I’m here to address a growing concern, a budding menace: Pickleball!
On first glance, you might think, “What kind of meanie are you? Pickleball is fun, healthy and very social. Have you ever passed by a pickleball court? Those geezers are chortling like kindergartners at recess.”
Granted, they are. And that’s part of the problem.
I like to hike wooded trails near my home in central DeKalb County and enjoy the respite from urban life. Walking shady paths along the streams and listening to birds is therapeutic.
That was until the county added pickleball courts to Mason Mill Park. Now, while wandering nature, I hear the invasive — and nonstop — Pop! Pop! Pop! (Or is it Tock! Tock! Tock! ?) of pickleballers waging their sport.
“Sport” is overstating it. It’s a game, a noisy badminton. It can be fun. I’ve played a few games and it was entertaining.
Credit: Pete Corson
Credit: Pete Corson
I wondered if I was just being a grouch by getting irritated by the repetitive sound of pickleball invading this sanctuary.
But it turns out I’m not alone. I read recently in the Decaturish news site that residents in Avondale Estate are being driven batty by the noise emanating from courts right behind their homes and have approached the city council.
“We went to a meeting and told them: ‘The noise is driving us crazy; can you do something?’” said Harry Vann, who has two tennis courts that can be converted into four pickleball courts adjacent to his yard.
People have played pickleball on those courts for five years, he said, and he had complained to the city.
Credit: Courtesy of the City of Atlanta
Credit: Courtesy of the City of Atlanta
“But instead of dealing with the noise, they doubled the number of courts,” he said.
The city, reacting to the insanely growing popularity of the game, striped the two tennis courts to allow four pickleball courts. The debate between pickleballers and tennis players vying for limited court space is another story.
Vann said the noise is unremitting. Avondale put restrictions of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. because enthusiasts were playing even longer.
“We have to run fans all of the time or play music just to kill the noise,” he said. “It’s like you can’t live in your house.”
Of course, there’s a backlash to such complaints. Pickleball is the fastest growing “sport” in America, according to Pickleheads.com. It claims 36.5 million have wielded a paddle.
On social media, Vann said, there’s a vibe of: “Aw, you Karens.”
In fact, an AJC colleague grumbled when I told her about my column.
“Do not do an anti-pickleball story; that’s the stupidest thing ever,” said a fellow reporter, who is a tennis player but points out that the game has brought otherwise sedentary people back to fluidity.
“Stop,” she added. “Stop!”
I might note it’s tortuous to be cornered by pickleball enthusiasts at parties. It’s like encountering wide-eyed members of a cult.
The passion, I believe, comes from folks who haven’t been able to perform in any competitive physical activity for decades and now they’ve got something.
And you Must. Hear. All. About. It.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Ross Rubenstein, who lives behind the courts, also approached the city. His wife, who works at home, now must wear noise-cancelling headphones.
It’s not only the incessant sound of wooden paddles clacking against hard, plastic balls, it’s the constant “yelling, hollering and hooting,” when a point is scored, he said.
“It’s like Vegas when someone wins; everyone erupts,” he added.
The physics of the paddle and ball, the confined court space and the fact that most games are doubles means there are lots of sharp “Pops!″ Perhaps 900 an hour.
“I don’t want to be anti-fun, but ...” Rubenstein said, adding that a neighbor called 911 and the cops escorted 36 people from the courts. “That’s a big part of it. We get big groups there and the next day we find beer bottles and hard seltzer.”
And it’s bothering residents across the country, from Boston to San Diego and all parts between — Atlanta’s Lake Claire neighborhood, for instance.
“It’s a torture technique,” a Maine resident told the New York Times, which ran a front-page story last year about the growing complaints.
There are even stories about people being unable to sell their homes.
Hank Miller, a real estate appraiser from Marietta, has written about the issue. He said there is no research to determine if being close to pickleball courts affects the price of your home. “But anecdotally, it certainly should be something to look at when buying your house,” he said.
“People are losing their minds, the sound of it is different,” Miller said. “The action on the court is more intense.”
The Avondale Estates council revisited the issue Wednesday and discussed a number of solutions, ranging from moving the courts, to erecting sound-reducing blankets around the courts to limiting hours.
Instead, they’re leaning toward requiring players to use softer foam balls on the courts and charging nonresidents $5. They will erect signs and even leave a few of the quieter balls around the court.
“Enforcement is going to be a bear,” Vann noted.
He’s right. Just wait until a couple players with “loud” balls get ticketed.
The noise then will be unbearable.
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