Pickleball? I know all about the great sport, and you should too

I asked my wife to look over a recent column and when she came to the word “pickleball” she had a question.

“Did you make that up?”

“No, I did not,” I said indignantly.

I reminded her that I am an integral part of the mainstream media and we make nothing up, thank you. Besides, I’m not that creative.

“I checked the internet and learned that pickleball, as funny as it sounds, is a real thing. It was invented in the 1960s and it involves a ball and a paddle and a court and has nothing to do with pickles and I have now told you everything I know about pickleball.”

I said as much in the column, professing to know nothing about the, uh, sport.

It didn’t take long before I got a quick lesson on the wonderfulness of pickleball.

Nancy Park, wife of a golfing pal named Ray, sent me a printout headed, “What is Pickleball: A Game for Everyone.”

Before I get into the highlights, I should warn the several hundred Grand Strand pickleball players to go on to something more exciting because everything I am about to say you already know.

This is for those who are poorly educated in pickleball – you know, those of us who thought golf alone drew everyone to our lovely area.

Turns out there are full leagues at play in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach and probably other communities I’ve not been able to investigate.

They have tournaments and parties and BFFs on Facebook. And they really don’t care who laughs when they say “pickleball” because it is a game they love. Your loss, they say.

Anyway, according to Wikipedia (which never lies), pickleball was invented in 1965 by a couple of guys in Bainbridge Island, Wash.

After coming home from a day of fishing, they tried to set up a family badminton game but couldn’t find the shuttlecock. So they got a whiffle ball and fashioned wooden paddles and had a great afternoon.

Joan Pritchard, a woman who played in that first game, named it pickleball, not after a dill pickle or after her dog Pickles, but after something called a pickle boat. Guess you had to be there.

Pickleball, for the aforementioned poorly educated, is a racquet sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis.

Two to four people can play, although traditionally, I am told, there are two players on a side because it is popular among retirees who can’t run all over the court. It is especially popular in Florida, where the hot sun turns runners into mounds of butter. (OK, I made that part up. Sue me).

According to USAPA – that would be the USA Pickleball Association and should not be confused with the PGA, which is a whole other thing – there are over 15,000 indoor and outdoor pickleball courts in the United States and at least one in all 50 states.

In addition, there are more than 2.5 million pickleball players in the country, and they compete in local, regional and national tournaments.

So there you are, Mr. and Mrs. Bestler.

Next time someone mentions pickleball, you can say, “Yes, we know all about that. It’s a great sport.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 5:36 PM with the headline "Pickleball? I know all about the great sport, and you should too."