COEUR d'ALENE - Sliding swiftly into position, Denise Mai set her feet, measured the volley and swung her tennis racket.

She hit the ball cleanly, a resonant ping off the sweet spot in the strings, and it skipped across the open court for a solid winner.

Under normal circumstances, Mai's volley would have been fairly routine, a common occurrence in any doubles match. But on Monday morning at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course tennis courts, Mai and about 20 local players rallied with vintage wooden rackets, the kind of outdated equipment that makes every shot - even the simplest net volley - a real test of skill.

"It's very difficult," said Mai, a Coeur d'Alene resident. "You have to hit (the ball) more accurately, and it's hard to put any topspin on your shots."

Carolyn Mall and Pamela Muno organized Monday's event, the third annual. "Woods and whites" was this year's theme; every participant wore a white tennis outfit and played with an old-school stick.

"It's a ladies invitational tennis social," said Muno, who works as a tennis coordinator in Rancho Mirage, Calif., during the winter. "It's just a way for the local girls to get together and play. It's a challenge (to play with the wooden rackets). It really gives you an appreciation when you watch those old clips on TV."

Muno and Mall scoured local thrift shops in search of old rackets for the invitational. Some players brought their own woodies from home, dusting off the cobwebs after years of storage in the garage or attic. With their long handles, leathery grips and small, circular heads, the racquets evoked memories of another era - the serve-and-volley days of tennis legends like Billie Jean King, Jack Kramer and John McEnroe.

"It's the vibration of the racquet that cracks me up," said Amy Hewel, of Coeur d'Alene, who played with a woodie once endorsed by her tennis idol, Stan Smith. "Plus the grips ... we've come a long way in grips."

Even though most of the players were quite skilled, the ancient Wilsons and decrepit MacGregors made for some interesting matches. When a ball hit the strings just right, it pinged; when it hit the wooden frame, it thudded. The players laughed when they made mistakes - all part of the fun.

"(The equipment) kind of levels everyone out," Muno said. "It is definitely a change in the game."

Muno said she's thinking of keeping the "woods and whites" theme for the 2011 invitational.

"We love it," she said. "Any excuse to play tennis, we're there."