There’s chatter in the air that it won’t be long before pickleball, one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, is recognised as an official Olympic sport. Closer to home, the sport’s popularity is also turning heads at struggling bowling clubs searching for ways to stay relevant and viable.
One of those clubs is the Cabarita Beach Bowls and Sports Club, which opened two new purpose-built pickleball courts in early July, taking over the space of one of its existing bowling greens.
The club’s new general manager, Chris Watson, said the idea came from his predecessor, former general manager Steve Penfold, and acknowledged it was the right move.
“Diversity is the key in bowling clubs,” he said.
“You can’t survive on bread and water alone, so any new innovative thing you can introduce to your business, and if you put advertise and market it in the right way, it can only be a good thing for the future.”
Since launching, the new courts have attracted pickleball players from neighbouring Kingscliff, Pottsville and Tweed Head, and led to a spike in member numbers. Watson said, surprisingly, most players are older and “spritely for their age”, though there’s also been interest from younger people.
“There’s been a lot of excitement around us opening up here … [because] it means they can come here and play, and then dine, which is appealing to them,” Watson said.
The move has also been warmly welcomed by existing members.
“We’re finding some of the bowlers are giving it a go,” he said. “I don’t think the bowling is being encroached upon because it’s a pretty vibrant little bowls community that is here six days a week, while pickleball is being played from 9am to 5pm.”
While those hours are likely to extend in summer and competitions will be introduced, Watson is looking to roll out pickleball as part of the club’s function offering, much like barefoot bowls.
“We are still a bowling club; we still celebrate being a bowling and sports club, and we keep to that,” he said.
“But the cost of running a bowling green is exorbitant. You’ve got clubs moving from greens to synthetic greens … you’d be lucky to make some money on that.
“The idea is we are a bowling and sports club. We wanted to offer something new, something fresh, and bring new faces to the club membership, which is exactly what it’s doing.”
While it’s still early days, Watson said there are already discussions about adding more courts.
“There is a vision for the future to put more in. We haven’t confirmed where or how, but the club is always looking at different things, including upgrading to more pickleball courts and putting [in] three to four more courts,” he said.
“We’re not a huge club, we’re just trying to fit in a lot of things under one roof, so it’s pretty exciting times ahead.”
Embracing change
The same enthusiasm for pickleball is shared by the Orange City Bowling Club, which introduced it last November. According to general manager Hugh Mawter, it’s been popular with those aged 20 to 50.
“People have taken to it,” he said. “We did a launch weekend and offered free coaching sessions. We had a couple of hundred through the door.”
Since then, Mawter said numbers have dipped slightly, which he attributes to persistent wet weather and the club’s regional location. He remains optimistic it will pick up once the weather warms.
Meanwhile, Warringah Bowling Club in Sydney’s north shore suburb of Mosman had planned to sign a 12-year licence agreement with Mosman Pickleball to bring the sport to the club, a proposal members voted on in April. Some 250 members attended, and 84 per cent voted in favour.
“We also found out our member base was open to change,” she said.
However, after facing potential noise complaints from neighbours over hardcourt surfaces, the club decided to launch with grass pickleball instead. Half of its bowling greens are now being used for four pickleball courts.
General manager Liarne Peek said the idea came to her after a conversation with her uncle.
“I have an uncle in his 70s, and they were saying how they have to wait six weeks to play pickleball, they can’t get a court, they love this sport. You’re in your 70s and you’re playing pickleball?”
She added the decision to introduce pickleball came out of necessity for the club’s long-term survival.
“When I took over two and a half years ago … we weren’t making inroads in any particular direction and we needed to sit down and look at what we needed to do to fix the underlying problem of how to become more relevant in our community,” she explained.
The plan is to eventually resurface half the bowling greens with synthetic grass, which Peek says will be easier on the joints and suitable for multi-sport use, including pickleball, spec tennis, croquet, bocce, and recreational activities like yoga, Pilates and tai chi.
There are already signs it’s working.
“We had two courts marked up a couple of weeks ago, and we were out there testing out different balls. The number of people walking down the street and into the club and asking, ‘Can I have a go? How do I book?’
“My bowlers are now getting into pickleball. The bowlers do their social bowls, and then half of them stayed and played for another two hours.”
This is an excerpt from an article published in Club Management Spring 2025. Read the full article below.