When I am back north in Wisconsin I play with a group of folks at a local park. This gaggle is about 80 total players and the level ranges from “complete butcher” to “budding professional”. Our Emperor and leader is a gentleman named Tom. His excellency takes attendance each day and has a note book he chooses not to share with anyone. There is a chance, should we ever subpoena the diary, it says “all work and no play makes Tom a dull boy” over and over again for 1000’s of pages. Pickleball attracts all types.

Tom does a great job communicating playing times and dates while running the finances of the brood and competing at a competent level of Pickleball. He recently sent out an email with a friendly reminder the massive annual taxes for the group were past due and some have failed to contribute. I realize we are in a recession, interest rates have doubled and the stock market needs to look up to see the bottom of the Marianna Trench but for all that is good in the world pay the damn ten dollars!

The real issue here is not that Wisconsin people are cheap, but Pickleball is a dramatically inexpensive sport and seems to attract Jack Benny followers.

Should I go back to golf and play once a week for a year it would cost me $1,500 for clubs, $2,000 in lessons, $5,600 for gas to drive to the course and $200 each time I throw a putter into the lake after missing another three foot putt.

Pickleball is dirt cheap compared to this. A top notch paddle is about $200, balls are $3 and a Franklin X or Dura Fast 40 will last weeks if you hit as soft as many of my friends do (guys, it’s a fire fight not a pillow fight). I ride my bike to the courts so the cost of gas is limited to my trips to Ace Sports for a new over-grip at a cost of $1.75 each.

So it seems a thrifty product breeds frugality. The cost differential is the same as purchasing a shiny new Mercedes vs a 2008 Honda CRV. Just because you saved on the Honda doesn’t mean you may refrain from putting gas in the car. Pay the damn ten dollars!

The sport will mature causing folks to get more competitive and spend more money on a new, more advanced paddle or Babolat sneakers but for now my friends at the pickleball park can enjoy the simple inexpensive pleasure of a cheap sport.

Paddles Up,
Mother

When I am back north in Wisconsin I play with a group of folks at a local park. This gaggle is about 80 total players and the level ranges from “complete butcher” to “budding professional”. Our Emperor and leader is a gentleman named Tom. His excellency takes attendance each day and has a note book he chooses not to share with anyone. There is a chance, should we ever subpoena the diary, it says “all work and no play makes Tom a dull boy” over and over again for 1000’s of pages. Pickleball attracts all types.

Tom does a great job communicating playing times and dates while running the finances of the brood and competing at a competent level of Pickleball. He recently sent out an email with a friendly reminder the massive annual taxes for the group were past due and some have failed to contribute. I realize we are in a recession, interest rates have doubled and the stock market needs to look up to see the bottom of the Marianna Trench but for all that is good in the world pay the damn ten dollars!

The real issue here is not that Wisconsin people are cheap, but Pickleball is a dramatically inexpensive sport and seems to attract Jack Benny followers.

Should I go back to golf and play once a week for a year it would cost me $1,500 for clubs, $2,000 in lessons, $5,600 for gas to drive to the course and $200 each time I throw a putter into the lake after missing another three foot putt.

Pickleball is dirt cheap compared to this. A top notch paddle is about $200, balls are $3 and a Franklin X or Dura Fast 40 will last weeks if you hit as soft as many of my friends do (guys, it’s a fire fight not a pillow fight). I ride my bike to the courts so the cost of gas is limited to my trips to Ace Sports for a new over-grip at a cost of $1.75 each.

So it seems a thrifty product breeds frugality. The cost differential is the same as purchasing a shiny new Mercedes vs a 2008 Honda CRV. Just because you saved on the Honda doesn’t mean you may refrain from putting gas in the car. Pay the damn ten dollars!

The sport will mature causing folks to get more competitive and spend more money on a new, more advanced paddle or Babolat sneakers but for now my friends at the pickleball park can enjoy the simple inexpensive pleasure of a cheap sport.

Paddles Up,
Mother