Goose Creek Club Adds Pickleball Courts

Pickleball is one of America’s fastest growing sports, and those looking to hit the court can look no farther than Goose Creek Club. The Club is in the finishing stages of building professional pickleball courts at it West Jackson Loop location. 
Pickleball is a mixture of badminton and ping-pong. Points can only be earned by the serving team. Each team must allow the ball to bounce once on their respective side of the court, and then the teams are allowed to volley the ball. The first team to 11, winning by 2, is the winner of the match.
“Most people just convert their tennis courts,” said Louis Brandt, owner of Goose Creek Club. “We are going to have a rare condition where we have dedicated pickleball courts.”
To have sanctioned pickleball tournaments you have to have a minimum of three courts, according to Brandt, which is what the club is constructing on the west side of the clubhouse. Pickleball courts are a fourth of the size of a tennis court and have lower nets. 
Barney Chadwick, managing partner of Goose Creek Club, said pickleball is perfect for tennis players who now are unable to continue to play tennis.
“[Pickleball] serves a really good purpose for some players that use to be good tennis players and do not have the mobility they use to,” he said. 
The game is a great game for kids and adults because it’s an easy-to-learn game that anyone can pick up in 15 minutes, Chadwick said.

“My wife plays [pickleball] and she is not a tennis player, but she loves it,” Brandt said.
Pickleball was first created in 1965 by Joel Pritchard, a congressman, and Bill Bell, a businessman, according to the official Pickleball website (USAPA). After returning to Pritchard’s home after a round of golf, the two men found their families sitting around with nothing to do.
Pritchard’s property had an old badminton court, but they didn’t have any badminton equipment. The two men decided to improvise, sticking closely to the original badminton rules. The game was named after Pritchards’ dog, Pickles, who would chase the ball and run off with it, according to the USAPA. 
For more information on Pickleball, visit USAPA. Learn more about Goose Creek Club’s courts and pickleball classes, visit Goose Creek Club.

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By Talbert Toole, lifestyles editor of HottyToddy.com. He can be reached at talbert.toole@hottytoddy.com.