Batt-N-Putt, a fixture along Dixie Highway, closes indefinitely after string of break-ins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tears welled up in Jason Gagel's eyes as he listened to his father repeat the news about their beloved family business. 

After nearly a half-century on Dixie Highway, Batt-N-Putt has no plans of reopening due to a string of break-ins over the past month. The business fell victim to an estimated $30,000 to $40,000 in theft and vandalism, according to owner David Gagel. 

"It makes me sad," he said Thursday. "All the work we put in here, and to see the destructive behavior somebody come in here and did, it’s a real sad, gut-wrenching feeling that somebody would be that destructive and do what they’ve done.”

Closed since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Batt-N-Putt sat empty with "no problems" until Feb. 8, David Gagel said. That's when his son noticed the doors to the family's business had been left open and knew something was off. 

The small office where patrons receive their putters for a round of golf had been ransacked. The business' security system and stereo/PA system were gone, along with $2,000 worth of tools, according to David Gagel. Lawnmowers, a pressure washer and other other equipment also turned up missing.

Past rows of batting cages, graffiti remains scrawled across the walls of the arcade. Inside, more than a dozen lifeless games sit collecting dust. Many, like the Skee-Ball machines, were harvested for electronics. 

"They basically destroyed every game that I got back there," David Gagel said. "Even through they’re still sitting there — they didn’t steal them — they ruined them."

Thieves also swiped a cardboard cutout of Michael Jordan — arguably the business' most famous patron — that David Gagel said was worth worth hundreds of dollars. Jordan once played a round of mini golf at Batt-N-Putt during the 1980s and while he was there posed for a picture with founder Norm Gagel, David's father.

When Batt-N-Putt was open, the picture hung on a wall overlooking the slower-speed batting cages next to a sign that reads, "Michael Jordan played golf here." The picture was not taken during the break-in, because David Gagel took it home with him after shutting down the business at the start of the pandemic. 

"I didn’t want it over here," he said.

Batt-N-Putt was hit again by theft and vandalism on Feb. 9 and Tuesday, March 2, David Gagel said. Because the business' security system was stolen, no surveillance footage of the incidents is available. 

"I had cameras," David Gagel said. "They took my main unit in there that would record all of this stuff."

Louisville Metro Police responded to the first break-in and has since asked the Batt-N-Putt owner to file a report with the department electronically. Authorities have also said they will try to increase patrols in the area at night, according to the Gagel family. 

David Gagel has not yet heard back from the insurance company after it surveyed the damage. At age 68 — and with a "For Sale" sign sitting in front of the business for the past three years — he said the reopening cost is simply too high after a year of lost revenue. 

"It’s costing me about $16,000 a year just to sit here between taxes, insurance costs (and) MSD, so I lowered (the insurance premium)," David Gagel said. "I probably got about $15,000 worth of insurance I may recoup.

"... Up till they come in here and did this, I was kinda on the fence of what to do," he added. "But because of the virus, I would have had to clean every putter, every ball, and I don’t think the public was getting out enough. It would have cost me money to come over here every day. I’d have been spending money to come here and put my time into operating this business."

Billed as the first batting cages in Louisville, Batt-N-Putt has entertained thousands since Norm Gagel opened the business on his family's land along Dixie Highway in 1972.

Reflecting on his family's business Thursday, Jason Gagel said his grandfather built Batt-N-Putt "to serve the community." As much as he would love to buy the property at 5208 Dixie Hwy. and take the reins from his father, he said the price tag is just too high, especially now after the break-ins. 

"It could have been passed down to me," he said. 

Batt-N-Putt sponsored countless youth sports teams, according to Jason Gagel, and also served as a field trip destination for area schools. Members of Valley Sports' 2002 all-star team would regularly take batting practice at the cages during their run to a Little League World Series championship. 

If you have any information related to the break-ins at Batt-N-Putt, call LMPD's tip line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Callers can remain anonymous. 

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