- free course, plenty of parking
- concrete tees
- informative tee signs listing hole number, distances, and showing fairway shape
- numbered baskets
- intuitive courses design after hole 2
- practice basket in an open field
- most of the course is shaded
- balanced, challenging design
- benches
- low traffic
- beginner friendly

- flat
- no multiple pin placements or extra tees
- mostly shorter holes
- hole #1 in general.
- hole #9 doesn't end close to hole #1
- tee pad for hole #2 is connected to the brick building?

Personally, I dislike when a course makes their first hole start short and technical. Pirates Cove feels like hole #1 was added to an already existing 8 hole design. It really doesn't flow well with the rest of the course. Starting your round threading the needle with this wet blanket of a fairway is a real downer.

After that, it gets better. Two open holes proceed it, they give throwers a chance to warm up their arms for the rest of the course that awaits them in the woods. Once in the woods, players will experience a good mix or hyzer and anhyzers on tighter fairways. The rough is punitive, yet manageable. More experienced players will tally up the birdies, while the less skilled will likely be scrambling for pars. There was enough variety to keep things from getting too repetitive.

Pirates Cove shares some similarities with NAS Whiting, however, I feel that it's more well rounded. The Cove has a better variety of fairway shapes, distances, and isn't as isolated as NAS Whiting. The finishing point of the Cove also transitions nicely into the other course across the grounds; Gator Links. Players could easily use the Pirates Cove course as a warm up, then walk 400 some odd feet to the start of hole #1 at Gator Links.