a real buzz from the members and my team at being able to get close to some of the world’s top players,” gleams Graham. “You cannot truly appreciate the unbelievably high standard of these players until you see them in action up close, and it’s great to witness the world’s best tennis played on a surface we have created.”
The Lawn Tennis Association bought the club from the members back in the 1950s when, in truth, says Graham, “we had seen better days.” The LTA established its headquarters there and, from then on, what is now the ATP- ranked annual championships were built up to become the hugely successful commercial undertaking it is today. Delete hosting fee sentence During its time at Queen’s, the LTA invested heavily in a new administrative centre and extensive indoor tennis provision, including the Academy, formed to nurture new talent. The then Stella Artois Championships, sponsored by the brewers of the lager since 1978, reached a crossroads in 2006 when the LTA sought a sponsor for all its events. In stepped insurance group Aegon, the event was rebranded and the switch coincided with the LTA’s decision to sell the club back to the members, in part to fund the development of the National Tennis Centre at Roehampton. Comparisons with Wimbledon are unavoidable, says Graham, yet he is keen to stress that Queen’s runs things slightly differently from its neighbours in SW19, yet still achieves some very impressive outcomes. “Wimbledon has been active with
koroing over the last few years and many lawn tennis clubs around the country
have followed its lead,” explains Graham. “We’ve steered clear of such extremes, as we feel that it results in taking away too much of the natural goodness that builds up over the years in the soil.” “When we scarify in the autumn, the soil is still left brown and there’s plenty of good nutrients left that help form a sound basis for years to come.” With a healthy annual budget covering wages for the seven full-time groundstaff, Graham has the freedom to experiment with different grasses to create what he believes is the best balance for lawn tennis. Currently he uses a 50% ryegrass mix of 25% Bar Gold and 25% Bar Lady, 22.5% slender creeping red fescue, also supplied by Barenbrug, a 22.5% strong creeping red fescue and finally a 5% browntop bent.
“I’ve found that if you have just ryegrass it gives you too open a sward,” he states. “With a mix of ryegrass, red fescues and bent, the more slender fine grasses give the right amount of lateral growth, which fill the spaces in the sward and offer little room for weeds and other unwanted species to grow through. “Fescues are drought resistant due to their origin, so it’s good to have a certain percentage of them in there. Ultimately, a good mix of species will give you a better balance.”
The system seems to be working well for him. Top tennis pros like Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick recently named The Queen’s Club Centre Court the best grass court they’d ever played on. A good number of the club’s 4,000 members are equally enthusiastic. “There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with jobs like ours,” says Graham. “We toil over the turf to create the best
possible surface we can, and it’s a great feeling to stand back and look at what we’ve created - and it’s that bit better when you’re receiving such positive comments from these big name players.” Support from the top is important though. “My staff and I are well looked after here. The members, directors and chief executive all recognise the need for investment in what is the club’s most important asset.” “With big budgets come
responsibilities, so there’s little room for excuses on our part. With 4,000 members, each paying annual fees of £2,000, and a requirement to buy a share in the club costing £12,000, the members want to have the best facilities to play on. If the lawns aren’t top notch, they’ll ask us why they’re not. Big money rides on our courts being the best around.” The play on grass often lingers on as late as the end of the first week in October, making Queen’s one of the longest grass seasons in the country. That, in turn, means a well-planned year-round programme is essential for the courts to remain in top condition for the duration. “The summer playing season is really a matter of cutting, marking and irrigation. We do little work through the season as it would simply interrupt play too much,” Graham explains. Autumn marks the club’s big
renovation period, when Graham and his team take on all the jobs needed before winter sets in. “We always aim to leave over some construction and maintenance jobs, like hedge trimming, to the winter months so the guys are always kept busy,” he explains. “The key job through the winter is to aerate, usually down to a depth of five inches. We carry out a
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