- practice basket (particularly uncommon for a 9 hole course)
- benches at all holes, and garbage cans at many
- clean, open fairways and limited rough undergrowth in woods
- most holes have good next tee indicators
- quality baskets in good shape
- shorter but with technical challenge, a nice compliment to nearby Gator Links
- mostly good quality stone/stamped concrete tees
- course seems to generally stay dry
- tee signs have rudimentary maps, better than nothing

- practice basket is inside track, so may interfere with other activities
- virtually no elevation change
- no advanced hazards (water, etc.)
- hole 2 tee is dirt
- hole 1 to hole 2 navigation is very unclear, and hole 1 is rather disconnected from the rest of the course
- hole 9 ends very far from hole 1

Pirate's Cove is an enjoyable 9 hole round that can be played quickly. I'm not sure many people would go out of their way to come to this course with Gator Links on the same college campus - Gator Links is definitely superior, and I think the general intent would be to add this course on to play 27, not play it alone. That's what I did, and I enjoyed Pirate's Cove as well, even if it's a bit more basic.

In general, it's a well designed course with some medium technical challenge, although the holes are generally short enough that it isn't particularly difficult for any skill level. Holes 2 and 3 are pretty wide open, and for whatever reason hole 2 is the only one without a permanent tee, which is unfortunate. As many have pointed out, navigation from hole 1 to 2 is not straightforward at all. I had to use the map wellsbranch250 created to figure it out. It's also unfortunate this course doesn't make a loop like most courses and spits you out pretty far away from hole 1 at the end.

One of the biggest things lacking in this area is elevation change, which is hard to come by on the gulf coast. Many of the area courses are high quality, but just don't quite have that "something extra" you get a bit further north.

Technically, the signs for these holes say there are 2 tees per hole. DGCR only has one set of tee info, and I'll admit I didn't look too hard for a second set of tees, but they were not obvious. The permanent tees are the primaries.

All that said, the course has tee signs with maps, a practice basket, permanent tees, open and wooded shots, benches, garbage cans... it's very solid on amenities, and I had fun here. If you're around to play Gator Links, it's definitely worth extending your round. It's a little lower-key if you just want to have a good time, but I wouldn't drive out of my way for it like I think it's worth doing for Gator Links.

(2.540 Rating) A mix of open and wooded shots along a college campus.
- FUN FACTOR - Pirates Cove has all the elements to make for a fun laid back round. Ace shots galore with two shots even under 200 feet. No water to contend with and the odds of losing a disc is very minimal. Other than (1) and (9), fairways are plenty wide.
- CHILL AREAS - Picnic table in the woods at tee (4) great middle round pit stop. In addition, other than holes (2) and (3), the entire course is in the woods.
- SPACING - The course is well spaced out like Gator Links with really no chance of running one into another fairway. The walk to the next hole is generally close by with the exceptions of (1) to (2), and hole (9) back to the parking.
- NAVIGATION - Was tricky, but should be a lot easier now with the map I uploaded. The transition from (1) to (2) was the most challenging. It appears the course went thru a minor redesign on hole (2). There is an abandoned tee south of basket (1) which can lead to confusion. The new tee (2) was located by a building adjacent to the baseball diamond. In addition, basket (5) to tee (6) has to be double backed to a small path thru the woods.
- LOCATION - Only a ten minute drive from I10. But perhaps the best part is the fact that there's another 18 hole course literally within walking distance. See Gator Links @ NLA.
- TIME PLAY - Plays fairly quick. A group of four should easily be able to play 9 holes in under an hour.

No major issues with the course, but far from the best when compared to the top panhandle courses.
- UNIQUENESS - Being only 9 holes, Pirates Cove lags a bit below average in terms of variety. All nine holes are par 3's, there are no water elements and the amount of elevation change is no more than 5 feet of change on any one hole. The course definitely favors plays right to left. Holes (4 thru 8), feel nearly all the same.
- RAW BEAUTY - I found that Pirates Cove to be somewhere in the middle in terms of beauty compared to all the courses I've played thus far. Holes (2) and (3) are very bland, but the rest of the course makes up for it.
- DIFFICULTY - Due to string of holes under 250 feet, shooting under par for intermediate players and better should routinely occur. Holes (1) and (9) are by far the most challenging of the bunch, but the rest will offer good looks at birdie for many players. In all however, the course is a great pairing partner with the tougher Gator Links.
- CHARACTER - A touch below average as a whole. Like Gator Links, there is no practice basket, multiple pin placement sleeves or bag holders that you'll see many times at the older established courses. There also isn't duel tees, which is featured at the neighboring course. There is however a fair amount of tee shading, benches, trash cans and adequate tee signage.

In all, I find Pirates Cove to be an average course. Recreational and Intermediate players will likely enjoy this one and when coupled with adjacent Gator Links, a great 27 holes to play on an extended afternoon.

Well marked, good tees, free, has another 18 holes across the parking lot. Nice woods. A few nice holes.

Gets a bit too tight, a few holes without a real fairway.