Why padel is the next chapter for country clubs

Brock Orlowski has spent his career at the heart of American club racquet sports. Now he's putting his voice behind what he believes comes next for the country club sector: padel.

Brock is Director of Racquet Sports at Fort Wayne Country Club, sits on the RSPA Midwest board, was named a 2025 RSPA Top Education Earner, and has twice been named Indiana Professional of the Year (2023 and 2026). He's now taken on a fractional advisory role with Off The Glass, focused on helping country clubs adopt padel. He remains full-time at Fort Wayne Country Club.

Country clubs have been here before

Tennis became a cornerstone amenity for generations of members. Pickleball went from novelty to expectation in just a few years.

Padel is on the same path. It's social, it's accessible, and it's built for doubles play, which is exactly what club life is about. Brock's mission is to help clubs see that opportunity early, and to help build a strong foundation for the sport in America.

A big opportunity, still mostly untapped

There are an estimated 4,000 private golf and country clubs in the United States, with more than two million members between them. Yet only around 1% currently offer padel.

That gap is the opportunity. The clubs that move early get to shape how padel fits into their programming, rather than playing catch-up once members start asking for it.

"A question of when, not if"

For Brock, this is about growing the game.

"I've watched first hand how tennis and then pickleball reshaped club life, and there's no doubt to me that padel is the next phase," he said. "It's a question of when, not if, we see the country club sector build out padel for its members at scale."

So why Off The Glass?

"For me to realize this ambition, working with an American manufacturer that builds everything here, isn't exposed to tariffs, and has the intense knowledge of the US domestic landscape, was a no brainer," Brock said. "The long-term thinking that Brevin and his team have for the industry is what drew me to Off The Glass."

Clubs think in decades

For Off The Glass co-founder Brevin Bennett, country clubs will be central to how padel grows in America.

"Padel's growth in America depends on getting the foundations right, and country clubs will be central to that," said Brevin. "Clubs think in decades, not seasons, and so do we. Brock is one of the most credible voices in racquet sports, and his commitment to education is exactly what the industry needs as padel takes its rightful place alongside tennis and pickleball."

About Off The Glass

Off The Glass is an Indiana-based padel court manufacturer and the only US company producing all court components, including steel and glass, domestically. Every court is engineered as a long-term asset, built to account for wind loads, permitting, installation and site conditions, and backed by responsive lifecycle support. Find out more at offtheglass.com