Llantwit Major Tennis Club

Ball machine membership is a bolt on to your annual membership. Members can choose to become a ball machine member and take advantage of the brand new Spinfire or not depending on preference.  The ball machine is booked just like a court. All ball machine members need to complete an induction before using for health and safety reasons. Please read the information below and complete the quiz before purchasing the ball machine membership.  You will be contacted with information on where and how to access the machine upon joining.

FIND OUT MORE info@llantwittennis.co.uk 

Now the fun part. How to use the Spinfire

1. Press the power button (top left) on the machine keypad.

2. To set the timing, pace, spin, and trajectory of the ball, you will need to navigate the control panel using the menu button. The left and right arrows increase and decrease the values, and the up and down arrows move you through the list setting (i.e. interval, ball speed, etc). To start adjusting the settings, press the menu button and you will be able to adjust the row that flashes on the screen. The interval setting allows you to adjust the time between ball deliveries. Increase the interval setting to shorten the time between ball deliveries. Once you've settled on your chosen settings, press the feed button to start and stop the ball delivery.

3. The ball machine will default to a central delivery only. If you want the ball machine to deliver to just one side of the court, make sure the menu is locked (the LCD screen is not flashing) and then select the left or right buttons to move the conveyor belt. If you want the ball delivery to alternate between the left and right side of the court, select drill to 2 line: narrow, medium, or wide depending how far you want to navigate from the central court position. As well as the elevation setting, you can adjust the height of the ball delivery using the vertical setting for practicing lob returns, etc. Both the horizontal and vertical settings can be set to random to give an unpredictable delivery, more closely reflecting real match play (full instructions can be found in the machine manual link at the bottom of the document).

The remote control - please don't lose it or take it home by mistake

1. The remote control doesn’t contain a screen display, so it’s recommended to set the machine manually to start, then you should find it easier to make small adjustments remotely. If you would rather not use the remote, there is a storage slot for this below the LCD screen on the back of the ball machine. 

2. There is no elevation option on the remote. To adjust the height of the ball delivery, simply use the up and down arrows. You can also adjust the horizontal angle of the ball delivery using the left and right arrows.

Some simple machine settings to get you started

Below are some pre-determined settings you may want to try to get you started. If it’s breezy, I’d recommend increasing the ball speed setting by one to give you more net clearance.

If you would like to review the full machine manual, please click here.

Please click here to complete the ball machine quiz.