Pirate Island (Ocean City)

Pirate Island (Ocean City)    112 E 9th St, Ocean City, NJ 08226

Note: Since Pirate Island has multiple locations, you may see similar material in this review that is in the reviews for other locations in Avalon & Sea Isle City.

Pirate Island is a standard pirate-themed course with a couple locations along the Jersey Shore. We’ve just recently started playing the one in Ocean City more, and lovingly refer to it as the “town course” as it is the only mini golf in Ocean City not on the boardwalk, at least until a new one is scheduled to open up next year.

There is nothing particularly flashy about the Pirate Island courses, but they certainly aren’t basic or boring. Similar to Arnold’s in Cape Cod, while they call it a pirate-themed, the only real pirate accessory is the ship, which only comes into play on the 18th hole (but is clearly visible from the street). There are a couple hidden gems in the walls and caves, but it’s doesn’t lean into the theme as much as Pirate’s Cove. The course also benefits from being right near the bridge as you come into Ocean City, and you can see most of the holes from the street as well.

The course layout at Pirates almost alway features some larger waterfalls, as well a second level and a suspension bridge. We would say that the hole lengths are medium, enough that there are some definite hole in one opportunities but few are guaranteed. The course is in very good shape, although it does rely on the cheaper carpet rather than the more expensive turf. The Ocean City version also uses bricks similar to the Harris style.

This may not be a glowing review, but we do really enjoy that Pirates is just a totally different kind of course from the ones on the boardwalk in Ocean City, and we think it might actually be one of the better, if not the best, course in OC. The only thing that gives us some pause is the price, which at Ocean City is $12.95 a person. There are $1/person off coupons in almost every guide book, but even still, that is also the most expensive in Ocean City. Par for the course is 38, which is exceedingly difficult in our opinion. In a very tough game with two aces, our winner came out with a 40.