An active team day: combining golf and pickleball
By Bojan & Victor ·
· 3 min read
A sports day for your team sounds great, until you realise that half your colleagues are not sporty. Football or a bootcamp is then out of the question. Golf and pickleball do not have that problem: everyone can join in, whatever their age or fitness. And together they make a sports day in which a larger group is active at the same time.
Why this combination works
Golf is calm and precise. One person at a time, the rest watch and cheer. It is all about technique and concentration.
Pickleball is active and social. You play with two or four players at once on a small court, with a paddle and a light plastic ball. It is easy to learn and within a few minutes you have your first rallies going.
Together they complement each other:
- More people active at once. While part of the group plays golf, the rest play pickleball. Then you swap.
- Something for every type of colleague. The competitive athlete finds their way on the pickleball court, the quieter colleague has a go at nearest to the pin.
- Two chances to win. Whoever has a bad golf day can make up for it at pickleball, and vice versa.
What is pickleball?
Pickleball is a racket sport that is like a mix of tennis, padel and table tennis. You play on a court about the size of a badminton court, with a net in the middle. The paddles are small and the ball is light, so the rallies are not too fast. That makes it fun for beginners right away.
Golf op Locatie is part of Pickleball Pros, which provides pickleball on location for corporate events, trade shows and sports events. We arrange both sports on one day ourselves.
An example programme
For a group of 30 to 40 colleagues, an afternoon of three hours:
| Time | Group A | Group B |
|---|---|---|
| 13:00 | Welcome and instructions | Welcome and instructions |
| 13:15 | Golf: warm-up and nearest to the pin | Pickleball: instructions and first games |
| 14:15 | Pickleball: instructions and first games | Golf: warm-up and nearest to the pin |
| 15:15 | Finals: golf matchplay and pickleball tournament | |
| 15:45 | Prize-giving and drinks |
With around 30 people per hour on the golf simulator, all golfers get plenty of turns this way. Read more about the challenges in rules for longest drive, nearest to the pin and matchplay.
A ranking across two sports
Make it extra exciting with a combined ranking:
- divide the group into teams of four to six people;
- points for the best golf shot per team (nearest to the pin, longest drive);
- points for pickleball matches won;
- the team with the most points wins the prize of the day.
That way colleagues who normally never talk work together. And if someone hits a hole-in-one on the simulator, they win a green fee of their choice at a Dutch golf course.
What do you need?
For the golf simulator:
- a flat area of about 3 by 5 metres;
- indoors, a ceiling height of at least 3 metres;
- a power socket within 25 metres.
For pickleball:
- a flat, hard surface of about 7 by 15 metres per court, such as a sports hall, car park or tennis court.
No suitable space? Then we can help find an external venue, possibly combined with food and drinks.
At trade shows too
The combination also works as a trade show activation. A golf simulator and a pickleball court on or next to your stand draw plenty of attention. Read more in trade show activation with a golf simulator.
What does it cost?
For the golf simulator you pay €650 (set-up & take-down) or €800 (fully hosted with challenges) per event, excluding VAT and travel costs (€0.25 per km). For the combination with pickleball we put together a tailored quote.
Organising a sports day?
Request a free quote and mention that you would like to combine golf and pickleball, with an indication of the group size. Or first read how to use a golf simulator at your corporate event.