Jen’s Links LBI – Barnegat Light, NJ

Reviewed by Mr. Tee

Played August 20, 2021

During a family trip to Long Beach Island on the Jersey Shore in 2021, I took a trip up to the northern tip of the island with The Pink Putter and her sister to check out the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. While the two of them were taking a longer hike, I was keen on checking out the last mini golf course on my list to play on LBI, Jen’s Links.

Rating

This is easily one of the better themed courses I’ve seen built by the Harris Mianiature Golf company based in New Jersey. I honestly was tempted to give this a Birdie rating based on the incorporation of large scale obstacles including the showstopping shark that greets you at the beginning of both courses. The history of the nearby area told throughout both courses with the added elevation element at the beginning of the High Tide course and to finish the Low Tide course makes for a fun experience. The only knock on the course is that the mini golf gameplay is fairly run of the mill and not helped by some pre-fab shoot-through obstacles that feel a little out of place. Ultimately, this is a solid to strong course that would stand out more if it wasn’t for the already high quality and uniqueness of several other courses on the 8 mile long island. If you’re up in Barnegat Light to see the lighthouse, definitely pop into Jen’s Links.

The American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) will have a scoring tournament called the Lighthouse Classic on May 4, 2024. Our friend and fellow Holey Moley alum, David Biggy organized this tournament to be played on the High Tide course.

Hard to capture this massive shark in one glance

But this is an ominous shark and nearly 20 feet tall

Glance at the Low Tide course near the road/parking lot

I’m ready to jump into this oceanside themed course

The overhead bridge is nice but the hole design and bricking is fairly standard

Love the size and scale of this boat in addition to the immerseive nature

Opt to play over the bridge or through the water. A standard Harris course hole.

Appreciate a little history behind why the boat is there too

Finishing above the course for the final hole

Narrow path to the cup to finish off your round

Old O-Street video of the Low Tide Course

Overview of the High Tide course that gives you a better sense of the size of the shark

Tricky path to the cup especially when trying to play off the walls or large rocks

A few options to make your way towards the cup

Read to head down to the rest of the course

More strong theming throughout the course

Not sure why they added on these shoot-through obstacles but they don’t play well

The replica of this old resort is one of the other showstopper theming pieces to the course

Avoid using this shoot-through as there are better paths to the cup

O-Street video of the High Tide Course

Jen’s Links Website

501 Broadway Barnegat Light, New Jersey 08006

Pros

The massive shark at the start of the course
Great theme connected to the Barnegat Light area
Didactics near several holes with a bit of history
Several additional large scale obstacles connected to the course them

Cons

Gameplay is solid but not remarkable
Added shoot-through obstacles on High Tide take away versus add to the course
Nearby LBI courses are more fun

Nerdy Notes

2 18-hole courses. High Tide Par 43 | Low Tide Par 46
White boxes at holes indicate they are ADA accessible
On site amenities include food
Home of the 2024 American Mini Golf Alliance (AMA) point scoring event The Lighthouse Classic
Course owner and namesake, Jennifer Lackland, passed in August 2022. In May 2023, Scott Mason, Tim and Dan Flynn and Chris Burke officially took over ownership of the course.