Opportunities to play pickleball in Livingston County are few, but more courts may be on the way

LIVINGSTON COUNTY — Pickleball, a sport that has been growing in popularity for years, really took off during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has local players scrambling to find courts and officials scrambling to provide them.

"There's a need, definitely. It seems to be a continuing, growing thing more than anything," said Steve Fellhauer, recreation manager-sports for the Howell Area Parks & Recreation Authority.

The Howell recreation department has four courts and is considering adding six more. It's a familiar theme with municipalities and private organizations adding courts while players often travel outside the county to play.

Pickleball is a racquet sport that relies on reaction time, precision and strategy. According to Sports Imports, the game combines elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton, and it's played by people in their teens to their 80s.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three dads — Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum — in order to provide a fun pastime for their families, according to USA Pickleball. At the time, it was played with a whiffle ball, but today there are perforated, plastic balls made specifically for the sport.

"It's been around in Michigan for 15 or 20 years, but I would say COVID really had a big impact on it because it's a sport you can play outside and set up very easily and a lot of people were buying nets and paddles and setting them up," Wolverine Pickleball co-owner by Leslie White said.

The Southeastern Livingston County Recreation Authority recently completed its five-year recreation master plan after surveying residents on their wishes. According to Cheryl Royster, former SELCRA interim director, there was a lot of interest in pickleball courts.

Taking the public's wishes into consideration, Royster suggested allowing people to play pickleball at SELCRA's Meijer Park, 333 Orndorf Drive in Brighton Township.

"We do lessons and we put on the pickleball courts a couple years ago, just put down the lines for it, so it's not a tennis court, per se, where it has that bouncy surface, but it's an all-purpose court," she said. "It has been there awhile, but we haven't really had a lot of pickleball there yet."

At Meijer Park, there is a cement pad that has been there since 2001. According to Royster, it was built as a rollerblading/hockey rink, but then it was used for tennis.

Currently, there are four pickleball courts. The courts will be open from May through October when SELCRA holds events at the park.

"If we have tee ball or soccer, we can open up that facility to actually have some pickleball as well at the same time," she said. "Pickleball can be on our large court that we have, like a concrete pad and we have portable pickleball nets."

She said the hours will be posted on the website. Additionally, there are other places identified in the master plan where SELCRA is looking to adding pickleball courts. The cost has been estimated at $100,000, so she expects it to take some time.

According to the master plan, there is a 2-acre property the recreation authority is looking at in Green Oak Township, at the northwest corner of Grand River Avenue and Alan Drive. The space could be reconfigured to accommodate up to five tennis courts and 10 pickleball courts, along with a 24-space parking lot.

For those trying to find a place to play, here's a look at what's available:

Howell Area Parks & Recreation Authority

The Howell Area Parks & Recreation Authority offers an opportunity to play inside at the Oceola Community Center, 1661 N. Latson Road.

According Fellhauer, the facility has courts that are open for people to play throughout the week.

Fellhauer said they have discussed the idea of adding six courts. He said in the future they hope to host tournaments and a youth clinic.

"It's not a difficult game to pick up," he said.

Hamburg Fitness Center & Camp

Hamburg Fitness Center & Camp, 8540 Hamburg Road in Brighton, offers open play hours from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There are three courts available, depending on the time of day.

The cost is $5 for non-members during designated pickleball hours.

Legacy Center Sports Complex

Legacy Center Sports Complex, 9299 Goble Drive in Brighton, has the Legacy Pickleball Club.

Members pay $25 per month, there is a $5 drop-in fee and $20 per hour for court rentals. Non-members pay $10 for drop-ins and $30 per hour for court rentals.

Plymouth Pickleball

Plymouth Pickleball, 650 Church St. in Plymouth at PARC Gym.

According to their website, they are having "just play" sessions at 10:45 a.m. Feb. 12, 19 and 26 and "learn to play" sessions at 10:30 and 11:45 a.m. Sunday.

Wolverine Pickleball in Ann Arbor

If you're willing to make the drive to Washtenaw County, Wolverine Pickleball, 119 Jackson Industrial Drive, offers leagues.

White and Christy Howden said Wolverine Pickleball has eight courts strictly for the sport.

White recommends taking a class before hitting the courts.

"We do a lot of programming, which is why we're so popular because most places that run things just kind of have open play," White said. "We teach about 120 people or more a month."

Wolverine Pickleball is looking to expand with a new $7.5 million facility that includes 12 courts with roll-up garage doors, six outdoor sand volleyball courts, bocce ball, corn hole, outdoor lawn games, a pro shop and a beer garden.

White expects the facility to be up and running in September.

Oak Pointe Country Club

Oak Pointe Country Club, 4500 Club Drive in Brighton offers pickleball.

According to their website, Denny Dahlman, who has been a member for more than 20 years and played collegiate tennis will be teaching pickleball. Private one-on-one instruction is available, in addition to small and medium groups.

The Hamburg Senior Center

The senior center, 10407 Merrill Road, offers two outdoor acrylic courts. They are dedicated courts with permanent lines and nets. The courts are free.

They are in the process of building a third court. They are hopeful the court will be completed by the Spring.

Hartland Senior Activity Center

The Hartland Senior Center, 9525 E Highland Road, has four dedicated outdoor hard courts. They have permanent lines and nets. The facility includes amenities, including restrooms.

Pinckney Community Schools, Navigator School

According to Pickleheads.com, the school, 2100 E. M-36, offers six asphalt courts. There are two indoors. The lines are permanent and portable nets are available. There is a one-time fee required to play. Players have access to restrooms.

Search online

For those looking for other places to play pickleball across the state, visit pickleheads.com.

The site offers an interactive search function that drops pins near a selected location. Players can click on a pin to see details about a potential playing location.

Jacob Livesay, SEO/Evergreen Content Reporter of USA Today contributed to this story.

Livingston Daily reporter Patricia Alvord can be reached at palvord@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston County may offer more pickleball opportunities soon