Checking out The Floodgate, a new experiential entertainment venue in Digbeth.
Last Wednesday I headed down to Birmingham to check out the new indoor entertainment venue at the Custard Factory in Digbeth.
The Floodgate is home to three activities - indoor baseball batting cages, curling and Pit-Pat table golf.
As a BIG fan of all things minigolf-related my main interest was the Pit-Pat table golf.
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.
After checking out the baseball cages in the main bar area I walked through a corridor to find the curling rink.
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| The baseball batting cage |
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| 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| 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.
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| Table 18 |
Check out
The Floodgate website for more information, opening times and prices.
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| The Floodgate is housed in this old building built in 1938 |
.JPG "The Hindernis Billard layout at the Askoe Wien Wasserpark in Vienna, Austria (March 2010)")
.JPG "Western Putting (and Pit-Pat) in Littlehampton (April 2012)")
+Minigolf.JPG "Crazy Snooker cue and carry-case in hand and ready to play Pit-Pat")
+Minigolf.JPG "A view of the Pit-Pat course in Littlehampton")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily sets up the skittles on table 1!")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily lines-up a shot on hole 2")
+Minigolf.JPG "Hole / Table 2")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily plays up a ramp obstacle")
+Minigolf.JPG "Western Putting on Banjo Road in Littlehampton is also home to a Swedish Felt type of Minigolf course and a grass Putting Green")
+Minigolf.JPG "Emily shoots the green ball over a little ramp and onto a bigger one")
+Minigolf.JPG "The Pipe hole - often my nemesis on Eternit Miniature Golf...")
+Minigolf.JPG "...and no different on Pit-Pat as it was my worst hole!")
+Minigolf.JPG "The specialist Pit-Pat balls in their little red carry-case")
+Minigolf.JPG "The green Pit-Pat ball is a bit of a dead ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The bouncy yellow Pit-Pat ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The slightly squidgy purple Pit-Pat ball")
+Minigolf.JPG "The Red one")