The legendary tennis instructor and coach Dennis Van der Meer passed away Saturday, July 27, 2019. I first met him in the 1980s at a camp at the Van Der Meer Tennis Center and came away amazed by his upbeat teaching—sometimes punctuated by silly jokes—and his phenomenal ability at the end of a camp with 60 participants to conclude by calling each by name and recalling specifically the flaws in their game he was working on to help them improve. A kind, wonderful man who cared deeply about tennis and tennis players. He is missed. For more about him and his contribution to tennis, see the obituary in The Island Packet.
Of all the resorts on Hilton Head Island, Shipyard Plantation has always impressed me for its serenity. Drive through either entrance gate and you find yourself on a winding two-lane road bordered by woods or golf fairways and unobtrusive complexes of low-rise condos. The road eventually ends at the 20-court Van Der Meer Shipyard Tennis Resort and a beachfront hotel called the Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island. Its location puts most of Hilton Head Island’s shops, restaurants, and attractions within easy reach while ensuring a measure of tranquility once you return to the plantation.
The plantation itself covers a 800 acres. Unlike Sea Pines and Palmetto Dunes, which border long stretches of beach, most of Shipyard lies inland. At its northeastern corner, however, a rectangular parcel of land connects the rest of the plantation to the beach. It’s there, just behind the dunes, that you’ll find both the Sonesta hotel and the resort’s beach club.
The ownership of Shipyard’s recreational amenities and its lodging is fragmented, which makes it modestly more complicated to sort through the options if you’re planning to stay there. The condos are handled by many different island real estate agencies, each of which may have struck a different deal with the golf club and tennis club to ensure their guests special privileges.
Tennis players have it somewhat easier since they can call the Van Der Meer organization and take advantage of special package prices the racquet club has cut with island hotels and villas, inside and outside the plantation.
Billie Jean King was the touring pro for Shipyard Plantation in 1974 when the racquet club was built. Almost two decades later her onetime coach and former business partner Dennis Van der Meer bought the racquet club and made major enhancements, including the addition of three indoor courts, the general upgrading of the others, and enhancement of the stadium.
Tennis Staff: Most of the clinics are run by Dr. Louis Cap and other members of the Van Der Meer professional staff. A Master Professional and PTR National Tester and Clinician, Cap played the European Circuit in the 60’s, and in addition to his lengthy teaching and playing career, Louie has a Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and when I last visited in 2017 was preparing to run his 43rd consecutive Boston Marathon.
Tennis Programs: The Van Der Meer organization has moved all of its multi-day adult programming to this Shipyard venue. Throughout virtually the entire year now, there are midweek and weekend clinics ranging from 10 to 20 hours in length. Different sessions are designed to appeal to different players, from basic clinics for a wide range to abilities to drill-and-play, advanced, or world-class drill sessions for NTRP 3.5 and above. Certain other periods are devoted to singles, doubles, or senior play. Adults who want daily (as opposed to multi-day) programs can still get those at Shipyard, which offers Cardio tennis and from May to October a weekly pro exhibition or a broad range of clinics Van Der Meer Tennis Center, which is also where the junior programs take place.
Court Complex: A handsome weathered wood-and-stucco pro shop beneath a towering live oak tree anchors this 20-court complex. Walkways impregnated with shells provide access to the courts, most of which have been laid out in pairs with refrigerated water fountains and shaded pavilions in between. One of these courts is a bleachered stadium. Altogether there are 14 clay courts and 6 hard, three of the latter in an indoor building whose blue roof and facade of stucco and columns hints at the other architecture within Shipyard.
Court fees: $15-$18/hour except for those on Van Der Meer clinic packages
Off Court
Beach: Only one tiny strip of the Shipyard property borders the beach, and that occurs in the extreme northeast corner just behind the Sonesta Resort. Low dunes tufted with grass separate the beach proper, which is enormously wide, from a line of palm trees and the hotel and beach club. Blue umbrellas stud the sand, which is otherwise cluttered with beach tricycles and chairs.
Golf Courses: Shipyard has 27 holes of golf.
Spa and Fitness Center: The Arum Spa at the Sonesta offers a variety of massages, body treatments, and facials. The Sonesta also has a fitness center open 24 hours a day to guests. It has cardio equipment, LifeFitness training stations, and dumbbells.
There are bike trails through the property but not much else in the way of other recreation.
Children's programs: The Sonesta has a children’s playground, and it also runs something called “Just Us Kids,”, a supervised, full- or half-day program available from Memorial Day to Labor Day for 6 to 12 year olds. Potty-trained 3- to 5-year-old can attend with the morning or afternoon half day session.
Accommodations
Getting there
Seasons: Tennis can be played year-round at Shipyard; however the beach loses its appeal from late November into early March, since the weather during that period can be chilly. On the other hand, some of the best bargains in lodging rates (and discounted clinics) also occur in winter.
Travel Instructions: By Air: Shipyard is 45 miles from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) in Georgia and 95 miles from Charleston International Airport (CHS). Major airlines serve both of those gateways. It is also possible to fly directly to Hilton Head Island Airport (HHH), on commuter service from US Airways Express, via Charlotte, NC. Rental cars and shuttles are available at all three airports.
This was a great place to improve my tennis game! Instead of trying to teach me a whole new stroke, the coaches totally improved my strokes and serve, and gave me a lot of pointers that I can focus on at home to continue to improve. The videotape helped me see what I was doing wrong and showed me how to improve. Great coaches – good sense of humor and targeted advice that really helped! It was a great way to kickstart my season after not having played in a while.
PH
Excellent drills and clinic year after year. Helps me enter spring tennis season with confidence and an extra shot or two. Instructors always are helpful, professional and fun. Only weakness this year was some of the practice balls were dead/flat.
LG
I’d recommend the week. It was fun, fulfilling, inspiring. The pros were talented, personable and great-humored. Weather was great. Personally, I wish we’d had a bit more doubles tactics, but stroke production was, admittedly, the focus of the week.
NH
Well organized Excellent instructors Constant motion — and that is good — you really get your money’s worth. Plantation is so beautiful…once you’ve been you want to stay
KL
I hadn’t played tennis in months because of bad weather. It was a perfect weekend to get my swing and timing back. The staff was direct in their advice about skills and ideas on how to improve a particular skill. They made is fun; and challenged me to focus on my strokes. I really can’t think of a weakness. They have the program down to a science.
JB
I had a GREAT time while at the tennis camp! The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and interested in helping our team to improve as players. The drills were great and I got a great workout. It was challenging and I wish we had more instructional time. I would like to be able to come back after lunch and work another 2 hours on Sat. and Sun. Overall, it was a fabulous experience and we plan on coming back! Thanks to all of you!!
MC
I have nothing but good to say about my experience! Instructors were very knowledgeable and offered very helpful hints. One of the instructors was young and did not offer much advice but was very nice.
AL
I’ve been to the Drill & Play Weekend clinics in 2010 and 2011. Overall, I have enjoyed my time there. There are not a lot of 4.0+ players that sign-up for these clinics. If there were, it would be much better. I find that the drills are well run and organized, but just lacking in younger and higher rated players.
TK
Strengths great drills and play time, weakness some teachers hard to understand due to language barriers
FW
We wre very pleased with the hotel accomodations, the friendliness of the staff and the knowledge of our tennis pro. We did not feel there were truly any weaknesses.. We would highly recommend this to our tennis friends.. !!!
PR
Good pro to player ratio. Players were all of similar level so no one was left behind
JS
Went to a few day clinics along with a semi-private lession. Found instruction generally to be accurate and helpful and drills were kept moving at a good pace.
FA
I liked the pace of the tennis instruction. The size of the group (16) was also just right. Louie Cap, the headcoach was great, learned lots of tips to improve my shots. His 2 assistants, Ailene and Kenji were also good. Lots of practice and drills!
DD
the clinic was extensive and immensely helpful. the accommodation was great – very well furnished and conveniently located minutes from the tennis courts!
DL
NO weaknesses! Great pros, very personalized attention and coaching, loved the videotaping of our serves and ground strokes. Nothing bad to say – this is my 3rd time to VanDerMeer and always have great success
CB
Strenghts- pros, instructions, genuine concern to make sure that you have a good time
MS
Steve, the pro was great. He put fun into a lot of work.
RL
Thoroughly enjoyable!
BS
The video analysis of your forhand and backhand was an excellent learning tool.
RY
Excellent instruction, first class facility, well structured, focused on all aspects of the game. The best tennis instruction I’ve ever had
GD
Personal instruction, great tennis facilities. If utilizing cottages owned by Van Der Meer, know general procedures for use of a condo, limited information once arrive on campus of facility. Had a great time and obtained great benefit from information learned.
JG
Great experience. Very well organized and professional. I learned several new “tricks” and I’m quite pleased with the tennis camp.
AG
Exactly what I expected when I signed up for a 5 day clinic
SA
Great pros w great attitude. Fun experience. Very informative. Would love to repeat
ST
The adult clinics were small and competitive with a lot of well structured drills. My husband and I both got good feedback and great workouts.
RD
This was our second year in a row for the family Van Der Meer tennis week. Our son is 11 years old, and loves the kids program. It provides excellent instruction, drills, game practice, and exciting game activities. I attended the daily advanced drills (9-12). You will not find a better group of instructors–especially with Louie at the helm. There is no better way to get your game on track and hone your skills. My wife participated in several of the stroke of the day and drill sessions. This permitted her to improve her tennis and spend time taking in the Hilton Head culture (shopping).
LC
Strengths: (1) Small class size (9 students to 4 pros); (2) Video analysis of serve, backhand, and forehand helped with correcting form; (3) Overall a great experience (repetition, play, tips tailored to my form/game) with the exceptions below. Weaknesses: (1) I did not get to work with the head pro until the 4th day after I noticed he kept rotating with the other 8 students and I brought it up to him. (2) One of the junior pros I kept getting paired with did not speak English and though he was able to demonstrate, it was difficult for him to explain. (3) He and another junior pro did not notice that I was using the wrong grip on the serve (after serving for at least 15 minutes) until the 3rd junior pro noticed and came over.
SL
Video analysis of serves and strokes was specific and helpful. Pros were friendly, Dr. Lou is very knowledgable. Participant to Pro ratios were low enough for plenty of individual attention. Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen some of my tennis skills. The experience would be improved if there was increased separation of participants by skill level, and more variety in the training content and process(i.e., basic strokes were taught in a fairly rigid fashion to all levels, rather than building on individuals current capacity, or addressing specific areas a person might request). A greater variety of interactive play and strategy drills would have increased the fun level.
HS
This is the best program! The instruction by Lou Kap is the best!Cannot complain about anything!
MA
Very good grouping of abiities. Faclities excellent.
NA
6 of us went to Hilton Head for a long weekend to attend tennis camp. It was a great time and we learned a lot of new drills which will be helpful as we plan for our fall matches.
JB
Six of us visited Van Der Meer Tennis at Shipyard on Memorial day weekend for 4 days of tennis. The facility was fabulous and coaching pros were fantastic. The drills were excellent and match play in the afternoon reinforced what we learned in the morning. Brandon Ardent the Director of Sales did a great job with our accommodation.
ME
The Instruction was excellent but, the pro shop was a little bit to small for me…
JB
This is a good deal at $300. so I don’t want to complain too much. I mean seriously, at this price, it was one of the cheapest Adult Tennis Camps I could find on the net. Other than the price, I really appreciated Louis’ super sharp eyes. He saw things in all of our games and the video sessions with him were worth $100. each easily. Thank you Louis. Now for the negatives. We were grouped based on self-ratings. No one observed us play in order to determine group assignment. As a result, the within-group level of play varied wildly, making for frustrating pairings at times. Second, while the ratio of teachers to students remained at 1:4, some of the teachers were summer interns who had no business teaching. My group got stuck for most of the weekend with a sweet but really limited instructor. Was it worth it? As my mom would say, really you get what you pay for.
NM
Facilities are very nice, and resort is lovely, but tennis instruction was only adequate. Louis is hard to understand. Everyone is friendly but I wouldn’t rate this camp as highly as others I’ve attended (Broadmoor, Total Tennis).
DF
Strengths: Several really good instructors and a friendly staff. Weaknesses: Not enough 4.0 and above players in the 2 clinics I have attended at this location.
BL
Great drills and work-out. Ensured good matching of ability. Good mix of drills and point playing to use drill. Instructors were very patience and encouraging to keep working hard. No obvious weakness.
JK
Stengths… Well organized Weaknesses… Be sure there are enough people there at your same level.
DC
Coaches are very professional and intelligent. They tailor their instruction and drills to all levels of players.
SF
Better for players rated 3.5 or below. Great staff and facility. Very knowledgeable staff. Should have used ratings to determine groups before day 2.
RK
very experienced, knowledgeable, friendly staff, up to date on technique evolution. variety of programs offered to fit ones need for different levels and needs/focus.
BR
Highly recommend and will definitely return. The clinic re-inforces technique and bolsters self-confidence. Good player/coach ratio. I would like to see more instruction in strategy.
JB
Van Der Meer Shipyard is located in Hilton Head, SC. The tennis facility is exceptional. The tennis courts are kept in excellent shape. They were raked before our sessions in the morning and again for our sessions in the afternoon. The staff were very knowledgeable and through the week we were able to cover pretty much every stroke you could possibly hit during a match. Drills were conducted at a reasonable pace and extra time was available if I wanted to work on some strokes a little extra. The staff were very polite and always on time to the sessions. There was absolutely no wasted time. I paid for 20 hours of drills during the week and received all 20 as promised, possibly a little more. I have the blisters to prove it. As far as negatives, I felt like there were a couple of people at the camp who were not at the same skill level as the others. For this reason, some of the matches played were not as fun as they could have been otherwise. Van Der Meer tennis is good for someone who really wants to practice. If you are more for socializing there may be another camp which suits you better. You should definately take the time to research the type of camp you want to attend. Overall I would recommend Van Der Meer tennis to any tennis players who are serious about improving and want to make sure they get their money’s worth.
CS
The Drill and Play Clinic (10 hours over 3 days) was well done. The drills were good and the pace was excellent. It felt like 15 hours of instruction!
SP
Great program with very courteous and talented tennis pros. Courts are maintained well
KA
Excellent instruction, stroke analysis and daily reinforcement of skills learned in previous days sessions. Helpful daily warm up insight for preserving aging tennis player’s bodies.
LM
It is great fun! Technique and skills work was wonderful. The staff is knowledgeable and able to look at you as an individual and help you improve your game. Our entire family loved it!
CT
I thought the overall experience was very strong. The surroundings & weather could not have been better. The pros were wonderful – each had a lot to offer and each was so easy to get along with – very professional and personable. My only suggestion would be to perhaps not rotate between the 4 or 5 pros because I felt like I got less feedback on how to improve personally. A lot of great tips were shared, and the drills were great, but it could have been more customized if we were with one pro the whole entire time.
DB
I attended one of the weekend clinics. The strengths were the video analysis. This was done for the serve, forehand, and backhand with a little feedback on what I should do to improve technique. Another strength was the location (Hilton Head) so there were things to do off court and the staff was friendly and professional. The major weakness was that during this 10-hr clinic, I felt we spent too much time “just playing points” without instruction from the pros. On the first day, we basically played tennis for the first 2 1/2 hours. I felt like I paid for 5 hours of instruction and 5 hours to play tennis with people that I did not know (this was great but I could have done it for free at home). There also needs to be some one-on-one time with the pro for all the students. For example, on 2 occasions during the weekend, the pro took one student who was having difficulty with a stroke and basically did a private 30 minute lesson (so an hour total) while the rest of us “played points” with the other pro (no instruction). I think it was good to give this student instruction but at the same time, I was paying to “play points” and watch someone else get a private lesson. In all fairness, I’m not sure what I should have expected from a 10-hr weekend clinic, but I do not feel that I got what I paid for.
SM
I participated in daily clinics here for 6 days last Nov. Always a Pro per 4 player/ratio, always had terrific coaches, some teaching styles differed, was always met w/ warm welcome, felt safe as a single in the area,rode my bike to & from condo, & round robins well attended by locals as well as guests. I will return!
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140 Reviews on “Van Der Meer Tennis”
This was a great place to improve my tennis game! Instead of trying to teach me a whole new stroke, the coaches totally improved my strokes and serve, and gave me a lot of pointers that I can focus on at home to continue to improve. The videotape helped me see what I was doing wrong and showed me how to improve. Great coaches – good sense of humor and targeted advice that really helped! It was a great way to kickstart my season after not having played in a while.
Excellent drills and clinic year after year. Helps me enter spring tennis season with confidence and an extra shot or two. Instructors always are helpful, professional and fun. Only weakness this year was some of the practice balls were dead/flat.
I’d recommend the week. It was fun, fulfilling, inspiring. The pros were talented, personable and great-humored. Weather was great. Personally, I wish we’d had a bit more doubles tactics, but stroke production was, admittedly, the focus of the week.
Well organized Excellent instructors Constant motion — and that is good — you really get your money’s worth. Plantation is so beautiful…once you’ve been you want to stay
I hadn’t played tennis in months because of bad weather. It was a perfect weekend to get my swing and timing back. The staff was direct in their advice about skills and ideas on how to improve a particular skill. They made is fun; and challenged me to focus on my strokes. I really can’t think of a weakness. They have the program down to a science.
I had a GREAT time while at the tennis camp! The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and interested in helping our team to improve as players. The drills were great and I got a great workout. It was challenging and I wish we had more instructional time. I would like to be able to come back after lunch and work another 2 hours on Sat. and Sun. Overall, it was a fabulous experience and we plan on coming back! Thanks to all of you!!
I have nothing but good to say about my experience! Instructors were very knowledgeable and offered very helpful hints. One of the instructors was young and did not offer much advice but was very nice.
I’ve been to the Drill & Play Weekend clinics in 2010 and 2011. Overall, I have enjoyed my time there. There are not a lot of 4.0+ players that sign-up for these clinics. If there were, it would be much better. I find that the drills are well run and organized, but just lacking in younger and higher rated players.
Strengths great drills and play time, weakness some teachers hard to understand due to language barriers
We wre very pleased with the hotel accomodations, the friendliness of the staff and the knowledge of our tennis pro. We did not feel there were truly any weaknesses.. We would highly recommend this to our tennis friends.. !!!
Good pro to player ratio. Players were all of similar level so no one was left behind
Went to a few day clinics along with a semi-private lession. Found instruction generally to be accurate and helpful and drills were kept moving at a good pace.
I liked the pace of the tennis instruction. The size of the group (16) was also just right. Louie Cap, the headcoach was great, learned lots of tips to improve my shots. His 2 assistants, Ailene and Kenji were also good. Lots of practice and drills!
the clinic was extensive and immensely helpful. the accommodation was great – very well furnished and conveniently located minutes from the tennis courts!
NO weaknesses! Great pros, very personalized attention and coaching, loved the videotaping of our serves and ground strokes. Nothing bad to say – this is my 3rd time to VanDerMeer and always have great success
Strenghts- pros, instructions, genuine concern to make sure that you have a good time
Steve, the pro was great. He put fun into a lot of work.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
The video analysis of your forhand and backhand was an excellent learning tool.
Excellent instruction, first class facility, well structured, focused on all aspects of the game. The best tennis instruction I’ve ever had
Personal instruction, great tennis facilities. If utilizing cottages owned by Van Der Meer, know general procedures for use of a condo, limited information once arrive on campus of facility. Had a great time and obtained great benefit from information learned.
Great experience. Very well organized and professional. I learned several new “tricks” and I’m quite pleased with the tennis camp.
Exactly what I expected when I signed up for a 5 day clinic
Great pros w great attitude. Fun experience. Very informative. Would love to repeat
The adult clinics were small and competitive with a lot of well structured drills. My husband and I both got good feedback and great workouts.
This was our second year in a row for the family Van Der Meer tennis week. Our son is 11 years old, and loves the kids program. It provides excellent instruction, drills, game practice, and exciting game activities. I attended the daily advanced drills (9-12). You will not find a better group of instructors–especially with Louie at the helm. There is no better way to get your game on track and hone your skills. My wife participated in several of the stroke of the day and drill sessions. This permitted her to improve her tennis and spend time taking in the Hilton Head culture (shopping).
Strengths: (1) Small class size (9 students to 4 pros); (2) Video analysis of serve, backhand, and forehand helped with correcting form; (3) Overall a great experience (repetition, play, tips tailored to my form/game) with the exceptions below.
Weaknesses: (1) I did not get to work with the head pro until the 4th day after I noticed he kept rotating with the other 8 students and I brought it up to him. (2) One of the junior pros I kept getting paired with did not speak English and though he was able to demonstrate, it was difficult for him to explain. (3) He and another junior pro did not notice that I was using the wrong grip on the serve (after serving for at least 15 minutes) until the 3rd junior pro noticed and came over.
Video analysis of serves and strokes was specific and helpful. Pros were friendly, Dr. Lou is very knowledgable. Participant to Pro ratios were low enough for plenty of individual attention. Overall, I enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen some of my tennis skills.
The experience would be improved if there was increased separation of participants by skill level, and more variety in the training content and process(i.e., basic strokes were taught in a fairly rigid fashion to all levels, rather than building on individuals current capacity, or addressing specific areas a person might request). A greater variety of interactive play and strategy drills would have increased the fun level.
This is the best program! The instruction by Lou Kap is the best!Cannot complain about anything!
Very good grouping of abiities. Faclities excellent.
6 of us went to Hilton Head for a long weekend to attend tennis camp. It was a great time and we learned a lot of new drills which will be helpful as we plan for our fall matches.
Six of us visited Van Der Meer Tennis at Shipyard on Memorial day weekend for 4 days of tennis. The facility was fabulous and coaching pros were fantastic. The drills were excellent and match play in the afternoon reinforced what we learned in the morning. Brandon Ardent the Director of Sales did a great job with our accommodation.
The Instruction was excellent but, the pro shop was a little bit to small for me…
This is a good deal at $300. so I don’t want to complain too much. I mean seriously, at this price, it was one of the cheapest Adult Tennis Camps I could find on the net. Other than the price, I really appreciated Louis’ super sharp eyes. He saw things in all of our games and the video sessions with him were worth $100. each easily. Thank you Louis.
Now for the negatives. We were grouped based on self-ratings. No one observed us play in order to determine group assignment. As a result, the within-group level of play varied wildly, making for frustrating pairings at times.
Second, while the ratio of teachers to students remained at 1:4, some of the teachers were summer interns who had no business teaching. My group got stuck for most of the weekend with a sweet but really limited instructor.
Was it worth it? As my mom would say, really you get what you pay for.
Facilities are very nice, and resort is lovely, but tennis instruction was only adequate. Louis is hard to understand. Everyone is friendly but I wouldn’t rate this camp as highly as others I’ve attended (Broadmoor, Total Tennis).
Strengths: Several really good instructors and a friendly staff. Weaknesses: Not enough 4.0 and above players in the 2 clinics I have attended at this location.
Great drills and work-out. Ensured good matching of ability. Good mix of drills and point playing to use drill. Instructors were very patience and encouraging to keep working hard. No obvious weakness.
Stengths… Well organized Weaknesses… Be sure there are enough people there at your same level.
Coaches are very professional and intelligent. They tailor their instruction and drills to all levels of players.
Better for players rated 3.5 or below. Great staff and facility. Very knowledgeable staff. Should have used ratings to determine groups before day 2.
very experienced, knowledgeable, friendly staff, up to date on technique evolution. variety of programs offered to fit ones need for different levels and needs/focus.
Highly recommend and will definitely return. The clinic re-inforces technique and bolsters self-confidence. Good player/coach ratio. I would like to see more instruction in strategy.
Van Der Meer Shipyard is located in Hilton Head, SC. The tennis facility is exceptional. The tennis courts are kept in excellent shape. They were raked before our sessions in the morning and again for our sessions in the afternoon. The staff were very knowledgeable and through the week we were able to cover pretty much every stroke you could possibly hit during a match. Drills were conducted at a reasonable pace and extra time was available if I wanted to work on some strokes a little extra.
The staff were very polite and always on time to the sessions. There was absolutely no wasted time. I paid for 20 hours of drills during the week and received all 20 as promised, possibly a little more. I have the blisters to prove it.
As far as negatives, I felt like there were a couple of people at the camp who were not at the same skill level as the others. For this reason, some of the matches played were not as fun as they could have been otherwise.
Van Der Meer tennis is good for someone who really wants to practice. If you are more for socializing there may be another camp which suits you better. You should definately take the time to research the type of camp you want to attend.
Overall I would recommend Van Der Meer tennis to any tennis players who are serious about improving and want to make sure they get their money’s worth.
The Drill and Play Clinic (10 hours over 3 days) was well done. The drills were good and the pace was excellent. It felt like 15 hours of instruction!
Great program with very courteous and talented tennis pros. Courts are maintained well
Excellent instruction, stroke analysis and daily reinforcement of skills learned in previous days sessions. Helpful daily warm up insight for preserving aging tennis player’s bodies.
It is great fun! Technique and skills work was wonderful. The staff is knowledgeable and able to look at you as an individual and help you improve your game. Our entire family loved it!
I thought the overall experience was very strong. The surroundings & weather could not have been better. The pros were wonderful – each had a lot to offer and each was so easy to get along with – very professional and personable. My only suggestion would be to perhaps not rotate between the 4 or 5 pros because I felt like I got less feedback on how to improve personally. A lot of great tips were shared, and the drills were great, but it could have been more customized if we were with one pro the whole entire time.
I attended one of the weekend clinics. The strengths were the video analysis. This was done for the serve, forehand, and backhand with a little feedback on what I should do to improve technique. Another strength was the location (Hilton Head) so there were things to do off court and the staff was friendly and professional.
The major weakness was that during this 10-hr clinic, I felt we spent too much time “just playing points” without instruction from the pros. On the first day, we basically played tennis for the first 2 1/2 hours. I felt like I paid for 5 hours of instruction and 5 hours to play tennis with people that I did not know (this was great but I could have done it for free at home).
There also needs to be some one-on-one time with the pro for all the students. For example, on 2 occasions during the weekend, the pro took one student who was having difficulty with a stroke and basically did a private 30 minute lesson (so an hour total) while the rest of us “played points” with the other pro (no instruction). I think it was good to give this student instruction but at the same time, I was paying to “play points” and watch someone else get a private lesson.
In all fairness, I’m not sure what I should have expected from a 10-hr weekend clinic, but I do not feel that I got what I paid for.
I participated in daily clinics here for 6 days last Nov. Always a Pro per 4 player/ratio, always had terrific coaches, some teaching styles differed, was always met w/ warm welcome, felt safe as a single in the area,rode my bike to & from condo, & round robins well attended by locals as well as guests. I will return!