Watch Out Woodlands!!!! Montgomery is in the pickleball game now

MONTGOMERY, TX -- Yes, Pickleball Hideout (PH), the new home of Montgomery Indoor Pickleball is open, having had their Open House earlier in December. Pickleball (PB), for those not in the know, is a paddle sport in which two (singles) or four (doubles) players hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball with paddles over a 34-inch-high net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits an infraction. It’s a 58 year-old sport from Washington state, invented after several bored families set up a badminton net, only to find they had no shuttlecock. The kids and adults played around with different balls and rackets/paddles until they came up with the right combination. Undoubtedly, the next moon landing will have a pickleball and paddle ready to go to test the Moon’s gravity. Sorry no golf clubs this time.

PH is hidden at 18952 Freeport Dr., in Montgomery. The genius part of this state of the art facility is that the PB courts are indoors. The facility sports 6 premier PB courts, which allows a weather free and a conditioned air experience for PB players. PH is a fully secured building, which requires a code to access the building, since it’s designed to be run as a standalone building with no staff. PH is designed for all levels of play, from beginners to pros, and will feature events for baby paddlers to big names of PB in tournament play. It’s a big sport, and it’s gaining in popularity, and now that Montgomery is in the game, could there be a rivalry with The Woodlands brewing?

“We spent about a year deciding what we wanted to do, and then build it,” said Stacy Woyton, part of the ownership group at PH. “And we already have a US Senior Pickleball Pro Tournament on the books for the end of January.”

PH requires the use of the ‘Court Reserve’ app on your iOS or Android device. Just create an account. Then you type in ‘Pickleball Hideout,’ to locate the court, choose a membership level, put in your credit card data, and your in. If you choose the non-member option, your card will not be charged until a reservation is made. Once logged into the court reserve app, click on calendar, and scroll to see what activities are available to suit your needs. And don’t worry about getting into the place, the app will assign you a pin code to unlock the door when you arrive at the facility.

Walden resident Richard Bloom is a West Montgomery County PB pioneer so to speak, having brought PB to Walden 8 years ago. He discovered PB in Summit County, Colorado, on vacation; and talked the Walden Community Association into allowing PB courts as part of the Walden Racquet Center. The Walden PB club started with just a few dedicated players, and was initially shunned by tennis players, but now racquet wielders make up the majority of his club. Bentwater started their courts after visiting Bloom’s courts in Walden.

“It’s a great sport,” said Bloom, “We play it here, in Florida, Colorado, and we are just so happy to see how popular the game has become.”

Bloom went on to warn those new to PB to stretch thoroughly before you play, because muscles not used in years or decades, can easily become strained.

PH’s motto is “Live The Excitement,” which allows West Montgomery County to access the facility at any time of day in a clean and secure environment. And if you don’t know anyone in the PB game, don’t worry, there are multiple avenues to get to know players, and become part of a group. So for you tennis players out there looking for opportunities to play a tennis like sport on a rainy day. Well, they are there.

PH’s website is: www.pickleballhideout.com

Ruben can be reached at: ruben@montgomerycountynews.net

Photos