The voluminous discussions about pickle balls that took place in 2016 continues into 2017. They ranged from: 

‘Which pickle ball is quiet?’ Though why would players want a quiet pickle ball? Pickle balls should be noisy. 

'Does the ball bounce too high and reduce the value of the 3rd shot?’  ‘Is the pickle ball too hard so that it stings in cold weather when a player is hit?’ Alas, after much ado, it appears nothing is settled and no one has come up with the perfect pickle ball.  

However, one area of the pickle ball debate upon which most players agree is the color of the ball. In informal surveys undertaken by me during 2016, a variety of popular and different colored pickle balls were placed on the court. A vote for the favorite was undertaken. The outcome? Out of more than 100 players asked which colored ball they favored, a stunning 70+ chose the neon-green pickle ball. Why? Players like the color. The neon-green seems to be a “fun” color. The glow of the neon-green is easier to see than other colored balls when playing in the late afternoon/early evening or under other low-light conditions. 

Several manufacturers released neon-green pickle balls within the last two years. Though it was stated that these balls were tournament ready, they simply were not. The neon-green balls arrived, were put to the test and failed to hold up. Thus, the supply of neon-green balls exited stage door left and today we are still playing with with non-neon-green pickle balls.  

Back in the lab. Dura, Franklin, Onix, Paddletek, Wilson and others are having a pickleball competition of their own. Who can come-up with a neon-green pickle ball that holds-up, keeps it's shape, has a legal bounce and a reasonable price? Pickleball players are waiting...