Another Pickleball noise complaint article
 

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‘It’s loud and it’s repetitive.’ Some Wellesley residents sour on pickleball and its ‘pop pop pop.’ - The Boston Globe

Pickleball is a fad. Sorta like dance marathons, Gangnam-style dancing and twerking.

It will go away soon (fingers crossed...)

Maybe outside of The Villages. But inside there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 250 courts and counting. They have been busy for years. Don’t see that changing in the foreseeable future.

Not even close……..

It's been here for around 20 years longer every year hard to get court time anymore I don't see it going anywhere just go via house near the Pickleball courts

All these years since we moved here, not seen even a TINY reduction in the traffic on the pickle-ball courts, NONE at all. It might be a ""fad" in the "north", but from our view (with experience only in the "south", it sure doesn't look like it compares at all to the other "fads" mentioned ! I will say, when we picked out our lot, some infrastructure was already completed. Specifically, pickle ball courts and the initial foundation for a rec center. My FIRST thought/comment to hubby was, THIS is THE lot for us, back yard would actually adjoin the grounds of the rec center and courts...like having our very own courts. But, we looked for the rest of the day, took the plot map we were given, and later, when privately talking and considering which lot to buy, my tennis player hubby said, "I wonder if pickle ball is as loud as tennis ?" That's when I stopped to think, it's faster with a smaller ball, I would guess it's even LOUDER than an tennis game. Now, all these years later, learning to play ourselves, and having a friend who DID buy a lot adjoining courts, after trying for over 4 years to just get used to the noise which typically began by at least 7 a.m. in the warm months, they finally sold and moved to another location in another village to an existing home... did not build another. Since then, we always tell our visitors, who are thinking about buying a home here, to think DEEPLY about such things as train tracks, tennis and pickle ball courts, swimming pools, golf courses that adjoin a back yard, and homes and villas adjoining the high school stadium. Again, had friends from Mass. to bought a villa directly behind high school stadium thinking, the band, the roar of the crowd, the LIGHTS, only on Friday nights in season would NOT present a problem for them; it never even entered their thoughts that bands do practice many days, not just on march on Friday night, along with many other activities. Suffice to say most people, coming from traditional cities and towns, EVEN if their home is close to a park district or school, are NOT in such close proximity as to feel right ON the field or park like here in the V's. So many might say, "poor planning", they should have "done their homework", but so many would never have an experience that would make them think about homes ever being located to so many distractions...except possible, those who had lived by railroad tracks as I had as a child. We lived 3 blocks north of the major line though town, and in those days, it was not only the NOISE of 3 trains a day, but the SOOT in the air. Mom would send us out to get her fresh laundry OFF the lines before the time the morning and afternoon trains went through.. LOL !

For some, those things would have no effect

I think it’s the opposite, I think it will over take tennis.
It’s more fun and a lower barrier to entry.

W r o n g ...

Maybe, but the comparison is between two pretty different games. I've known tennis players that have tried pickleball and have ended up with some pretty significant arm problems as a result. Both games have a ball that is hit over a net but the similarity pretty much ends there.

Pickleball is far from a fad. It's not my gig, but my wife is wanting to learn it.

We live in a small town of 5000 people here in southern Indiana.
I was surpised when they put in 4 pickleball courts at our city park about 3 years ago.

My thought was "it's just a fad and people here won't be into it". Boy was I wrong. They're busy all the time when the weather is nice. And I also thought it was a game for the over 50 crowd only.
Well, I was wrong again. I see many 30's and 40's out there.

Bottom line is, pickleball is going to continue to grow. It's also huge in the Indianapolis area.

Just a few statistics…..
Much more here, go educate yourself. Pickleball Annual Growth Report - USA Pickleball


2022 USA Pickleball Facts and Highlights (as of 1.17.23)


Places to Play: USA Pickleball Places2Play Database increased to 10,724 known locations in North America. Nearly 1,557 new locations were added to the database (130 new locations per month).


Total Known Courts: 44,094


Membership: 68,697 (an increase of 30% over 2022). This rapid growth is contributed to Pickleball being embraced across the nation at the recreational and competitive level for the professional, amateur, and casual players. USA Pickleball’s governance, coupled with the commitment to provide and support forward facing new programs, initiatives, membership offerings, sanctioned tournament opportunities and strategic partnerships drove this success.

Agree, and the retired folks, who have time, they can play both.
But the working age generally can get good at one sport a season (cold vs warm/hot).

In most of the country, paddle is the cold weather racket sport.
The warm weather would either be tennis or pickle. I think the trend is toward pickle. And it might be, hey 75% of my tennis group is playing pickle, let me try it.

I snowbird up to NY State, May-October. Believe me, it's taking off there. In the town where I worked, but no longer live, they built 2 courts next to the tennis courts in a municipal park. They had to move them because the neighbors complained about the noise. So they moved them about 100 yards and built 6 courts. When I was invited to join the group (I live an hour away now) the PB courts were packed. Nobody on the tennis courts.
That's a common scenario here as well. 6 courts of PB, packed, people waiting to play, nobody on the tennis courts. Tennis won't disappear, but the tennis courts, despite taking up considerably more space, provide service for less than 10% of the number of villagers served by the pickleball courts.
I, and a few others, suggested to the Recreation Department, taking one of the tennis courts, at a two court facility, and lining it for 2 or 3 PB courts, with portable nets along the fence. With signage announcing that tennis players have priority, should there be any wishing to play. Our idea was if the PB courts were full, and someone wanted to play, or practice on the tennis courts, rather than having them just sitting there unused, they could go over there and play.
Nope. Rec department shot that idea down. No explanation other than "there are plenty of pickleball courts in The Villages"....yeah, that's why if you can't get on one without a line.

My grandkids are playing it in gym class.

The tennis courts are empty, and the pickleball courts are full. Not anywhere near a fad.

LeBron James, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes bet big on pickleball … will it pay off?
LeBron James, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes bet big on pickleball … will it pay off?

That sport is beneath me. I call it pick your nose ball.

perfect! One less person in my way.

Even though I adore playing pickleball, I totally get the noise complaints. It's satisfying to hear that pop while playing, but hearing it from my house would not be happy times for me.

It's growing all over the US and not a fad anymore.

Yeah, and pickerball go away here in TV!?? Definitly NOPE. They build mail and rec centers with pickleball courts etc first. "Let the buyer beware." When house hunting with T V realtors they warn you of the noise (mine did at least). If a person buys a house online without putting any research into it then it's on them. With the rapid growth here there are MANY things to research.

It's addictive and growing. In snow states the courts are indoors and there are waiting lines to get in.

It's not going anywhere, it's going everywhere.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport and has been for a while. Some claim that where we lived before TV was the tennis Mecca of the south and we had these tennis establishments start converting some of their tennis courts to pickleball courts.
We gave up being USTA tennis members playing 5 & 6 times a week to playing pickleball multiple times every day of the week.

I played tennis for over 40 years. It took many, many years to get competitive in tennis. Within 6 months I was a 4.0 in PB. My grand kids picked up PB from the get go. Much easier than tennis.
Both are so much fun, but my body wouldn't allow me to continue tennis.

I think it is pretty well established that
pickleball is here to stay and growing larger. When I play I don't think about the sound at all. But hearing it pulling up to the courts I can readily see where I would not want to live next to them.

Orthopedic doctors love it.

There's actually a growing movement "up North" to convert big box retail buildings (eg defunct KMart) into indoor pickleball....so, if you're in commercial real estate, hold on!!

Indeed!

Then again, so is fentanyl.

Did a little quick research though on the topic (see below)

FAMOUS TENNIS PLAYERS

List starts with tennis as essentially played today, with racquets that hit balls over a net. In actuality the roots of the game are shrouded in antiquity, with Herodotus referring to tennis-like games played as far back as 450 BC.

Charles I (king of France) credited with building a royal tennis court at the Louvre in 1368.
Francis I (king of France 1515-1547)
Henry VIII (King of England 1509-1547). When he wasn't beheading wives, of course...
Leslie Ronaldson (contemporary of King Henry VIII) one of the first known professional tennis players.
Major Charles Wingfield, Englishman credited with standardizing tennis equipment.
James I (King of Scotland)
Edward VI (King of England)
Elizabeth I (Queen of England)
Frederick (Prince of Wales) who actually died 1n 1751 from an infection caused by being hit in the abdomen with a tennis ball.
Monsieur Masson (pre-eminent tennis professional of his time, who apparently made quite a good living betting on his matches.
Madame Bunell, French woman circa 1760, who took on and beat most of the better-known tennis players of her time, including the British champion Mr Tompkyns, who she beat soundly two sets to one.
Madame Masson (related by marriage to Monsieur Masson, about whom it was said, about 1790 or so, "Madame Masson, the celebrated tennis-player, lately arrived from Paris, has had an audience with his Royal Highness the Duke of York. This Gallic heroine of the racquet, it seems challenges to play with any person in Europe for one thousand guineas."
Napoleon III (Emperor of France 1852-1870)

Oh--and it is worth mentioning that lawn tennis was one of the original nine sports chosen for the first modern Olympic games in 1896.

And then of course we get to, say, the past 140 years or so and names most of us will recognize, such as the first Wimbledon Champion Spencer Gore (1877), the U.S. Championships in 1880 (won, incidentally, by an Englishman, O.E. Woodhouse), followed by in no particular order, Rod Laver, Stan Smith, Billy Jean King, Serena Williams, John McEnroe, Helen Willis, Bill Tilden, Andre Agassi, Maria Sharapova, Ermyntrude Harvey, Pancho Gonzalez, Don Budge, Margaret Court, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras, etc. etc. etc.

And now,

FAMOUS PICKLEBALL PLAYERS

..................

From MA also- can’t see the article but the title tells me enough- “Wellesley” residents…

I wouldn't want to live near courts. I live in-between Truman and BeCall courts. Both are about a half a mile away and if the wind is blowing toward my house in either direction, I can hear the pickleball impact.

The comments on that article are comedy gold. Not a lot of sympathy for our (S)Wellesley residents.

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You had best get used to living w pickleball. It is so much easier than tennis to learn at an older age. I am a converted tennis player. The Villages did not build over 200 courts for a fleeting fad. It is mental therapy for many of us, besides the fun and exercise.

The only difference is at the no volley zone in PB. The back of the court is similar to the strokes in tennis in many cases.

It's not the popping noise that’s annoying it's the people yelling and screaming like they were playing in some $1 million dollar Champion.

Around 2018, I used to walk around a local dog park's 5 acre back field with a professional pickleball instructor who was here for about 6 months teaching Villagers pickleball. She was from Sebring, FL. Or, maybe, still is.


Pickleball is quite a lot bigger now here in the Villages. This instructor probably could be living her full time. Or, go almost anywhere else as well as be just as busy.

Amazingly, I agree with that.
......And that DOPIE click, click, click sound that the balls make IS MIND-NUMBING! You would think that someone would use a stringed racket or make softer balls.....DUH.......it should NOT take rocket science to accomplish that! Maybe OLD people don't mind because they do NOT hear well. And on a similar note - why are older Golf Carts so NOISY? Some sound like freight trains!

Another difference. The return of service must bounce before hitting the ball back. No serve and volley.

I would venture that the health benefits from doing something active routinely far outweigh the orthopedic problems.

That was a long way to go for a joke, but it was worth it, a good joke. Like the famous tennis player "The Joker".

You need to invent or engineer a softer Pickle's ball that is QUIETER.

I agree. It's MENTAL!