Can tree lines or water fountains effectively block pickleball sound?

A widespread landscaping myth asserts that planting a row of arborvitae, cedar hedges, or installing decorative water fountains will resolve court noise disputes. Acoustic physics demonstrates that sparse vegetation only scatters high frequencies and attenuates sound by less than 1 dBA per 100 feet of dense forest. Foliage provides 'psychological screening' (out of sight, out of mind), but does not stop sound waves. Water features produce broadband low-frequency white noise that cannot mask sharp 1.5 kHz impulse peaks. Solid mass—concrete walls, earthen berms, or mass-loaded vinyl curtains—remains the only viable engineering remedy.