McDivot’s Indoor Sports Pub
11/30/2022
It’s Iowa. It’s winter. It’s cold and snowy. What can Iowans do to keep warm and dry during these dreary months? Here’s an idea. Head over to McDivot’s Indoor Sports Pub, where you’ll find indoor games, drinks and food.
Located just off Highway 141 in Grimes at 3390 S.E. Crossroads Drive, McDivot’s opened in August 2022.
The pub’s main attraction includes four HD sports simulators, where patrons can play golf or queue up 30 other virtual, hands-on games. Choose from traditional games, such as baseball and soccer, or try skeet shooting, dodgeball or carnival games.
The golf simulators are separate from the bar and down the hallway. On a Wednesday evening, all four simulators were full of golfers during golf league. Other players sat in the bar area with their golf club bags, awaiting an open course.
While sipping drinks in the bar, we heard the occasional flap, thud and whack of a ball hitting the durable fabric simulator. These players are using real golf clubs, while slicing, driving and chipping on a PGA championship golf course, such as Pebble Beach and Torrey Pines.
Golf league play is on Sundays through Thursdays, starting at 6 p.m. Other dates and times, including the weekends, can be reserved for games or golf.
High-top tables near the golf simulators mean players can sit, drinking their favorite beverage until it’s time to slice it. The course isn’t easy. The message on the simulator screen often warned the shot wasn’t valid. No cheating on this one — you can’t accidently nudge your ball two feet from the water hazard to get a better shot.
Get there early for happy hour from 3-6 p.m. for $1 off domestic beers, well drinks and specialty drinks. Daily specials include $1 off drinks for whiskey Wednesdays. Try a shaken old fashioned, poured over a giant ice cube, with fresh garnish for only $7.
The menu includes pizza, calzones and a half-dozen apps, including pretzels and nachos. The thin-crust pizzas are named after championship golf courses. For example, the Pebble Beach SOB included sausage, onion and bacon with a barbecue pizza sauce. Small pizzas run $14 while a 16-inch cost $22.
Besides the golf simulator, the bar area includes darts, televisions and a digital jukebox. Children are welcome until 9 p.m.
Co-owner Kyle Pieper worked in the golf and bar industry for 20 years and wanted to venture out on his own. He said the big draw is a realistic simulator.
“People like the fact that it’s a real golf course,” he said. “Bring your own clubs, or you can rent them from us.”
He chose the Grimes area as it was easily accessible from other parts of the metro.
“There’s a lot of growth in the north suburbs. We are a local business, and we support local,” he says.
A stroll toward the simulators sounded like a real golf course with a player’s running commentary after a bad shot. Nobody threw down a club, but they did slam down a shot. Wintertime in Iowa means creating your own fun. Find it at McDivot’s Indoor Sports Pub. ♦
