In this article, top rated real estate agent, Dan Hamilton of Hamilton & Co, takes a break from offering Greenville real estate advice to share his personal experience playing pickleball, where to find the best courts in Greenville and how to get started! Thank you to Hamilton & Co for sponsoring this article.
Pickleball has taken Greenville by storm! Though this popular sport has been around for over 50 years, it really began to gain traction during the pandemic, offering a safe, low-impact social sport for people of all ages. Now, there are courts in almost every town across the Upstate, and you’ll see dozens of avid players out on any given afternoon. I myself have become a huge fan of the sport and enjoy taking my sons out to play.
If you are interested in playing pickleball yourself or want to get your family involved, keep reading! In this article, I’m sharing a few of the many places in Greenville, South Carolina to find pickleball courts, plus a couple coming to the Upstate very soon. I also share a bit of my experience getting into the sport and how you can get started too!
Find a Place to Play Pickleball
You may find yourself wondering where to even go to play Pickleball. Greenville is full of courts ready for you!
Timmons Park
Perhaps the most well-known pickleball courts in the Upstate reside in Timmons Park. The park, located on 121 Oxford Street in Greenville, has 8 hard courts surrounded by a tall fence. These are not modified tennis courts but regulation-size courts and free to play. There are also restrooms and water access for players.
Timmons is a great place to start if you’re new! After my initial pickleball lesson (more on that later), I attended open play here with a friend and loved my experience.
There are always people to play with any time of day, and the environment is open and relaxed. Be warned though, you’ll spend time waiting for a court, especially after work hours. Timmons gets busy!
Southside Park
Another great place to play pickleball is Southside Park. Southside Park is located in Simpsonville on 417 Baldwin Road. The park has 12 hard pickleball courts and are free to play when not reserved for an event or tournament.
Crowds are quite a bit lighter than at Timmons, so much so that you’ll want to bring a friend or two to make sure you can put together a game. This is a great option if you already have friends to play with and don’t want to wait for courts!
Northside Park
Northside Park in Greenville (101 West Darby Road) offers 6 brand new pickleball courts to residents of Travelers Rest and beyond.
As weather got hotter this summer – and Timmons got more and more crowded – I shifted to playing my matches here earlier in the morning before work. The facilities are amazing and the competition is stiff for those looking to up their game!
Similar to Southside Park, you won’t find quite the crowds here that you would at Timmons, so be sure to come with a group.
The Pavilion
Cooler temperatures are on their way, but if you’re still looking to beat the heat, you can play pickleball in one of a few indoor courts in town! My favorite is the Pavilion. Their three courts are open 7 days a week, but unlike open play at the outdoor courts, these courts need to be reserved. As a result, you’ll typically need to bring your friends with you to play!
There are only a few indoor courts available in town right now, and I hope more will be built soon!
New Courts Coming Soon
Greenville is working quickly to accommodate the massive demand for new pickleball courts with a number of exciting projects. Here are just a couple of the businesses coming to the Upstate in the next few years that put a major focus on pickleball:.
PKL Park
Unity Park is getting an upgrade with “PKL Park!” Set to be completed next summer, the park’s new facilities will have 8 professional-grade pickleball courts. But that’s not all! The complex will also include four small restaurants, a full bar, a stage for live music, a 20-foot television wall, and a huge green space for outdoor activities.
Facilities like this will make pickleball a great day-long social activity for the whole family!
The Pickle Yard
Downtown Greenville isn’t the only area investing in new pickleball facilities. Much like PKL Park, Mauldin’s “The Pickle Yard” will feature pickleball courts, 3-4 food concepts, a beer garden, a stage for live entertainment, and outdoor seating.
The sport and social facility is part of a larger entertainment initiative called “Maverick Yards.” The impressive development also includes over 40 new townhomes for rent and is being considered by many to be Mauldin’s new city center.
This facility is anticipated to open next year!
How to Get Started
One of my favorite things about pickleball is how simple it is to get started. Pickleball enthusiasts are friendly and extremely inviting to beginners. I’ve seen new players show up to the court with nothing and been given everything they need right on the court (though I don’t suggest doing this!).
Before you arrive to open play for the first time, I suggest purchasing a good pair of shoes (plain running shoes are fine to begin with), a paddle, and a set of pickleball balls (they look like wiffle balls). That’s it!
I think it’s fairly easy to get up to speed quickly and have competitive matches, but the rules of the game are a little different than you might think. What I did – and what I suggest to others – is started out by taking a two hour lesson, just to learn the basics of the game and how to keep score.
Upstate Pickleball, led in part by my friend John Moore, is a great place to invest in an introductory lesson! From there, you can continue to hone your skills with clinics or jump into open play at Timmons or another court around town.
Contact Hamilton & Co
The Upstate’s amazing communities are full of family-friendly activities. As Greenville’s top-rated real estate team, it’s our job to understand how each community compares and offer our clients up-to-date information that will lead to informed real estate decisions.
Give me a call at 864-527-7685. I’d love to answer your real estate questions and set you up with the tools you need to call Greenville home. – Dan
Learn more about Kidding Around Greenville partner, Dan Hamilton!
