PINEHURST, N.C. (WNCN) – The view over Watson Lake at the Country Club of North Carolina is awesome for both golf and soon for the sport of pickleball.

“We have a spectacular setting here,” said Country Club of North Carolina Director of Wellness Alan Van Vliet. “It’s on a hillside overlooking a lake. It’s probably going to be one of the nicest courts in the country.”

The Pinehurst country club is building four pickleball courts for the fastest-growing sport in the nation. Still, some have yet to hear of it.

“A lot of people, they’ve never heard of pickleball. They say, ‘Well what’s that?,'” said professional Pickleball player Corrine Carr.

Pickleball is a cross between tennis, badminton, and ping pong. It’s played with a paddle and a wiffle ball. Four pickleball courts can fit on one tennis court.

The game is usually played with four players with two on a side. The first to 11 wins. But, there’s one thing that separates this sport from, say, tennis.

“There’s something very, very magical about the crack of well-struck golf ball or tennis ball. And the pickleball, with the whiffle ball and the paddle, everybody cracks the ball. There’s something very mesmerizing about it,” said Van Vliet.

The sound of paddle to wiffle ball is unique. So is the smaller court, which benefits older players. But don’t think for a minute young people aren’t playing the game. Many of them are former tennis players.

“I think those who have maybe taken a lot of tennis lessons and it just never happened for them, they just never became good tennis players,” said Carr. “I think they will try pickleball and falling in love with it.”

And that appears to be the case. The transition to the game usually is a smooth one.

“You can really pick up and start playing right away without a lot of skill,” said Van Vliet. “Tennis can take years and years to play at a proficient level. Basically you can get out on the pickleball court and play right away.”

“I think the hardest part of Pickleball is getting people to try it,” admitted Carr. “Once they try it, most get hooked.”

And the view is not too bad either.