Golf facilities can benefit and provide their members with additional competitive and participation opportunities by incorporating racquet sports such as tennis, pickleball, padel, squash, and platform tennis to their programming.
That was the message conveyed by two leaders in the racquet sports sector Wednesday during a special presentation on The Clubhouse stage on the PGA Show Floor titled, “The Beating Heart: How Clubs are Embracing Racquet Sports and Giving Communities What They Crave.”
Robyn Duda, Co-Founder & CEO of RacquetX, and Brian Dillman, CEO of the Racquet Sports Professionals Association (RSPA), noted that golf and racquet sports are both enjoying unprecedented growth in popularity and that adding racquet sports to existing golf facilities is a win-win for both – and for club members.
“More and more golf facilities are expanding their programs to include other sports, and racquet sports such as pickleball, padel and platform tennis are becoming extremely popular among golfers who enjoy other sports on days they are not playing golf,” noted Duda. “It’s typically a great marriage (between golf and racquet sports) because golf facilities often have space that can easily be converted into pickleball or padel courts, and club members like an alternative sport that doesn’t take as long to play, or that can be played indoors easily.”
Duda noted that tennis has experienced a 33 percent boom in participation since 2020, and said “Pickleball is taking North America by storm with the number of people playing growing by 59 percent over three years, reaching a total of 8.9 million. Padel is widely accepted as the world’s fastest-growing sport with more than 25 million players.”
Like golf, Dillman said that the popularity of racquet sports “is off the charts” since the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that pairing golf with racquet sports can provide facilities with additional revenue streams following a minimal investment in courts while creating new reasons for potential members to join the club.
“Like golf, racquet sports generate facility revenue far beyond just playing the game. Providing lessons, equipment and accessories is big business, just as it is in golf,” said Dillman, whose Racquet Sports Professionals Association is similar to the PGA of America in that it provides the nation’s leading clubs with professionals to teach and administrate racquet sports at facilities throughout North America.
“RSPA members are the experts in the game, when it comes to racquet sports,” said Dillman. “When a high-level club is looking for a tennis or racquet professional, we help them with the process of finding a highly qualified individual and will help them vet the candidates. As in golf, having a professional on the staff who knows the business is a significant advantage.”