Grass courts represent an estimated 1 percent of all tennis courts in the United States. They are known for being easy on the bones, and in their driest and most well-maintained state, for making games quick and unpredictable. Before clay, asphalt and the newfangled composites, there was grass—the original playing surface. While slipping into history, grass courts do exist beyond the hallowed All England Club in Wimbledon. You just may have to do some traveling to reach them.

Baker City Grass Courts, Baker City, Oregon

Nearly 4,600 miles from Great Britain’s storied courts, an obscure but nonetheless intriguing grass-court facility has been hewn into eastern Oregon’s high desert stubble and soil. People are calling it “Wimble-Don,” the namesake of one Don McClure, who somewhat off-handedly came to the rescue of the Baker City Grass Courts when he bought the property from owner and founder Borden Granger in 2005.

“I took one look out the picture window and said I’ll take it,” said the retail entrepreneur of a panorama that includes the white-crested Elkhorn and Wallowa Mountain ranges. McClure doesn’t play tennis—at least not yet.

For the growing cadre of players that had made Granger’s grass into a beloved home court, the change in ownership was cause for concern. There was doubt, and a little bit of fear, that the singular and renewing experience of playing on those verdant courts might be as endangered as Klamath River salmon.

After playing on grass courts in a Canadian tournament, Granger began kicking around the notion of building his own. Work commenced on two painstakingly leveled and seeded courts in 1994, and by the first serve in Baker City’s June–September outdoor tennis season of 1995, his fields of green had become a reality. Soon a slate of tournaments, ranging from youth to senior, became summer institutions. Word spread and tennis lovers from all over the region and beyond began converging at Granger’s courts. During his tenure, two courts became four, and he maintained them religiously. But by 2005 he and wife Sandi wanted to move on.

After McClure took ownership, a contingent of long-time players approached him about the facility’s future. When McClure proved amenable, those devotees formed a nonprofit organization under the acronym SAGA (SAve the Grass courts Association, www.BakerCityGrassCourts.com), and implemented a plan to ensure that the courts would survive.

McClure told the Baker City Herald in 2007 that he never considered demolishing the courts. “I looked at this and saw a ton of work.” he said. “I respect that.”

Indeed, the courts presented a Herculean and costly challenge. While details of the future administration of the courts were being finessed, McClure jumped on his John Deere and worked as hard as Granger had to keep the place up. In March 2007, SAGA officially announced a plan that covers everything from scheduling to logistics to the estimated $15,000 annual maintenance costs.

“Our membership drive is going well,” said treasurer George Burns, affirming that as of April, before the grass court season had even begun, 68 of the 163 2007 members had renewed. For a $75 single or $125 family membership, folks can enjoy unlimited play on the courts, attend tournaments at a discount, receive the SAGA newsletter and know that they are helping to preserve what all involved agree is a magnificent setting for a great match.

“It was a joy to us because of the people we met,” Granger told the Oregonian after handing over the keys and moving on to manage a tennis center in California’s sunny Anza Borrego Desert State Park.

McClure agreed, and has come to fully appreciate the value the facility has to the community. “Watching others have the time of their lives, and having a small part in that is a pleasure,” he said.

“Playing on grass is a great experience,” said the United States Professional Tennis Association’s Wayne Pickard, who manages tennis for Portland’s exclusive Multnomah Athletic Club. He talked about how balls bounce differently on turf, not as well or as high as on hard surfaces, and explained that most grass strategies involve getting to the net and not letting the ball bounce. “You see a lot of serving and volleying,” said Pickard, “and grass court points are much shorter in duration.”

Another contrast is the relative silence of a grass game. “Almost like a silent movie,” said Pickard, a nuance that he noted takes some getting used to. It’s not unheard of for folks to want to take off their shoes and play barefoot.

Thanks to the determination and affection of a committed core of racket buffs, the grass-court tradition lives on in Oregon as well as England.