Peachtree City tennis at a glance:

Free public courts in the city, lighted. . . . . . .4 at Glenloch

2 at Pebblepocket

Public courts for a fee. . . . . . . . 12 now at Planterra Ridge

6 clay courts soon to open

Free public courts, not lighted. . . . . . . . . .2 at Blue Smoke

2 at Braelinn

2 at Smoke Rise

Court fees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3.50 / hour, daytime

4.50 / hour, evening

None if member of club

Court reservations?. . . . . . . .Not available at no-fee courts

Available to club members at Planterra Ridge

Tennis instruction available . . . . . . . . . .At Planterra only

Numbers served at Planterra. . . . . . . . approx. 1,000 per week

Based at Planterra . . . . . . .ALTA, USTA, 40 other associations

1998 Peachtree National Bank Women's Challenger:

Founded. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1995

Participation. . . . . . . . 75 women from 13 different countries

Money raised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . More than $4,000

Among charities benefitted . . . . . . . .David Harris Foundation

Cystic Fibrosis

Breast cancer research

Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .More than 100

"Ball kids". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Peachtree City Development Authority advisory board: Tom Suzanne Heil,

Tommy Turner, Jim Davis, Virgil Christian, Terry Maple, Patrick Emmet,

Sherry McHugh, Dan Wright

Information provided by Virgil Christian, director, Peachtree City Tennis

Center, 770-486-9474; Sherry McHugh, Peachtree City Recreation

Department, 770-631-2542

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It's a stretch, the two words that gave the Cal-Cap company its name, but

co-owner Jolene McCann is glad to explain it.

First, however, you need to know about the product. Cal-Cap calls itself the

Ultimate Subsurface Irrigation System for soft clay tennis courts. The six

newest courts at the Peachtree City Tennis Center, already recognized as a

state-of-the-art facility, will be Cal-Cap courts.

Scheduled to open in just a few weeks, the clay courts will augment the public

center's original 12 hard courts, making a total

of 18 courts available.

In subsurface irrigation, water comes out under the court through slits in

pipes, and by capillary action, maintains a precise moisture level within the

composite surface. Construction is not cheap, but provides a "soft" surface that is kinder

to older tennis players or athletes with knee injuries.

"Our system is operated

electrically," McCann explained in a telephone

interview from her Morehead City, N.C. office. "It has a hydro-manager

irrigation device connected to a sensor, one at

each end of the court because there may be different amounts of sunlight.

These are the only courts that will not 'water' when it's raining. "Other

subsurface systems are controlled by a ball valve or the level of water," McCann

continued. "Ours are by pressure they only come on when needed."

Another advantage, McCann said, is that a Cal-Cap system can be

quickly drained, allowing a court to be playable almost immediately after a rain

shower. "When they held the U.S. Clay Championships at Disney World in Florida,

there was a horrible rain storm during the semi-finals, which were being

televised," McCann said. "Our courts were ready

to play 20 minutes after it stopped raining."

Although by no means common in public facilities, several in Florida, and,

soon, those in Greensboro, N.C. are switching to the Cal-Cap technique with the

expectation that over a 10-year period, maintenance will cost less than for a hard court.

"You have to resurface a hard court periodically, and keep debris

off," McCann said. "Our soft courts are

practical because they don't require constant maintenance. An overhead-watered

court would have to be rolled often, probably two to three times a month, but

some we've built in Florida have not been rolled since they were built."

Because of this practicality, many clubs are resurfacing existing hard courts

with Cal-Cap, McCann said including two at the Carmel, CA club of Clint

Eastwood. The gritty green surface is finished

with "TCM," Tennis Court Material, a

meta-basalt mined in Pennsylvania by a company that makes roofing granules.

"It's sort of like a bi-product developed

about 50 years ago," McCann said. "The

matrixes are sharp when crushed. When it's wet, it holds together, but comes

apart when dry. After [a surface] sets up, it's no problem, and what sets it up best is lots

of play."

The McCanns built an experimental court in their backyard and invited a

local ladies club to play doubles. "The best thing for a new court is the pitter-patter

of little feet," Jolene McCann said. Professional players like the courts

because operators can control how fast a court "plays" by withholding or adding

water, she said. "For example, Jimmy Conners likes a court to play faster it's better

for his game."

Virgil Christian, director of the tennis center, predicts instant popularity for

the new courts. Stan Smith, a Wimbledon competitor who is an older

professional player, helped design some of the

layout. "I see the senior citizen that loves

tennis able to get back to playing his game, even if he can't play on hard courts any

more," Christian said. "Tennis is great

aerobic exercise for seniors and people with injuries to their knees." He said players

can stay on the soft clay court two to three times as long as on a hard court.

It is not necessary to become a club member, he added, but more than

half those who use the courts are members, enjoying a reservation system and

no court fees. If a player uses the court more than once a week, it would pay to be

a member, he said.

Sherry McHugh of the Peachtree City Recreation said her department no

longer offers tennis lessons, since the Planterra center has filled that niche. She said she

is proud of the condition of the city courts "We keep our facilities good,

playable, safe" and wants people "to

use tennis courts as tennis courts, that is, not as a place for walking dogs and

roller-blading."

The origin of the name Cal-Cap? "Cap" is for capillary, the process by

which water is drawn into the surrounding paving material, and "Cal" is for Calico.

And thereby hangs a tale: When the McCanns bought a motel, marina, and restaurant

on Harkers Island, N.C. in 1968, they wanted to "improve the name," Jolene

McCann recalls. She taught North Carolina

history and was intrigued by a pirate nicknamed "Calico Jack" for his plundering of

ships carrying fabric from India. In an aside, McCann said that the only two

known female pirates even more ferocious than old Calico Jack sailed on his

ship. "What if people call you Calico?"

McCann asked her husband, Jack. "No

problem," he said, and people did. "He's now

known as Calico, and everything we've owned has been calico, including a Calico

Boutique.

"Later we sold the motel and marina, and [Jack] built his first tennis court

and developed his system, and we've continued to build tennis courts for 28 years."

The Cal-Cap system belongs to the family business, Calico Racquet

Court, Inc. The McCanns keep tight control over who builds their courts, licensing only

a handful of "quality-conscious" contractors, site by site. "This is a family

business," Jolene McCann said. Her husband is "partially retired," and sons John

and Jeffrey build soft clay courts, or teach contractors to build them. Their

daughter was married three years ago on the family's backyard tennis

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