Pirate Island (Avalon)

Pirate Island (Avalon)    2738 Dune Dr, Avalon, NJ 08202

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

Pirate Island is a standard pirate-themed course with a couple locations along the Jersey Shore. We occasionally have taken a trip through Avalon when we vacation at the shore during the summer, and decided to play this location for the first time.

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 layout at Pirates almost alway features some larger waterfalls, as well a second level and a suspension bridge. At this location, the greens felt a little bit longer, but we benefited from having nobody else on the course when we played. We count only one “hit it in the box for a hole in one” type of hole here, but there are other opportunities for an ace if you use some good putting skills. The course is in very good shape, although it does rely on the cheaper carpet rather than the more expensive turf. The Avalon courses relies on normal construction bricks, but not all of them have their gaps filled in.

We rank this overall the same as it’s other location as it’s still a very good course, but doesn’t break into our top echelon. However, we upgraded the creativity because we liked that the course didn’t feel like it was the exact same in a different place. There were definitely “types” of holes, but you could play both in a day and definitely wouldn’t be bored. However, we took our pricing rating down because this course came in at a whooping $14.95/person. Luckily, we had a free game and a coupon, but that is still awfully steep for the Jersey Shore.

Unfortunately, our leader for much of the game choked on the final three holes, and our victor ended up with a 40 with 2 aces (the same as our victor from the Pirate Island in Ocean City). Par was 38 again, and if they really wanted to, there are some holes where they could bump the par, but that is only really for the people who pay attention to that.