History of CTL Pickleball

The CTL Pickleball club was launched in 2021. The club was launched because of the large community demand for more Pickleball playing opportunities for all the neighbors and their invited guest. 

Pickleball was officially designated a club in 2022 with Brant Sharp elected as the inaugural President, by the end of the year 2022 the club grew to over 140 members. 

The first phase of the CTL Pickleball facility has 21 courts which 13 of them are lighted. There is a view area properly named the Eagle's Nest for viewing of the play. The future plan calls to include 40+ courts, which is estimated to be one of largest private Pickleball facilities in Georgia.

History of Pickleball

The game started during the summer of 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, at the home of former State Representative Joel Pritchard who, in 1972, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and eventually went on to become Lieutenant Governor of Washington. He and two of his friends, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, returned from golf and found their families bored one Saturday afternoon. They attempted to set up badminton, but no one could find the shuttlecock. They improvised with a Wiffle ball, lowered the badminton net, and fabricated paddles of plywood from a nearby shed.

Although some sources claim that the name “Pickleball” was derived from that of the Pritchard's family dog, Pickles, the name actually came from the term “pickle boat,” referring to the last boat to return with its catch. According to Joan Pritchard, Joel Pritchard's wife, the name came “after I said it reminded me of the Pickle Boat in crew where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats. Somehow the idea the name came from our dog Pickles was attached to the naming of the game, but Pickles wasn't on the scene for two more years. The dog was named from the game.”