Duffer’s – Wildwood, NJ

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Played on August 15, 2012

Reviewed by the Pink Putter

Oh, Wildwood, New Jersey- you are so trashy, at times, yet delightfully tacky at others. And Duffer’s is a prime example of the latter. This is by far the best course (when it comes to kitsch) that we’ve ever played. Everything perfectly fits their theme of “Under Sea Adventure” down to the blue (rather than the classic green) putting turf used to represent water. This course has it all- singing pelicans, a castle, a shipwreck, a lighthouse, a volcano, audio effects, water play, holes with alternate routes, read on…

Rating

Hole-in-one – Yes, you read that right. This course gets our top rating and for good reason! A classic seaside course with everything you could ever want from a mini golf adventure. While waiting in line for the first hole you are instantly greeted with animatronic singing pelicans perched on an impressive facade of an old fishing village.  And then you get a preview of the 18th hole (placed just to the left of hole 1),  a shark protruding through a giant shipwreck with a small clownfish swimming around underneath it all. While this course is on a small plot of land, it makes great use of the space. The holes are short, but have fun challenging elements to them like hills, bumps, waterways, bridges, volcano routes, ramps and pipe travel. Yet we did discover many of the holes can be won on luck rather than skill, as proven by the 7 year old girl in front of us who would wack the ball without finesse yet had a total of 5 hole-in -ones. The price is also reasonable- it’s $7 in primetime, but if you’re smart like us and plan ahead, you can get the early bird special for $5 a round before 5pm.

 

Early bird special- totally worth getting off the beach a bit early.

Impressive facade.

This cool castle was the inspiration for our site’s header!
Shark fins raise out of the rocks and head towards the castle.
Every pond needs giant fish and bubble audio.
There were two ways to putt around this octopus.

Pros

Great themeing
Audio and animatronics
Pelicans, a castle, a shipwreck, fish, an octopus, a shark, a lighthouse, a fishing village and a volcano
Well maintained
Fun play with a variety of holes
Classic 18th hole
Early bird special
Has an arcade, family restaurant and ice cream parlor attached to it.

Cons

Plays more off luck than skill
Small area of land.
Short holes.

Duffer’s Website

Nerdy Notes

  • 18 hole, Par 36
  • All holes are Par 2
  • Cost: $7 ($5 before 5pm), credit cards accepted
  • Rubber putters
  • No flags in the holes
  • Fun scorecard with cartoon illustration on cover and course rules on back
  • Plastic holes
  • Lose ball on 18th hole
  • Free game won if you get it in the hole on the 18th
  • Course Par: 36 strokes

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