Lighthouse Cove (Jupiter)

Lighthouse Cove Adventure Golf   617 North Highway A1A Jupiter, FL 33477

Lighthouse Cove inn Jupiter has a fascinating connection with nearby PopStroke facilities, and while it doesn’t offer that synthetic turf and sleek shimmer, it does make a suitable Jersey shore style course in this Florida town.

Lighthouse Cove was actually founded by Patty Bartoli in 2014, but it looked a lot simpler back then. What is very interesting is that Bartoli’s husband is Greg Bartoli, a former Wall Street executive and founder of PopStroke (which first opened in 2018). It’s hard to tell where the companies come together, or what influences one has on the other (their scorecards and website are extremely similar), but it appears Patty was in the business first.

There are some similarities. Both offer beverage delivery to your spot on the course through an app. They both have a packed restaurant and ice cream shop. And even traditional grass is replaced by lush turf in the landscaping around th two course in lighthouse cove. However, the course itself is not like PopStroke at all. This very much is a shore style, classic mini golf course. The theme is that of a maritime fishing village, and incorporates local flavor like the prominently featured Jupiter Lighthouse.

The two course are Lost Lagoon (harder – par of 41) and Paradise Falls (easier – par of 39). Similar to PopStroke, it was more that what constituted a par 2 or 3 was different on the two courses rather than an actual par difference. We didn’t manage a single ace on Lost Lagoon, but netted three on Paradise Falls. Lost Lagoon felt very cramped, with little space between holes, and most of it was taken up by what seemed to be unnecessary shrubbery (probably so you couldn’t see how crowded the course was). We also ran into our nemesis in FL: the fact that no group limits are enforced; there were groups of up to 12 people playing on a single hole. We once again didn’t seem to have our best game, only managing a 43 on the Lost Lagoon and a 41 on Paradise Falls (both 2-over par).

Overall, this was a nice simple option, and a fun pair of courses. However, the place was absolutely overrun, and staff seemed extremely overwhelmed. Granted, we started our game right at the peak of lunch hour, but it still seemed like there was a lot of commotion. In addition, as we mentioned above, the overwhelming amount of large groups just seems a bit ridiculous; I don’t think you will get complaints by asking a large group of twelve to split up into groups of 4 or 6, especially on a crowded day. We are onboard with a course that offers the amentities of PopStroke without the “pro” quality feel, but it seems a bit odd to market them at the same prices. For adults, 18 holes is $15.99, 36 holes is $20.99 (although it truly is the honor system). Seniors are $12.99, and children are $9.99, but that is only 5 and under. We sometimes balk at that group of twelve who probably paid probably $250 for a round or two of golf.