Pickleball, Anyone?

Russell Lands is getting ready to play!

According to the Sports Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport. In the report, the SFIA announced that, at the end of 2023, 13.9 million people were playing pickleball in America. The sport has grown 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and an incredible 223.5% in four years since 2020. It is about to grow again, this time at Lake Martin!

Based on feedback a few years ago at a homeowners association meeting at The Ridge, we decided to take some of the available land adjacent to The Ridge Club and build four pickleball courts. A few residents were skeptical that four courts would be needed. It turns out that we might have made a mistake—four are not enough!

Pickleball fever has caught on in a big way at Russell Lands. So much so we are building a new pickleball and tennis complex, eight courts of each, at Willow Point Golf & Country Club. This new complex will be located in a beautiful forest adjacent to the main entry gate of the Willow Point community.

Russell Lands’ newest development, The Heritage, will not be outclassed by Willow Point. The Benjamin Lake Club, available to property owners, will also have a large pickleball and tennis facility. This amenity, which is scheduled to open in June of 2025, will have eight pickleball courts and eight tennis courts, as well as a pro shop, main clubhouse with fitness center, pool complex with snack bar, lake access via the community docks and beach.

Pickleball appears to be a perfect fit for lake life. People come here for recreation, like swimming and boating. Since people are here for recreation, we have built two world-class golf courses, Willow Point and Wicker Point. We also have tennis, resort pools, fitness, and 100 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Since people are here to have fun, it makes sense that we would make room for America’s fastest growing sport.

As far as the other preparations we are making for pickleball, we have gone to the sporting goods store to buy a good pickleball paddle, balls, bags, and lots of other gear so we will be ready when the new courts are ready to play.

If you want any other information about our amenities or club memberships, please give one of our Sales Executives a call at 256.215.7011 or send them an email today.