[Rwirish]

I guess one should also bring their own practice golf balls to the golf range.

Oh boy.

[Dyand]

Pickleballs are shared by multiple players game after game until they crack, and then they are trashed. The cost to maintain courts and supply balls for play would be minuscule compared to the cost of maintaining golf courses. Golf and pickleball are probably the top two activities here in The Villages. If golfers wish to share balls with all golfers till they crack or are lost, then contact the developer for golf supply. Lots of sports here supply equipment for players.

[La lamy]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

A pickle ball is a pickleball.

Different brands and models of golf balls play/fly/react differently.

NOOOOOO! There are many different types from softer to harder and many color varieties. It makes it more consistent to go from game to game with the same balls they supply. As a non golfer, I feel I get a bit of amenities fee back from getting pickleballs supplied since I'm sure a BIG part of our amenities fees goes to maintaining golf courses which I unfortunately don't get to enjoy.

[Altavia]

Equipment is available for all Rec Center sports including Archery and airguns.

[DrHitch]

Here's an interesting story about brands and technology of various pickleball balls....they all make the same sound!! Well, to untrained ears.

10 Best Pickleball Balls for All Types of Play

[TNLAKEPANDA]

Originally Posted by rhood

Read this morning that The Villages uses 5000 dozen pickleballs in a year.
60,000 balls. How is that possible? Cost is $24 and change per dozen.

The balls are pretty tough… where do they all go? Are people taking them home? Why would they do that?

As providing golf balls and tennis balls …. Hell no! Just go to the Driving Range first and get a bucket of balls like I do.

[TomPerry]

Originally Posted by HIgolfers

A lot of Villagers play pickleball so that number does not surprise me at all. In fact next to golf pickleball may be the next most popular activity in TV.

I have heard many times over the years, that bowling is the must popular sport in The Villages!

[TomPerry]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I read that as well. I’m not a pickleball player so I was unaware that the pickleballs were provided by the park and recreation department, I just assumed players brought their own balls. I guess this begs the question, why aren’t golf balls provided at the executive golf courses for amenity fee paying residents? Are tennis balls also provided by the park and recreation department?

There are over 7,000,000 golf balls lost in The Villages each year. If they provided golf balls, the bitching would never stop!

[Mrfriendly]

Originally Posted by TNLAKEPANDA

The balls are pretty tough… where do they all go? Are people taking them home? Why would they do that?

As providing golf balls and tennis balls …. Hell no! Just go to the Driving Range first and get a bucket of balls like I do.

The minute you hit one of those balls in the water during a regular round of play, your jig will be up. You will be floating in embarrassment…

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by Laker14

applying some more math to the pickleball cost.

60K balls @ $24/dozen comes to $120K, divided by the 130K or so residents of TV, that works out to a cost of around 92cents per resident per year.

Clearly, this is a problem.

Originally Posted by BrianL99

That's a ridiculous analysis.

By your reasoning and math, everyone who goes "running" or "walking" on The Villages paths, should be given free running shoes and the cost could be amortized over the entire population. So folks could be wearing $200 running shoes and the cost would only cost about $10/resident.

Why not extend that to providing Golf Carts for everyone who wants one?

Congratulations on your straw man argument.
The subject being discussed was pickleballs. I presented the math explaining how much it costs each resident of TV (approximately) to provide this amenity. An amenity that was in place when nearly all of us signed up to buy our homes in TV.

Your exaggerative examples don't apply for several reasons, one being that free running shoes, and free golf carts have never been included in the amenities package. You could, I suppose, go to the proper decision making authorities on what should be included in the amenity package, and present your arguments. I'm sure they'd be well received.

Applying sensible degrees of magnitude to our discussion, we can see that the cost of pickleballs is closer to the cost of the daffodils planted in the common areas, than the cost of free running shoes, or golf carts.

[OhioBuckeye]

I would call that dedicated Pickleball players!

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by TNLAKEPANDA

The balls are pretty tough… where do they all go? Are people taking them home? Why would they do that?

As providing golf balls and tennis balls …. Hell no! Just go to the Driving Range first and get a bucket of balls like I do.

They eventually break. I played for several months before I learned that new pickleballs are shiny and smooth. They get scuffed up pretty quickly. Some of the "elite" players like to play with brand new balls, and may confiscate a few nice new ones for themselves, if they can find some, but many just buy their own balls and use them, rather than play with the old scuffed up balls.
I play with whatever is available at the courts, unless they are cracked. Then they get stepped on, squashed, and thrown in the garbage.

[vinnytalk]

Golfers pay a trail fee used for maintenance.

[rsimpson]

Originally Posted by tophcfa

I read that as well. I’m not a pickleball player so I was unaware that the pickleballs were provided by the park and recreation department, I just assumed players brought their own balls. I guess this begs the question, why aren’t golf balls provided at the executive golf courses for amenity fee paying residents? Are tennis balls also provided by the park and recreation department?

I would be happy to donate the many dozen golf balls I find on the course each season. Where would you like them dropped off? hahaha

[ronl911]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

A pickle ball is a pickleball.

Different brands and models of golf balls play/fly/react differently.

This is a very naive response. Being both a golfer and an advanced pickleball player, I can tell you that there are many different types of pickleballs. The biggest differentiating factor is an indoor ball vs an outdoor ball. Then, within each of those 2 categories, there are many different "bounces/feels" to the various pickleballs available. Each brand of pickleball has a different feel, similar to golf balls. Some are rated for tournament play, and some aren't. The durability of the balls also varies. The pickleballs selected for play by The Villages are very durable. Why try to be an expert on a subject that you obviously have NO knowledge of?