Want to play tennis the Wimbledon way? On a pristine grass court, the way the game was meant to be played?
The All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club (AILTC) is one of a very few places in the entire United States where the public can enjoy playing on a grass court. And it's the only world-class, perennial ryegrass tennis court modeled after the most famous tennis court in the world -- Wimbledon's Centre Court.
Tennis players from across the United States visit the Kuhn family farm near Charles City, Iowa to play on the now sacred grass court. The court located on a former cattle feedlot reminds many of the magical 'Field of Dreams' baseball field carved from an Iowa cornfield near Dyersville. The AILTC is a mecca, a bucket list destination for grass court players and a Kuhn family legacy. It beckons tennis players and visitors alike to "Never forget your dreams."
You are cordially invited to experience this special, out-of-the-way treasure alongside a gravel road in Iowa. It doesn't matter if you're experienced players or beginners or a family looking for a wholesome outing you'll never forget, where kids 12 years old and under play for free. The Kuhn family will roll out the 'green' carpet and welcome you with 'Iowa nice' hospitality. Click on the RESERVATIONS page to learn more.
You'll breathe clean air, there's plenty to share
You'll have fun on a farm, leaving the city behind
Come away to the country, you'll have a great time
The AILTC's grand opening celebration was held on September 6, 2003, when one hundred friends and neighbors of the Kuhn family, seated on bleachers mounted on a hay rack, were treated to a match featuring four of Coe College's finest players and alumni. The 671 wooden pickets surrounding the court were handcrafted to evoke a sense of an English garden, then painted green on the inside and white on the outside. The lines were marked for the first time the day before and every blade of emerald green bentgrass stood ready for action. The players rose to the occasion, too, and played a match worthy of Opening Day. A couple of them sporting grass stains on their tennis whites after diving for Slazengers. Such was the humble beginnings of the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club.
The court was meant to be a whimsical replica of Centre Court, a fun place for the Kuhn family and their friends to play the game Mark loved. It was never meant to be a destination point, but that changed after the court first received national attention from sports journalist L. Jon Wertheim, when his story entitled "If you grow it...Can't get tickets to Wimbledon, You're always welcome at the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club" appeared in the July 2006 issue of Tennis magazine. So many tennis players started arriving unannounced at the Kuhn family farm to play on their lawn, Mark created the original website to help schedule their guests.
By: L. Jon Wertheim
The AILTC was recently recognized as one of the world's most beautiful and significant tennis courts in the book entitled
“The drive from any major city to the All Iowa Lawn Tennis Club gives one several hours of passing cornfields and cattle farms and plenty of opportunity for daydreaming. Some of the pleasure around this grass court in the middle of America is in the very anticipation of it - the image of the court beyond the white picket fence, the vibrant green with crisply painted lines surrounded by farmland. The moment arrives and the armchair fantasy materializes.
The place is no longer a secret. Newspapers, magazines, and T.V. crews have all made the trip to Charles City to meet Mark Kuhn the Iowa corn and soybean farmer and Wimbledon grass aficionado who made a now sacred grass court in the middle of the Great Plains.
Kuhn has been fascinated with grass-court tennis since he first heard Wimbledon radio commentary as a boy. The obsession blossomed over the years, and he finished the court dressings for the first time in 2002. Kuhn has traveled to Wimbledon a handful of times, and has even convinced the staff at SW19 to let him be an honorary court attendant leading up to the tournament - hanging the nets, painting the lines, monitoring the irrigation, squinting at the height of the blades of grass. The groundstaff at Wimbledon all know Mark. Many of them also know that his court in Iowa continues on year after year in memory of Kuhn's son, whom he lost in 2016. It is one of those rarefied places where one family's entire history, their triumphs and losses, merge with passion shared with the world.
Today, Kuhn hosts a junior tournament every year where Iowa players compete against kids from surrounding states - the Alex J. Kuhn Memorial Invitational, named for his son. The green-and-purple insignia appear all around Kuhn's backyard while the Union Jack flaps in the wind. The court is available to anyone willing to make the trip, particularly those who believe that tennis, and sharing tennis, has the power to heal us." – Nick Pachelli, Author of The Tennis Court & Producer