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South Fork Courts

Town of East Hampton

Har-Tru & Clay Courts in Montauk, NY

A Har-Tru court in Montauk costs $60,000–90,000 nationally to build and about $2,000 a year to keep, with watering overnight and at midday, brushing, spring rolling and two tons of new material a year; it plays in light rain, which a hard court does not. Tell us about the lot in Montauk; one builder who lays clay in Town of East Hampton calls within one business day.

Last updated · Reviewed by South Fork Courts

A Har-Tru court in Montauk is the surface the clubs play on, built at home, and it comes with a weekly routine and a water bill. We put Montauk homeowners in touch with one builder who lays clay and one company that will dress it every spring, and we publish what both cost.

Har-Tru courts in Montauk: what's different here

Six Har-Tru courts at Montauk Downs State Park, the Town’s two on South Emery Street, the Montauk Tennis Club’s Hither Hills site and the Yacht Club’s renovated racquet center, and a hamlet of hillside and oceanfront houses where a private court is the exception and the wind is not.

On the ocean side of Montauk a clay court dries out fast in the afternoon wind and blown sand works into the surface; subsurface irrigation and a windscreen are what keep a beachfront Har-Tru court playable at 4 p.m. in July.

The water table near the harbour and the ponds sits 2–8 feet below grade, with hydrostatic pressure against anything built into it, and the hamlet’s downtown was moved three miles south after the 1938 hurricane flooded it; a court base here is designed for water from below as much as from above. Most of Montauk’s tennis is public or club: Montauk Downs State Park’s six Har-Tru courts (rented at $44 an hour, $24 for members, mid-May to October), the Town’s two courts on South Emery Street, and the Montauk Yacht Club’s racquet center with the fork’s only padel courts; 4,318 people lived here at the 2020 Census with 60% of the housing counted vacant.

Permits in Montauk run through the Town of East Hampton Building Department (with a Natural Resources Special Permit near wetlands and bluffs); the court builder we put you in touch with handles the filing where one is required.

How it works

Tell us about the job once. One licensed, insured court builder who works Montauk and handles har-tru courts regularly contacts you within 1 business day. Free for homeowners, no spam calls.

FAQ

Har-Tru courts questions

Har-Tru or a hard court: which should I build in the Hamptons?

Har-Tru if you want the surface the fork plays on and will pay to keep it; a hard court if you want to walk out and play. A clay court costs $60,000–90,000 nationally plus about $2,000 a year, is watered overnight and at midday, brushed, rolled daily in the spring freeze-thaw and reconditioned every year with two tons of new material, and it plays in light rain; the clubs here are almost all Har-Tru: SPORTIME’s 33 courts, the East Hampton Tennis Club’s 15, Montauk Downs’ 6, Mashashimuet’s 8. A post-tensioned concrete or asphalt court costs $45,000–80,000, needs a wash and an algae treatment, a recoat ($4,000–10,000) when the colour wears and 30–120 minutes after rain, and lasts 10–25 years. A junior on the tournament track wants both within reach.

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How much does a tennis court cost to build in the Hamptons?

More than the national guides say, and they say $45,000–80,000. A new court averages $65,000 nationally, from $25,000 at the low end to $150,000 at the high, with the surface setting the range: grass $20,000–75,000, asphalt $40,000–80,000, post-tensioned concrete $45,000–80,000, Har-Tru clay $60,000–90,000, cushioned acrylic $65,000–100,000; labor alone is $30,000–35,000. Fencing adds $5,000–15,000, lighting $2,000–6,000 where a village allows it, a backboard $5,000–10,000. No Long Island builder publishes a price, and the Hamptons adds what the national guides never see: a court sunk four feet below grade for the setback rules, which stakeholders in Sagaponack put at about $100,000 extra in 2012, a base designed for a water table a few feet down, and a permit clock that ran 16–20 weeks behind in the Town of East Hampton in 2026.

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How does South Fork Courts work?

You tell us about the project once: where the lot is, what you want built, resurfaced, lit, fenced or looked after, the surface if you know it, and when. We put you in touch with one licensed, insured court builder who does that work in your town, and they call you within one business day. From there it is their site visit, their quote, their schedule and their warranty. It is free for homeowners; participating builders pay us a referral fee for the introduction. We are not a builder, a tennis club or a coaching business, and we do not sell your details; the one company we send you to is the only one that gets your number. We cover 9 South Fork towns and 6 kinds of court work.

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