the Hamptons
Har-Tru courts in the Hamptons: the surface the fork plays on, what it costs, and what it asks every week
Har-Tru is crushed metabasalt, a green clay slightly harder and faster than European red clay, and it is what the South Fork plays on: SPORTIME Amagansett’s 33 courts, the East Hampton Tennis Club’s 15, Montauk Downs’ 6 and Mashashimuet Park’s 8 are all Har-Tru. A new clay court costs $60,000–90,000 nationally plus about $2,000 a year in maintenance; it stays playable in light rain, wants watering overnight and at midday, daily rolling in the spring freeze-thaw, and an annual reconditioning that adds two tons of new material per court. Subsurface irrigation cuts water use by up to 60%.
Last updated · Reviewed by South Fork Courts
What it is
Har-Tru is a brand and a material: crushed metabasalt, a green clay concentrated in the mid-Atlantic and the South, slightly harder and faster than the crushed-brick red clay of Europe. Har-Tru also sells a European red and a low-maintenance ClayTech. The surface sits on a crushed-stone base over drainage, holds moisture for footing and a consistent bounce, and is the surface every serious club on the fork chose: 33 courts at SPORTIME Amagansett, 15 at the East Hampton Tennis Club, 6 at Montauk Downs, 8 at Mashashimuet Park in Sag Harbor. A private Har-Tru court plays like the club court the owner learned on, which is most of the reason it is specified.
What it costs (2026)
A new clay court runs $60,000–90,000 nationally, the second most expensive surface after cushioned acrylic, plus about $2,000 a year in maintenance (the national guides’ figures; no Long Island builder publishes a price, and Har-Tru routes construction through a certified-contractor network and sells budget planning as a consulting service). Reconditioning a clay court, as opposed to resurfacing a hard one, is priced at $2,500–3,000 nationally. Water is the running cost the guides leave out: the Suffolk County Water Authority charges $1.866 per hundred cubic feet, and a court watered overnight and at midday all summer draws on that; Har-Tru says its HydroCourt subsurface system saves up to 60% against sprinklers.
What it asks
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Daily | Brush after play, before watering; water as needed, overnight and once at midday at most facilities; roll in the morning when the court has moisture, daily in freeze-thaw weather until it compacts |
| Periodically | Repair divots and low spots, inspect line tapes, remove plant growth at the perimeter, scarify hard spots, clear drainage channels |
| Every year | Clean off tapes and debris, level (scrape the high spots, patch the low), top-dress with new Har-Tru at about two tons per court, relay the lines |
That routine is why a private Har-Tru court has a service contract the way a pool has a service contract. A court that missed its spring reconditioning is soft in June and hard-packed and dusty by August; the maintenance line item is the court.
Rain and the season
Clay is the surface that plays in light rain, because it is meant to be slightly damp; a hard court needs 30 to 120 minutes after rain and grass will not dry for hours. The fork’s clay season runs roughly mid-April to early November at SPORTIME and mid-May to October at Montauk Downs, which is the calendar a private court keeps too: open when the freeze-thaw ends and the court can be rolled to compaction, close before the ground freezes.
Irrigation
Most new clay courts are built with subsurface irrigation. Har-Tru’s HyQ system adjusts digitally and remotely with no downtime for sprinkling; its HydroCourt divides the court into six cells, each with its own water-filled control box, the water moving through a 20mm liner and the moisture set by a dial. The system is a construction decision, not a retrofit, and it is the difference between a court that is firm at 4 p.m. in July and one that is dust.
FAQ
Common 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.
Read the full answer →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.
Read the full answer →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.
Related
Other services
New Tennis Court Construction
A new court from $45,000 to $80,000 nationally by the surface you choose, the 7,200 square feet it needs, the setbacks, coverage caps and permit clocks the towns and villages add, and the season it takes.
Court Resurfacing & Repair
Resurfacing at $8,000–12,000, an acrylic recoat at $4,000–10,000, an asphalt overlay at $20,000–40,000, cracks from $400, drainage fixes to $8,000, the 30–60-day cure, and why nobody publishes an interval.
Pickleball & Multi-Sport Courts
A pickleball court is 20 by 44 feet on a 30 by 60 pad, about four to a tennis footprint: what a conversion, a new court and a sport court cost, the 10-foot backstop, the noise, and Southampton Village’s 2026 rules.
Court Lighting, Fencing & Windscreens
Fencing at $5,000–15,000 and 8 feet high, lighting at $2,000–6,000 where allowed, backboards, nets, windscreens and ball machines, and the rules that cap the fence, ban the lights and send the barrier to the board.
Court Maintenance & Seasonal Care
What a court needs every week, spring and year: the Har-Tru routine and its two tons of top-dressing, the hard-court wash and algae treatment, the $1,800-a-year average and $2,000 for clay, rain and the season.
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