As you probably know, pickleball can be played indoors and outdoors. The first thing we think of when we imagine an outdoor pickleball court is that its surface is typically post-tension concrete or asphalt. Indoor courts, on the other hand, tend to be gym floors or even concrete. In a few rare cases such as the conversion of a warehouse into a pickleball court.
There’s another category that seems to be less frequent than the two mentioned above, which is a cushioned sports-court surface. This type of court surfaces can be found used for outdoor and indoor courts alike. This type of surfaces tends to be used when someone that has an unused sports court wants to reline it for pickleball.
The question at hand is whether a grass surface is appropriate for pickleball or not. Well, for you to play pickleball, you need a hard surface such as concrete that will allow the ball to bounce. As long as you’re playing on a hard surface, it doesn’t really matter what the material is. Some tend to be preferred over others, of course, but this doesn’t mean you can’t play on the less-preferred ones.
Back to grass. If you can somehow get a compacted, hard surface out of grass, then go ahead. However, keep in mind that the bouncing of the ball will not be very consistent compared to an asphalt or concrete surface. Also, we can’t really think of a way to make grass hard enough for pickleball playing. So unless you have a solution for that, grass isn’t appropriate for pickleball.
Although this group probably won’t be competing in the USA Pickleball National Championships, it looks like their backyard pickleball game on grass is quite a good time:
Setting Up A Temporary Pickleball Court
If you’re bummed out that you can’t set up a pickleball court in your backyard because it’s full of grass, no worries. You can set up a temporary court on a plain asphalt or concrete surface. You only need a measuring tape, some chalk, and a piece of string. Let’s get started.
The first thing you need to do is find a flat, compacted surface that’s large enough to take a 20 x 44 foot court. Here’s a pickleball court diagram to help you out.
If you’re playing for fun and don’t really care about the basic size of the court, you can go for a smaller area. The next thing you want to do is set up a temporary net in the middle.
Now, grab your measuring tape and place its start a foot away from the end of the net and then move 22 feet in a perpendicular fashion from the net. The side of the court is now formed and it ends at the baseline. You can replace the measuring tape with a piece of string if you don’t want to keep it there.
Your next step should be measure 20 feet perpendicularly to where you’ve left the tape or piece of string. This measurement is the length of the court’s baseline. Now you want to measure from the end of the baseline back to the temporary net. Keep adjusting the measuring tape or the string until the court is shaped like a square.
Now that the layout of the court is apparent, grab a piece of chalk and draw along the outside of each measure tape or piece of string. Place a mark at the halfway point of your baseline as you draw it.
The next step is to identify the non-volley zone. You do that by walking the baseline measuring tape or string towards the net until you stop at 7 feet away from the net. Proceed by marking the line. Now measure halfway along the net and place another mark. From that mark, measure to the halfway mark you’ve left on the baseline.
Finally, you have to mark a line from the very end of the non-volley line to the baseline. This is going to be your court alleys. Now, all you need to do is repeat the same process for the other side of the court. Then you’re ready to play pickleball with your friends.
Conclusion
Sadly,