BIZZ BUZZ
Wolfe Pickleball
One Paddle to Rule Them All
W
hen Wolfe Pickleball
started out, it was
much different than
it is today. The small
reseller that stocked
paddles from every
corner of the sport was doing well, but that old American
ingenuity crept into the mix and a new, more successful
direction started to form.
“We realized about five or six years ago that we could
make a paddle as good or better than the ones we were
carrying,” said Brian Longest, who helps run the family
business incorporated under his mother’s maiden name.
“My brother has an engineering background, so we
designed a 7-ply wooden paddle and started with that.”
Of course, while traditional, every player knows that
wooden paddles are heavy, require more power and trade
that power off for lost ball velocity. They have their fans,
no doubt, but the Wolfe Pickleball team knew they could
give players more.
“We evolved with the industry, which was migrating to
lighter, fiberglass-based paddles,” Longest said. “So we
came up with a series of three paddles that are lighter
composites. Our XL paddles with a larger head size, our
XF / X3 paddles, which are graphite and carbon fiber
composites, and our latest Pro XL Tournament paddle.
The goal was to focus on these three lines and make
them better and better year after year. We focus on
making a smaller selection of high-quality paddles, and
our philosophy is do one thing and do it well. Because,
in the end, if you make something the players don’t want
and you get some bad reviews, you’re done.”
So, to ensure that the company is offering customers
the best paddles it can create, Wolfe Pickleball employs
a blind quality test, working with 4.0 to 5.0 players. The
players demo the paddles without knowing the materials
and composition. Wolfe then analyzes the play and the
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player feedback from the demo sessions and adjusts
their models accordingly. All of its paddles are USAPA
tested and approved as well.
“By testing this way, we found a combination of
materials that gives people better net control and more
power at the baseline,” Longest said. “It solves the
problem of everyone having to cart around multiple
paddles in their bag. We have paddles that give them the
ability to play in any situation.”
This testing culminated directly in the
company’s new PRO XL paddle, which
has been over a year in the making.
“We made the perfect combination
of materials, with just the right
amount of surface grip to create a
Tournament Pro paddle,” Longest said.
“Anyone can use it, however, it’s of the
caliber that pros want and need.”
With a presence on Amazon,
Wolfe Pickleball products can
be found mostly at smaller,
tennis-oriented pro shops
and its own website. The
company has multiple
warehouses and can
scale up business at
a moment’s notice, but
prefer selling where staff is
more knowledgeable about the
product and can convey nuances
better.
The team has also redesigned the website,
WolfePickleball.com, and all of the paddles and
paddle packages can be found there, with more
information on the benefits of each. You can also
learn more about the company and their product line. •