Wednesday, November 06, 2019

A visit to The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Checking out The Floodgate, a new experiential entertainment venue in Digbeth.


The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Last Wednesday I headed down to Birmingham to check out the new indoor entertainment venue at the Custard Factory in Digbeth.


Bleachers baseball, Pit-Pat table golf and Curl Club curling at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

The Floodgate is home to three activities - indoor baseball batting cages, curling and Pit-Pat table golf.


The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

As a BIG fan of all things minigolf-related my main interest was the Pit-Pat table golf.

Pit-Pat table golf at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat is similar to crazy golf in that you have to play over, up, through and around different obstacles on each of the tables. The main difference though is that you use a cue rather than a club.

Pit-Pat table golf at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

After checking out the baseball cages in the main bar area I walked through a corridor to find the curling rink.

Baseball at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham
The baseball batting cage

Curling at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham
Curling

A little further down the corridor was a sign for Pit-Pat and then to the left was a doorway into the Pit-Pat course.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

The Pit-Pat layout is split into three, with most of the tables in one large retro graffiti art covered room. The tables have been UV painted and so there's a nice glow-in-the dark look to it.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Table 12 can be found all on its own in a very cool black & white room. The mono look is a very nice contrast to the UV sections.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Tables 13 to 18 then follow, with more graffiti art on the walls and some tricky obstacles including a bridge, ramp & net, pipes and a loop-di-loop to tackle.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

It was brilliant to be the first person to play the UK's first and only indoor UV Pit-Pat Table Golf course. I had five rounds at The Floodgate, scoring 47, 51, 37, 34 and 36. I was very happy with my rounds in the 30s and the 34 was very sweet as I shot four aces.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

I'd previously played Pit-Pat at the UK's only previous course back in 2014. Sadly that course in Littlehampton became a lost course a couple of years ago.

As I was leaving to catch my train back home the Pit-Pat area began to fill up with more players taking to the tables.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham
This is a nice obstacle and hole to play into

It was nice to see people enjoying the batting cages and curling too, along with the street food and well stocked bar.

Pit-Pat at The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham
Table 18

Check out The Floodgate website for more information, opening times and prices.

The Floodgate in Digbeth, Birmingham
The Floodgate is housed in this old building built in 1938

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