re: Tennis vs golf vs pickleball

All three of those “sports” are for pussies

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Elite level tennis is something few can play

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That doesnt make much sense because, i mean- how many elite golfers do you know ?


The ability to be ‘elite’ doesnt seem to have much to do with it .

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Can anyone explain why now, at least in America- tennis is looked at as some fru-fru country club sport, whereas golf- the ultimate country club sport- is not

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Because an American is not in the spotlight in the sport.If tennis had the like of a McEnroe and Conners or Agassi and Sampras it would be viewed a little different. Same with heavyweight boxing and Le Tour.

When an american is in contention, the perception in america is different.

Pickle ball is popular because it's the "new" thing that requires less athleticism and physical fitness than tennis. Tennis is hard to be decent at and a true match requires you to be in good shape.

I've never played pickleball, but they installed like 25 courts at the park by my daughter's daycare. Doesn't appear to be super athletes playing it. So barrier to entry just appears lower than tennis.

Golf is hard for sure, but you can play without being good. You also get to drive golf carts and drink alcohol while playing. Used to feel like the barrier to entry was high, but as someone said, culturally you had movies like Happy Gilmore and stars like Tiger Woods that got people wanting to get out there and play.

I’ve played tennis and golf for years and I’m very average
I’ve played pickleball- I couldn’t understand the scoring. I really have no desire to play again

Weird take. Pickleball is basically ping pong and you’re standing on the table.

Its attraction is that it allows people to be active and participate despite differences in athleticism. 70 year old pops can play alongside his 14 yr old granddaughter.

Requires less room, less investment and competition is relative; you want to ramp it up fine.

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He's got a shot, so maybe Shelton can win the US Open this year and finally put the US back in the mix in Men's Tennis.

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Yeah i was thinking the same .. for a while I thought Taylor Fritz might be the new great American player but that window’s kinda passed.. he didnt even become Roddick .

Ben Shelton seems to have the goods plus there’s the off court relationship with Rodman’s daughter that might give people that extra interest to pay attention to.

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pickleball is easier. Simple as that.

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Pickleball in general has fewer barriers to entry. Easier on the body, easier to play, cheaper (no re-stringing rackets, balls last longer), smaller space, takes less time, etc.

The funny thing to me is everyone wondering where pickleball came from all of a sudden. We played it in my HS gym class in the 90s.

The weird grudge people have against pickleball is bizarre. I’ve only played a half dozen times, but it’s fun and social.

Are these three in competition? Strikes me that all three are a net good (except for growing golf, we need to gatekeep the hell out of golf)

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Pickleball is about accessibility. Accessibility for (insert reason). Age, knees, affordability, community, and so on.

I recognize this as someone who has never tried pickleball and have no desire to.

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I don't disagree with this but I'll add to it. Most people don't want to have to suck at something before they're good at it. Pickleball, you can pick it up and get the ball over the net. You're not going to spin a serve in with any consistency or hit a 260 yard drive straight on your first day. Tennis requires a playing partner, which means two have to agree that it's a sport worth diving into. Golf is more of a coordination sport and tennis is coordination and endurance. Pickleball requires a lower level of coordination.

For the record, I share the same opinion as the OP, but I also live and let live. If a simplified version of a sport is what gets people out there moving, it's a net win.