Pickleball 365 serves up nonstop action in Fair Haven

Pickleball, a sport that mirrors tennis, is America’s fastest-growing sport, and Michiganders are loving it. In Fair Haven, Pickleball 365 is open all day, every day.

That has had tremendous appeal among local enthusiasts who’ve grown to love the sport.

“I’ve been playing pickleball for about four and a half years,” says Peggy Jones, a regular at Pickleball 365. “When this facility opened, it was a thrill because there aren’t too many options to play indoors in the winter. It’s always clean here. There are always friendly people. You always feel welcome here.”

The facility hosts three climate-controlled courts, each with a monitor and replay camera. The courts also have an automated scoreboard.

“Coming from a tennis background, when I came here and could see myself playing, I was surprised by some things,” Jones says. “It actually showed me details on my game that I really wasn’t expecting. The correction factor and self-evaluation is wonderful.”

The club membership is $29 per month and includes two free open-play sessions. The signature membership is $49 per month and includes four free open play sessions and one free court reservation. Club and Signature members also receive discounted access to leagues, tournaments, and invitations to exclusive events.

Guests are also invited to play for $12 a person over two hours. Patrons can sign up for courts through their app or online. Pickleball 365 is located at 10177 Marine City Hwy, Suite A, in Fair Haven.

How It All Began

Three years ago, the Co-Owner of Pickleball 365, Bob Lorincz, was gifted Pickleball paddles by his daughter’s boyfriend, Nathan VanBuskirk, for Christmas. He, his wife Deanna, his daughter Madison, and VanBuskirk began watching Pickleball on YouTube, and their interest went from zero to 100 almost instantly.

They also saw there was a real demand for a space to play Pickleball in their community.

“There were no real options to play indoors when you wanted to. We looked at various franchises in the pickleball space, and they were all million-dollar investments, and that wasn’t something we were willing to take on,” Lorincz says. “We thought about maybe doing something on a smaller scale with less risk. When I went to visit friends in Miami, they took me to a ping pong club that was a space where you could rent a table through its app.”

After a positive experience at the ping pong facility, the Lorincz family finally felt they had a business plan that could also work for pickleball. When they found the space in Fair Haven, they began equipping it with some of the features that made the aforementioned ping pong facility a hit.

Since its grand opening last April, the facility has nearly 300 members.

What’s Next for Pickleball 365

After launching the business with the Lorincz family, VanBuskirk stayed on as the head pro. He is focusing on keeping the community feel and recruiting the next generation of players.

“We have 10-12 coaches here, and we go to local parks to help introduce people in the community to the facility,” VanBuskirk says. 

The facility also started a youth program. Being right down the street from Anchor Bay High School, they are hoping to introduce the sport to local schools.

With so much success in their first year, Lorincz says they are already thinking of opening a second facility. But for now, they are excited to see it grow as more people become involved.

“The pickleball community believes in us and wants to play with us. We couldn’t be more thankful,” Lorincz says. “The biggest surprise has been because we are a smaller scale, it has given us a sense of community at our facility that doesn’t always happen at a bigger one. Anyone can play here.”