Let me start by saying thanks for for taking the tiem to write about Har-Tru; the most recognizable tennis court surfacing brand in the country by far.

I admit that the name “Har-Tru” can be easily misunderstood and thus confusing. Har certainly forces the mind to think of Hard… but, by understanding the history of the product we may be able to alleviate some of that confusion.

Har-Tru first hit the streets (or better said, the courts) in the later part of the 1920’s. Until then, clay tennis courts were either constructed from natural clays or loam in the US, or from an imported product called En-Tout-Cas. At the time, the sole US importer and distributor of the European manufacturer En-Tout-Cas was a gentleman in NY named H.A.Robinson. Mr. Robinson was a sports field builder based in Manhattan and in the mid 1920’s discovered a naturally occuring greenstone material in the mountains of VA/MD/PA that when crushed to a fine powder, could be used to build “clay” tennis courts. That product was later branded Har-Tru.

As for the brand name, the “HAR” comes from Mr. Robinson’s initials and the “TRU”, as rumor has it, was coined by his wife to speak to the materials true green color, true bounce, and true sliding characteristics.

You have to understand that at the time, bounce was being compared to other 1920 era tennis courts…most notably natural grass and local clays. Hard Courts were nearly non-existant in 1920.

I hope this helps to educate you and your readers as to the evolution of the brand name. Today, over 30,000 Har-Tru courts can be found throughout America, Canada, the UK, and a dozen or so other countries. If you have more questions about Har-Tru or the advantages of clay court tennis in general, please visit our website at http://www.playtheclay.com. As you age, you will appreciate the comfort and slide of Har-Tru more and more.

Play The Clay! Play for Life!

Regards,

Randy Futty
General Manager
Lee Tennis Court Products