and hard–and two regulation-size pickleball courts.
The Racquet Club also annually hosts one of the premier tennis tournaments found anywhere–the USTA Southwest Grass Court Classic–and has played host to the 2015 USPTA Grass Court Surface Championship, and was a finalist for a 2006 Davis Cup tie and the 2013 Federation Cup tie.
Noted ATP player Nick Kyrgios considers Desert Highlands’ grass courts “better than Wimby [Wimbledon].”
25. Waynesborough Country Club in Paoli, Pa.
The Waynesborough Country Club racquet facilities are the talk of the Main Line in Paoli, Pa. The tennis courts, in particular, are regularly complimented by visitors for their playability.
Waynesborough owes much of this status to its dedicated maintenance staff and their meticulous care of the racquets facilities.
The campus has a wonderful balance of the three outdoor racquet sports—tennis, paddle, and pickleball—with the largest and fastest-growing pickleball program in the region.
Members are incredibly engaged with the program, with increasing demand and participation year over year.
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