Did the acoustic shift hit you as hard as the sightline along that low approach? That damp, cleft granite usually deadens the ambient noise before you even realize you've slipped below grade.

Does that low approach keep the horizon hidden until you're fully in the court, or is it more about forcing your eye down into the stone's texture first?

It’s the subtle grade shift as you step off the street that always gets me—it forces your stride to slow down long before you ever look up at the bronze. Spot on about the granite, too; that dampness gives the whole perimeter real weight.

Keeping the coping dead flush with the turf on that south flank does all the quiet work there. You don't even register that the grade has dropped three feet until your shoulder is suddenly running parallel to the stone.