Columbia County now home to decked out indoor pickleball court

MARTINEZ, Ga. (WJBF) – What experts call the fastest growing sport in America now has its first indoor facility in Columbia County.

Since its grand opening on Monday, Dink’d Pickleball has been offering a variety of services for pickleball players in the community – especially for those wanting to beat the summer heat.

Located beside the new hardware store on 500 Fury’s Ferry Road, Dink’d has nine courts, a full service kitchen and bar, a pro shop, a ping pong corner, event spaces and more.

“Really wanted to offer something special to the Augusta community since there’s so many pickleball players in the area,” said Joe Clemente, the COO of Dink’d.

It offers memberships, open play, clinics and lessons. If you don’t have your own equipment, they got you covered.

“We really want to teach people how to play, like the rules, the scoring, the procedure, how to stand. We’ll go over all that stuff,” said Vu Nguyen, the Head Pro at Dink’d. “You can go online to our website and figure out when those classes are and just sign up.”

“Augusta has needed this for a long time. Dink’d checks all the boxes, it has all the things that other venues have all put together,” said pickleball player Anne Rheins. “It has the outdoor court surfaces without the outdoor elements.”

Rheins has been playing and teaching pickleball since 2015, introducing the sport to people like Kati Smallwood.

“My favorite thing about pickleball is that it’s a sport for really anyone – any shape, size, age, background,” Smallwood said.

Staff and players at Dink’d hope its impacts will be extensive: an economic boost to the shopping center, good exercise and a place to build bonds.

“To have a facility like this in the area is just gonna serve the pickleball community, and the community as a whole as a fun entertainment option for people to come out and learn the sport, Clemente said. “And I guarantee you’ll fall in love with it.”

Dink’d’s and Fury’s Ferry Hardware’s open house is on Saturday from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Anyone can come in to play for free, eat and socialize. For more information on Dink’d’s memberships, hours and court bookings, click here.