Tennis on the north shore of Lake Norman.

Northshore was founded in 1987 by a small group of Davidson families who wanted somewhere to play that wasn't a public park or a country club. Forty years later, that's still the brief: a member-owned club, no golf course, no dress code beyond "court-appropriate," and a wait list short enough that your application doesn't disappear into a void.

Our fourteen courts — eight outdoor hardcourts, four Har-Tru clay, two covered for winter and rain — sit on a wooded eighteen-acre property a mile from the Cornelius marina. The clubhouse is small on purpose: a kitchen, a porch, a pro shop with strings and grips and not much else.

We don't take ourselves too seriously. Members range from former NCAA Division I players to grandparents who picked up the sport at sixty. Most weeks the busiest court is the one with three retirees and a 12-year-old playing doubles.

The waiting list is currently about four months for full membership and two weeks for the junior program. We'd rather you visit first; day-guest passes are $25 and include court time and ball machine access.