Ball Machine

The ball machine is a useful and fun tool which can be reserved online or by calling the office. It is used on court 6 most of the time; occasionally on court 5.

Get to know your ball machine:
Playmate Ball Machine Operator's Manual


When Is It Available?

Since use of the machine involves only one member on the court, we limit advance booking to non-primetime hours. Note: we also reduce ball machine hours when a USTA match or CPS practice is scheduled at the same time.

It can be booked ahead of time for:
Weekdays: 11:30am - 5pm

Weekends: Noon - Closing

Ball machine reservations for primetime hours cannot be made days in advance. They can, however, be requested by calling the office no more than 5 hours before the desired time of use on the same day. These primetime ball machine bookings are made at the discretion of the desk staff based on how crowded the schedule is that day.


How to Reserve It

You can book the ball machine online or simply call the office and have us do it for you.

Please note that booking the ball machine involves a two-part process:
1. Book the machine
PLUS
2. Book a court on which to use it

Do it like this: first check to make sure there is a court (any court) available for the time you want to use the machine (as long as it is within allowed ball machine hours). Next, scroll down to what looks like a "7th" court... it's not a court.. it's the machine. The "7th" court column heading is, "Ball Mach: book this plus any court 1-6". Select a time from that column to book the machine itself (60 min max). Next, go back and book a court... any court... starting at the same time as the ball machine booking you just made. Even though the machine lives on court 6, you can book any available court: 1-6 at the same time. If all you can find is an opening on courts 1-5, don't worry... we will move your court booking to court 6 after you book your court. Please type "Ball Machine" into the notes field of the court reservation; this helps us see that it is your intent to use the machine.

So, to be clear: you may not reserve just the machine without a court; always book a court for the same time as the machine.

Also, as with regular courts, same-day reservations of the ball machine can only be made by calling the office; and sometimes, due to the machine residing on courts 6 or 5 only, we may not be able to get you the machine at the time you want.

Feel free to give us a call if you have questions. We can easily place the reservation for you.


When You Arrive

Before you go out to use the ball machine it can help to ask the staff member if the machine is ready, if there is a booking immediately after yours and if that booking is for the machine.

The machine is stored in the shed adjacent to court 5. If the machine is not alredy on the court when you arrtive, you may need to roll it out of the shed onto court 6 and plug it in at the base of the lamp post on the north end (the street side) of the court. There is a main power switch on the right hand side of the machine. You should find the remote control inside the control panel.

At the End of Your Reservation Time

It takes 5-10min to collect the balls from the court. So, before the end of your time, please allow enough time to completely cleanup all the balls. Please remember to return the remote control to the control panel and power down the machine (using the red rocker switch on the right side of the machine). If the next booking is for the machine, leave it on the court. If the next booking is for regular play, please roll the machine back to the shed.

Do not allow the machine or balls to get wet. If it starts to rain, immediately collect the balls and return the machine to the shed. If the balls are quite wet, do not load then into the machine... simply detach the filled ball mower basket from the mower and place it inside the shed along with the machine.