Flood gates in storm surge barriers or outlet sluices can be prone to violent wave impacts. When an obstruction is present at the sea side above the gate, confinement of the incoming waves can lead to impulsive wave loads, even when the waves are non-breaking. The large loads can increase the stresses in the gate and structure considerably. One of the measures that is often discussed to relieve the pressures of these impacts is to apply small openings in the gates. In this paper the potential effect of these venting holes on the wave impact loads is determined. The decrease in impact pressure impulse is determined for a range of venting hole geometries is determined by numerical 2D and 3D solutions of a schematized wave impact. In this model the pressure impulse P (integral of the local pressure over the small impact duration) is determined directly by the so-called pressure impulse theory. The potential decrease in pressure impulse due to wave impacts is presented. Moreover, some initial CFD modelling is applied, and the applicability of the pressure impulse theory is discussed.