The Unexpected ‘Meeting Place’ For Business Executives That’s Quietly Replacing Golf Courses

In the corporate world, the golf course has long reigned supreme as the executive playground for wheeling and dealing. 

But if younger professionals have anything to say about it, the stuffy country club is starting to take a backseat to an unexpected meeting place at the intersection of business and pleasure.

There’s a new ‘meeting place’ for business executives that's quietly replacing the golf course.

Golf is a sport often associated with exclusivity, wealth, and business, but times are changing.

“There’s one sport you should be playing right now to build connections and [network] with founders,” business coach drooski.life shared on TikTok. “It might seem slow… but all successful people doing business are playing this sport.”

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Instead of bringing business executives to the golf course, there’s a new place emerging for team meetings: pickleball courts! Pickleball has been rapidly growing more popular across the country.

According to a 2023 report by the Association of Pickleball Professionals released exclusively to CNBC, nearly 37 million people played pickleball from August 2021 to August 2022, and those numbers are only growing.

Both easy to pick up and accessible for new players, pickleball has become the perfect alternative to golf. 

Business meetings on pickleball courts are the new office rage, especially for wealthier executives.

According to Bloomberg, golf courses are “out,” and pickleball courts are “in” when it comes to sports and business ventures. As the new hotspot for executives and meetings, pickleball courts are not only more accessible for non-golfers but more relaxed and comfortable for people not well-versed in “sports culture.”

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As the corporate world and stereotypes about executives shift in a more progressive sense, it only makes sense that their business settings would also change — making space for a more equitable and comfortable environment for everyone.

Pickleball courts provide the perfect solution to issues with hosting business meetings on a golf course. The sport is accessible to all fitness levels, it's fun and welcoming, and most importantly, for corporate purposes, it's much less expensive.

Not only is pickleball growing in popularity, but it’s also becoming a sport of the upper class.

While pickleball is growing in popularity and is generally liked by most athletes, there’s some negative discourse about its true accessibility, especially considering data that reveals its most common demographics and communities.

Often more prevalent in areas with a wealthier demographic, pickleball originally sparked popularity in older, healthier communities with players who had more free time.

The freedom of time, money, and health — especially in old age — is often associated inadvertently with wealth, meaning pickleball courts are concentrated in wealthier areas and less accessible to low-income communities. 

Considering paddles average around $100 and private clubs are becoming more common, many have a growing distaste for the sport.

So, while it might be a perfectly appropriate and accessible option for the changing nature of business, it could easily become as exclusive as traditional golf courses and country clubs if we’re not careful.

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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.