Building your own boccie court
John Paul Vyborny and his family discovered boccie ball while vacationing in the Bahamas many years ago.
When they returned home, they looked for boccie courts near their house in Tucson, Arizona. They located some near relatives in Michigan and at a favorite restaurant in California, but nothing convenient to home.
So, after recently moving into a house with a large backyard, Vyborny and his wife, Anna, now empty nesters, decided to install their own boccie court for entertaining friends and family. He developed the plans and found a contractor to help build it.
“It's a really nice social activity,” he said. “It's interactive. It's very easy to play.”
Landscaper Greg Rowland said he has seen a steady increase in customers asking for boccie courts.
“I have installed them from one end of Phoenix to the other. In the last six months, I've done more residential courts than in the last year and half,” said the owner of Grow Land landscaping firm. “A 4-year-old and an 84-year-old can play this game. It's a great intergenerational activity.”
Boccie involves two teams and nine balls. One player throws a small ball, called a pallino, down the court. Players then alternate tossing the other eight balls, which are about the size of a softball, trying to get as close as possible to the smaller ball. The person who throws the closest ball and his or her teammates whose balls are closer than their opponents earn points. The game, a popular past-time in Italy, has roots in ancient Egypt and the Roman Empire.
Boccie is catching on rapidly in this country, said Mario Pagnoni, author of “The Joy of Boccie” (Masters Press, 1995). “It is a wonderful game full of skill and strategy, one that requires finesse at times,” he said.
He noted that boccie courts are being added “in parks, retirement homes, condo complexes and in schools across the country.”
The game's appearance in public spaces, including restaurants and bars, has driven interest among do-it-yourselfers, said Felicia Feaster, managing editor at HGTV. Building a boccie court is “harder than a corn hole game but easier than a backyard bowling alley,” she said.
Numerous websites, including HGTV.com, PopularMechanics.com and HomeDepot.com, offer tutorials. Courts must be constructed on a level area and require three layers of material — usually a combination of rocks and a top coat made of crushed oyster shells, tennis court clay, sand, crushed stone or turf. Courts often have a drainage system and some sort of perimeter.
Tom McNutt, owner of Boccemon, a company that sells the crushed-oyster surface material, typically recommends building boccie courts about 10 by 60 feet. A do-it-yourself court can cost anywhere from $7 a square foot to twice that, depending on materials and how much site preparation is required, he said.
Landscapers and other professional installers can charge up to $25 a square foot, he said.
Do double- and triple-check all measurements.Do consider adding drainage if rain could create a perpetual boccie puddle.Do make sure you are building on a flat surface, and check levels periodically as you add materials.Do make sure the paver base and decomposed granite layers are deep enough to form a thick, solid base (3-4 inches).Don’t attempt a regulation boccie ball court, which is fairly enormous at 91-by-13 feet. Aim for a smaller court modified for a home setting. Courts can be any size.Don’t skip lining the court with weed cloth. It’s essential to ensure your court doesn’t become a weed garden.Don’t forget to seal wood with deck sealant for longevity.Source: Felicia Feaster, managing editor, HGTV
