Boundary boards lie outside the court and their purpose is to stop balls which have left the lawn. They are optional but desirable since they stop long searches in the shrubbery for lost balls, they prevent balls from one court affecting another and prevent damage to balls and items lying outside the court.
Boundary boards need to be removable to allow mowing and also if they impede a player's stroke. The boards ideally need to be movable so that they do not either kill the grass under them or encourage lush growth in their shelter.
The boundary board must be taller than the centre height of the ball (~2"), otherwise it will cause the ball to fly into the air! With cylindrical boundary ball stops the centre of the cylinder should be appreciably above the centre height of the ball otherwise a bouncing ball with treat them as a launch ramp.
A large amount of material is required to shield a lawn, e.g. allowing a 1 yard selvage outside the court: (2x30 + 2x37 =) 134yds.
The most common boundary boards are lengths of 2" x 2" softwood mounted on short cross braces (~10") of the same material, usually by a single nail. This allows the 'feet' to be rotated so they lie along the length for winter storage. Usual lengths are 8-10 feet long so they are easy to handle. The spans between feet are usually 5-8 foot; players do have a habit of standing on the boards so long unsupported lengths should be avoided. Being softwood (cheap) the boards should be treated off the lawn with a wood preservative and not used until totally dried as the preservative will kill the grass. In winter the boards should be stacked unders cover off the lawns. 50mm x 50mm timber is currently (2006) in the order of £1/metre.
The Canberra Club (Australia) uses PVC pipes around 4" diameter and have 3 wooden feet attached. In the middle and top of each pipe is handle, possibly a kitchen cupboard handle) to allow lifting and complete removal of pipe for mowing. It is reported that all members can easily move the pipe by hand, foot or even mallet to play shot close to the boundary. Strength is needed to lift the entire pipe. No details of the thickness of the pipes is given. The yellow gas pipes used in the UK would certainly be robust (~8mm wall thickness) and heavy.
The Christchurch Club (NZ) uses and recommends agricultural drainage pipes.
Hamptworth (UK) have square white house 'down pipes' with the ends blocked with a wood stop, and to give some weight sand has been inserted. This year the grounds man is adding 2 inch feet so that he can spin-trim under the lawn side with out moving them (long grass lies outside the boundary).
The Hurlingham club (UK) have stout galvanised mesh panels around their lawns. They are ~1 yard x 5" high with a welded 3/8" frame including eyes at the ends. A ~1/8" mesh is welded within. The panels are linked together with metal rods passing through the eyes. Whilst these are decorative and effective, they are not readily movable by the players and must be tedious to move for mowing. Obviously the selvage does not need mowing as often as the court. We do not know where these can be sourced.
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