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Pétanque in the Carolinas and Atlanta
Two networks, more than a dozen venues and almost all of it free to play. They meet once a year in Asheville to settle which is better.
Two networks cover the inland Southeast. Carolina Pétanque runs more than 125 players across satellite venues in two states, and the Atlanta Pétanque League coordinates four venues in one metro.
Almost all of it is free to play, and the two networks meet once a year in Asheville.
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125+ players
The Carolina network
Carolina Pétanque has no single home ground. It runs play at satellite venues across North Carolina and into South Carolina.
| Venue | Where | When | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miller Park | Winston-Salem, NC | Sundays 1pm, lessons 12:30pm | Free | 2500 Queen St. The original venue, and the easiest first visit in the network |
| RendezVous | Asheville, NC | Wednesday lessons from 5pm, Friday Cocktail Pétanque | Free to play | 184 New Haw Creek Rd. Eight regulation courts at chef Michel Baudouin’s French restaurant |
| Pullen Park | Raleigh, NC | Fridays 5pm to 7pm at Shelter 2 | Free if unreserved | 520 Ashe Ave. Three courts of about 26 meters, opened April 2025, which can be set as six shorter ones |
| Alliance Française | Raleigh, NC | 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 9:30am to noon | Free | 6320 Pleasant Pines Drive |
| Wine Authorities | Raleigh, NC | 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 10:30am to 12:30pm | Free | 211 E. Franklin St |
| Other satellites | Across NC | Varies | Free | Burnsville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Hickory, Hildebran, Kernersville, Lexington, Lincolnton and Spruce Pine. Morganton is temporarily closed after Hurricane Helene damage |
If you have never played. Miller Park in Winston-Salem, Sundays at 1pm, with a short lesson at 12:30pm for anyone who has not played.
Boules are provided, it costs nothing and there is no requirement to join anything.
Seven club members qualified as Level 1 CIEP coaches at a course held at RendezVous, which is unusual depth of instruction for a regional network.
Four venues
Atlanta
The Atlanta Pétanque League coordinates four venues across the metro. Peter Gibson founded it in 2018.
| Venue | Where | When | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marietta DDF Club | Marietta, GA | Summer Sat 10am to 1pm and Thu 5pm to 8pm; winter Sat 2pm to 7pm and Thu 4pm to 6pm | Douceur de France, 277 South Marietta Pkwy SW. Purpose-built terrain with a restaurant and bathrooms on site |
| Hanover West Boules Club | Buckhead, Atlanta | Most Saturdays 10am to 12:30pm and most Sundays around 1pm to 4pm | A quiet cul-de-sac under shade trees. Free instruction, and loaner boules with notice |
| Milton | Milton, GA | Summer Sat 9am to 1pm and Thu 5pm to 8pm; winter Sat 2pm to 5pm and Thu 4pm to 6pm | Bell Memorial Park, 15245 Bell Park Dr |
| RRP Club | Lawrenceville, GA | Summer Fri and Sat 6pm to 8pm; winter Fri and Sat 5pm to 7pm | Ronald Reagan Park, 2777 Five Forks Trickum Rd |
Casual play is free at league venues. Membership costs $70 a year and includes the FPUSA license needed for sanctioned competition.
Times change between summer and winter at most venues, so check the league’s current schedule before setting out.
Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee
Athens, Aiken and Bell Buckle
Classic City Pétanque, Athens
An independent club playing at the Lay Park pétanque terrain, 297 Hoyt Street, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Play starts at 10am in hot weather and moves to the afternoon when it cools. Loaner boules available.
It formed after Le Boule Dawgs, a University of Georgia group, went inactive. It now wins FPUSA hosting rights: four events in 2026, including the Southeast Regional Mixed Triples and the National Women’s Triples.
Aiken, South Carolina
The Atomic Boule Club, also called the Aiken and CSRA Pétanque Club, plays Wednesdays at 7pm at the Odell Weeks Recreation Area in Virginia Acres Park.
It sits on the Georgia border opposite Augusta, roughly midway between the two networks.
Bell Buckle, Tennessee
The Bell Buckle Pétanque Club, an FPUSA club in the Mid-America region, plays on the terrain in Bell Buckle Park, which takes four games at once. The village is about an hour southeast of Nashville.
Members turned an old shop into an indoor boulodrome, so Sunday games go ahead rain or shine. The club started in 2016.
2026
The 2026 calendar
Carolina Pétanque and Classic City Pétanque hosted seven FPUSA events between them in 2026.
| Date | Event | Host | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 2 to 3 | Southeast Regional Mixed Triples | Classic City, Athens GA | Regional |
| May 22 to 24 | Carolina Challenge | Miller Park, Winston-Salem | Club, three days |
| May 23 | Mid-America Regional Select Doubles | Carolina Pétanque, Winston-Salem | Regional |
| June 6 | Southeast Regional Women’s Doubles | Classic City, Athens GA | Regional |
| June 7 | Southeast Regional Women’s Singles | Classic City, Athens GA | Regional |
| June 13 to 14 | World Championship Women’s Doubles Qualifier | Carolina Pétanque, Winston-Salem | Worlds qualifier |
| August 8 to 9 | Mid-America Regional Select Triples | Carolina Pétanque, Asheville | Regional |
| September 19 | National Women’s Triples | Classic City, Athens GA | National championship |
| September 20 | Classic City Select Triples Open | Lay Park, Athens GA | Club, $105 per team |
The Asheville versus Atlanta Cup is played at RendezVous each spring. The full national calendar is on our events page.
Background
Why Greensboro matters
One person moving a business to North Carolina in 2006 explains most of what exists here now.
Pétanque America
Philippe Boets, a Belgian-American, founded Pétanque America after arriving in Florida around 1991 and ran it from the Miami area. He moved it to Greensboro in 2006.
A common version of this story says the company was founded in Greensboro. It was not; it moved there.
Carolina Pétanque
Gary and Shirley Jones had discovered the game camping in Florida in 2004. Boets suggested forming a club, and Carolina Pétanque was founded in 2007 with nine members, Boets among them.
The network grew outward from Winston-Salem to more than a dozen venues.
And then Florida
Boets moved Pétanque America again in June 2009, to Fernandina Beach, arriving with 15,000 pounds of boules. He founded the Amelia Island Open there the same year.
That tournament is now the largest in the country, covered in our central and Gulf Florida page.
Common questions
Questions about pétanque in the Carolinas and Atlanta
What is Carolina Pétanque?
A network of more than 125 players across North and South Carolina, founded in 2007 and registered as a nonprofit. It runs play at satellite venues rather than from one home ground.
Nine people founded it, among them Philippe Boets, who had moved his company Pétanque America to Greensboro the year before.
Where is the easiest place to start?
Miller Park in Winston-Salem, 2500 Queen St. Play runs Sundays at 1pm with a short lesson at 12:30pm for anyone new, boules provided, no cost and no requirement to join.
Call Preston on 336-486-1284 if you want to say you are coming.
Where can I play in Asheville?
RendezVous, the French restaurant at 184 New Haw Creek Rd, which has eight regulation courts. Lessons run Wednesdays from about 5pm and Friday is Cocktail Pétanque with the outdoor bar open.
Chef-owner Michel Baudouin is one of seven Carolina Pétanque members certified as Level 1 coaches in a CIEP course held there.
What are the new Raleigh courts?
Three courts at Pullen Park, 520 Ashe Ave, each about 26 meters long and able to be set as six shorter ones. They had a grand opening on April 2, 2025.
They are free to use when nobody has reserved them. Carolina Pétanque plays there Fridays from 5pm to 7pm at Shelter 2.
Where can I play in Atlanta?
The Atlanta Pétanque League runs four venues. The most active is the Marietta DDF Club at Douceur de France, 277 South Marietta Pkwy SW, with a purpose-built terrain and a restaurant on site.
Hanover West in Buckhead plays most Saturdays and Sundays, offers free instruction and will lend boules with notice.
What does it cost?
Nothing at most venues. Winston-Salem, Asheville, Marietta and Hanover West are all free for casual play, and Pullen Park is free when unreserved.
Atlanta Pétanque League membership is $70 a year and includes the FPUSA license, which you need for sanctioned competition.
What is the Asheville versus Atlanta Cup?
An annual club-versus-club tournament between Carolina Pétanque and the Atlanta Pétanque League, hosted at RendezVous in Asheville. Carolina took the most recent one 39 wins to 25.
It is the most consistent club rivalry in the inland Southeast.
Is there pétanque in South Carolina?
A little. The Atomic Boule Club, also known as the Aiken and CSRA Pétanque Club, plays every Wednesday at 7pm at the Odell Weeks Recreation Area in Virginia Acres Park, Aiken.
It sits on the Georgia border across from Augusta, between the Carolina and Atlanta networks. The Alliance Française de Charleston also hosts monthly games in Mount Pleasant and Summerville.
Why does Greensboro matter to US pétanque?
Philippe Boets moved Pétanque America there in 2006, and suggested forming a club, which became Carolina Pétanque in 2007.
He moved the company on to Fernandina Beach in Florida in June 2009, where he founded the Amelia Island Open. The company was not originally founded in Greensboro, which is a common error.
What tournaments run here in 2026?
Carolina Pétanque hosted the Mid-America Regional Select Doubles at Winston-Salem in May and the Select Triples at Asheville in August, plus the Women’s Doubles World Championship Qualifier in June.
In Georgia, Classic City Pétanque in Athens held the Southeast Regional Mixed Triples in May, the Southeast Regional Women’s Doubles and Singles in June and the National Women’s Triples in September.
Elsewhere in the US
Other American regions
Twelve regional pages cover the United States.
Know an inland Southeast group we have missed?
Satellite venues here change often. Send the details.
Pétanque, once a month
Club spotlights, new court listings, equipment notes and events across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Free. One click to leave.
Overview
- Carolina Pétanque: 125+ players, founded 2007
- Atlanta league: four venues, founded 2018
- Most courts: RendezVous, Asheville, eight
- Newest courts: Pullen Park, Raleigh, April 2025
- Cost: free at most venues
- Atlanta membership: $70 a year
- 2026 FPUSA events: seven across both states
- Certified coaches: seven, trained at Asheville
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