It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact date COVID actually started, but the first reported case in the United States was a thirty-five-year-old man in Washington State on January 20, 2020. By March, it was clear that the COVID pandemic was an acute danger, and The Landings Golf and Athletic Club began to take steps to protect the members, including the growing stable of pickleball enthusiasts.
In the two years before the pandemic, pickleball had grown steadily, if not robustly. Ben Johns, now the number one rated pickler in the world, and Christine McGrath visited The Landings for a “celebrity clinic” for our members in 2018. Kyle Yates and other noted players were here in 2019. Pickleball was slowly becoming entrenched at The Landings. Then COVID hit. Paradoxically, instead of losing momentum, pickleball began to grow at a speed that nobody could have anticipated. The already impressive growth rate gave way to an explosion of interest in 2020 and 2021.
As it became clear that the world was dealing with an extremely dangerous disease, The Landings Club and its members were forced to adopt a precautionary lifestyle. No more hugs or handshakes, congregating indoors or dinners at the Club. It was a difficult time for everyone, and a critical period for The Landings Club, which had to be resourceful to survive. All the club houses closed, socializing was at golf cart parties in driveways or at the gazebo in Oakridge. The club staff created a defacto grocery store. Members could order staples from hamburger to toilet paper online and pick them up at Palmetto Clubhouse. That, and similar innovations kept our loyal staff employed and benefited our regular suppliers. Life was different, but by the time the worst of the pandemic passed, it was clear that The Landings Club had outperformed every other club in the country.
The pickleball courts never closed, although at the outset of the pandemic there was a drop in participation. The drop was somewhat higher than that experienced by the tennis program, most likely because pickleball players play in closer proximity to each other. But the drop in participation did not last long. Buckets filled with water and ammonia were placed at every court so that pickleballs could be sanitized, and post-game fist bumps and handshakes were replaced by paddle taps. Some wore gloves on both hands, and a few wore masks. As the weather became warmer, people descended on the courts in record numbers.
League play was initially suspended, but as spring weather began to bring picklers back to the courts, it was clear organized play was needed. Chris Kader and Mike Stevenson devised several new concepts and the league was back. There was the extremely popular Fixed-Mixed, where partners played together for the entire season in a ladder type format - win and you move up for the next week, lose and you move down. The even more popular Beer League drew players to the courts in droves. It was a “pick your own foursome and play” format. The lowest performing player at the end of the evening had to buy the first round. The creation of an Elite League gave the highest ranked picklers the opportunity to play competitive pickleball using a round robin format. Elite League was also ladder style, but no fixed partners. If you won in your foursome you moved up to the next highest court, finish last and you moved down courts, reformed and played again. A similar format is now employed by the LPA for ladder night play.
It was during the pandemic that many Landings Club picklers began to lobby for a dedicated pickleball professional. Several of the court sport professionals were certified, but pickleball was not their primary sport. They were excellent when it came to responding to the increased calls for lessons and clinics, but during COVID, the demands for tennis lessons also grew rapidly, leaving the pickleball program scrambling for regular instruction. It became clear that it was time to engage a search firm to identify a qualified candidate.
Near the end of 2020 Chris Kader began the search. After a lengthy process Alex Fox was identified as the best candidate. Alex moved his wife, six children and a dog, from Washington State and became the head pickleball professional in March 2022.
With Alex on board, the pickleball program was well positioned to handle the increased demand for lessons as we emerged from the pandemic.