A League of Its Own

There are several reasons why Kiawah rose to the top of TENNIS magazine's rankings of top U.S. Tennis Resorts.

"Variety is key to all of our tennis players," says Roy Barth, who has directed tennis operations at Kiawah since 1976. "Not only do we have superb tennis facilities and teaching, but there are so many other things to do on Kiawah."

It is this variety that makes Kiawah an especially attractive destination for league teams.

Teams can enjoy both resort tennis centers: The Roy Barth Tennis Club and West Beach Tennis Club. Combined, there are 23 clay courts (1 lit) and five hard courts (3 lit) situated amid the island's beautiful and natural surroundings. Players can utilize Kiawah's innovative 'Practice Alley,' which is a ball machine with an automatic retrieval system that can be programmed for speed, spin, frequency, height, and direction.

Barth's highly motivated and skilled staff can also customize a mini-camp based on ability level and goals.

"We can work with all levels from 2.0 to 5.0" says Barth. "We can also customize a doubles mini-camp program, for which we have become nationally renowned."

The doubles camp exposes participants to all aspects of doubles play, including proper positioning, anticipation, offensive/defensive strategies, pressure points, play-action drills, how to pick a partner and supervised play.

All participants in a Kiawah tennis camp receive an instructional manual written by Barth, which can be used as a reference tool. Barth played professionally for seven years during which time he was ranked in the top 50 in the world and competed against such tennis greats as Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors. In 1990, he was awarded the PTR Pro of the Year; in 1997, Barth was inducted into the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame; and in 1999, he was inducted into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame. He oversaw the resort's hosting of the 1990 Men's Clay Court Championships and the 1998 KB Fed Cup tie between the U.S. and the Netherlands.

Kiawah offers a variety of outstanding instructional programs for juniors and adults:

Junior Programs include:

• Tiny Tot Clinics (30-minutes, for ages 4-6)
• Daily One-Hour Clinics (for ages 7-18)
• Three-day Mini-Camps (for ages 10-18, Monday-Friday every week during summer)
• Tournament Tough Clinics (for tournament players, Monday-Friday during summer)

Adult Programs include:

• Stroke-a-Day Clinics (two, one-hour sessions, Monday-Sunday)
• Drill Session (one-hour session, Monday-Sunday)
• Doubles Clinic (one-hour session, Tuesday through Wednesday)
• Doubles Mini-Camp (three-day, eight-hour camp, January-November)

Weekly Activities include:

• Free clinic each Monday morning for 45 minutes
• Match-making service
• Adult doubles and singles round robins
• Parent-child doubles round robins
• Junior doubles and singles round robins
• Exhibition among Kiawah's talented teaching pros each Monday afternoon during the summer

For more information, or to arrange a lesson, call:

• From the resort: ext. 82838
• From your home: 800-654-2924 or 843-768-2838

Visit The Sanctuary online.

Look for Connoisseur: The Magazine of Kiawah Island Golf Resort in your guest room.

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