David Douglas
… when five Sun Lakes Pickleball Club at Cottonwood Palo Verde (SLPCC) members were sitting on the Saguaro Room’s south porch relaxing and enjoying each other after a vigorous afternoon of pickleball play. Of course, all the courts were full of players, with many waiting in reload position as the club clock was winding down to HOA2 time. So, it was a typical early week afternoon for the SLPCC.
Jeff Dunn, who the other four SLPCC members thought was asleep, startled them with the comment, “You know, if we cut down those oleanders, we’d have an incredible resort look for our pickleball courts.” “Not only that, think of the additional cool breeze we’d get on the courts,” chimed in JoAnn Selman. “I think that the only purpose for the oleanders was to dampen the pickleball court noise for the residents. What if we cut them down halfway, preserving the noise-dampening aspects yet improving the appearance for the community by cutting their height halfway?” concluded Mary Kay.
SLPCC members playing the week of June 23 have been impressed with the new look at the pickleball courts at HOA2. The “before and after” look is amazing. Whereas the “before look” had courts 5, 6, and 7 facing the lakes south of us, the “after look” now has all seven courts facing the lakes with the beautifully lit fountain at night. The only negative comment heard was from Rocket Rod Badgley who lamented the loss of good pickleballs he would retrieve weekly from the oleanders. “Yeah, I used to be able to recover an average of five pickleballs a week when the oleanders were level with the court fences. Now, with the oleanders so short, I’ll be lucky to get an average of five pickleballs per season,” responded Rod.
But the “resort look” wasn’t the only improvement made at the pickleball courts at Cottonwood Palo Verde this week. Renovated shade covers, renovated announcement board, improved court design for players waiting for an open court, and more things are being examined to make the pickleball courts more attractive for the Sun Lakes HOA2 community at large.
SLPCC would like to thank Mr. Steve Hardesty and Mr. Jim Miller for their help in getting these improvements done. Both have been so accommodating and helpful with directing us properly to get this done. But it really is more than that. Both Steve and Jim demonstrate a willingness to help us, since we share the same paradigm, and that is making the pickleball area an attractive destination for the HOA2 community. Our club benefits when the pickleball area is resort quality. Don’t you agree? Thank you, Steve and Jim, from SLPCC.
Finally, let me thank the Pickleball Strategic Planning Group who helped the club convey these needs to HOA2: Jeff Dunn, JoAnn Selman, Mary Kay Hobby, Jerry Strom, Mary Roper, and our wonderful board liaison Rod Badgley. They were instrumental in initiating contact and presenting ideas, and they followed up with HOA2. Thank you, team, from SLPCC.
SLPCC, one of the largest clubs in Sun Lakes, having a membership exceeding 472 in 2025, is intent on introducing pickleball and all its benefits to our community.