All wooded holes
Not buggy
Well-marked (entrance and next tee signs)
Sufficient parking

No porta-potty (had to think of something)

This course is great for those of us who love wooded courses. The distances are doable for beginner and intermediate players to have a not-so-frustrating game.
The course is located across from Allaire Historic Village. You can make a day out of Allaire State Park's activities.

Another year of course improvements means it's again time to update my review. The course continues to be developed, with some alternate tees, improvements to existing holes and infrastructure.

With the addition of the long basket on hole #1, the front nine now has six holes with alternate tees or baskets, providing you with different looks and a few different pars.

And now, with the (very) recent addition of a long tee on #18, one of the back nine holes has some variety, to encourage multiple plays.


Other improvements include a retaining wall guarding the front of the 15th green, and a timber-and-rope wrap around the concrete base of the raised basket on #17. I'm also pretty sure more staircases have been added to help navigation and prevent erosion around raised tees and greens


One of the "older" improvements was to raise the basket on #10, which sits on a narrow ridge with 6'-10' drop in front and behind (thereby emphasizing the possibility of rollaway or airmailing a death putt). But the designers also added a short backstop at the back of the shallow green, before it drops away. This backstop encourages you to go for the green on your approach, but anything that isn't under the basket faces the possibility of a death putt

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+ Allaire is a beautiful piece of property developed exclusively for disc golf. It's been carved out of pristine woods that make for a great setting. The walks between holes aren't very long, yet the woods and the elevation changes mean that you seldom see any other holes or golfers

Woods = Ticks. Because Allaire is created from existing forest, they're particularly bad here. I try to get my rounds in before and after tick season


Not every hole is a gem...yet. Despite different appearances, there are a few holes that require pretty much the same shot (#1, #7 and #16). And the short, almost back-to-back downhills #11 and #13 might make you wonder if you're playing the same hole twice. But the designers continue to rework and tweak.


Slow and steady changes aren't reflected on the tee signs or the main course map. The original signs are beauties, but now some of them are out of date, and none of the new tees have signage. As a regular visitor to Allaire I don't notice the problem too much, but it could be frustrating to first-timers.

~ The design features a "gauntlet" of challenging holes in the middle: the par 5/4/4 of holes 8, 9 and 10


~ Terrific paver teepads, Great navigation signs throughout the course.


~ If you want to, there's an option for playing nine holes without crossing the firebreak road: 1-7, then back in on 17 and 18


~ This is a woods course, but it's a fair one, and a genuine test of skills. The landing areas on the par 4's are a little bit long for my noodle arm, but par is still possible with careful placement. You can see the lines on every hole - it's up to you to execute.


~ Allaire remains the only disc golf course in a NJ State Park. I hope the State park authorities look kindly on this facility, and take the cue from the bordering states of Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York

Recently completed 18 hole wooded course in a beautiful State Park. Brand new Dynamic White Veteran baskets at each hole along with a blue practice basket near the parking lot entrance. Signs clearly point to the course off Atlantic Avenue. A beautiful welcome kiosk sits near hole 1 with a lost disc box attached and an oversized course map. A nice equipment/tool storage shed was built, courtesy of an Eagle Scout. Ample sized 5' x 10' paver tee pads at each hole along with a beautifully drawn tee sign attached to a 4x6 post depicting par, distance and desired disc flight path. "Next tee" directional arrows make navigation pretty easy. Good use of surprising elevation come into play on holes 2,3,4,9,11,12 and 13. A nice stairway was built leading to an elevated basket on hole 17 with an island OB, enhancing the otherwise short 178 foot shot. Most holes pretty balanced with fair routes to the basket for righties and lefties. Clearly defined fairways are very well groomed and carved pathways/stacked log piles add aesthetically to the course. Room for expansion if desired.

Most "cons" are reflective of this course being new. Several fairways and their surroundings require some polish and feature a tree here and there that could (and will) be removed to better define throwing lanes. Some selective work with a pole saw must be done on various overhanging branches. Though much better with increased foot traffic, ticks and chiggers remain an issue here- use spray! Expansion of the parking lot is needed, though an overflow lot can be used for tournament accommodations. No on-site bathroom (NOT a big deal-stop at the visitors center 100 yards across the street and use the ultra clean public restrooms). Despite room for expansion, there is currently only one basket placement per hole. Top soil/mulch should be built up around some of the pads to prevent drop offs.

Allaire State Park is part of an ever-growing Central Jersey Disc Golf scene and features the first course in the New Jersey State Park System- a major accomplishment for the disc golf community which will hopefully open up opportunities in other areas of the state. Allaire presents a challenging Par 59 layout and really the only truly wooded course in this area of NJ. It is beautifully maintained by a proud and dedicated club with a tireless work ethic. Like all State Parks, Allaire is open dawn till dusk and is a carry-in, carry-out facility; as such, there are no trash cans on-site.

A nice playing experience at a course which will only get better. Highly recommended play.

+ I love the environment this whole course occupies. It is secluded, sprawling, quiet and heavily wooded. With some healthy hills throughout, this course is just as much a peaceful hike as it is a disc golf course.
+ All tee pads are made of sturdy stone. They felt solid and reliable under my feet.
+ Next to each tee is a metal sign accurately depicting the hole, its hazards (if any), the distance to the pin and the par.
+ All baskets are in tip-top shape, and there are plainly visible signs directing you to the path for each next tee.
+ The front nine boasts a nice variety of open throws, tunnel shots, left-leaning and right-leaning pins, and some ceiling variations throughout
+ There are some enjoyable elevation challenges from start to finish but nothing overwhelming.
+ A few baskets are placed in thrilling 'death pin' spots.
+ The fairways are cleanly maintained and easily distinguishable from the thorns, brush, rough, and so forth.
+ Very friendly regulars.

- While much of the front nine gives you the space to think about what throw and approach to use, the back nine turns into a tight and seldom-forgiving tree-fest. The course does not open up again until the final two or three holes, which felt like a letdown from the awesome front nine.
- Zero opportunities to wind up and unleash a powerful throw.
- There are zero benches, trash cans, bag racks and bathrooms anywhere in the course. (Please carry your trash out with you instead of littering.)
- It is very easy to lose a disc here. The rough areas are filled with low foliage, ferns, some thorns, and other woodsy stuff. If a disc flies even five feet off the fairway, it will take a minute of searching to retrieve it.
- Ticks are very prevalent here. Use tick repellent or wear anti-tick clothing. (Lymeez, RynoSkin, etc.)

I was fortunate enough to bump into and play a entire 18 with one of the people who helped build the course during my session here in mid-March 2018. He provided me with a lot of insight regarding the course. He mentioned how far it's come since it opened less than a year ago and what he and the designers hope to achieve with it in the future. Plus, he was more than willing to give a few pointers about disc golf in general to the writer of this review who had not been playing even a year yet! Special thanks go out to "Sam."

Allaire is one of the more difficult courses I've played, for sure.

There are always trees all around you. Successful play will be achieved by breaking up the action into manageable bits. Each hole's design encourages the player to carve their shots as best they can in one direction or the other as there is not much wiggle room like in park-style courses. For me, I had to more or less learn on the fly thanks to Sam's active tutelage as I am not so skilled yet at performing the hyzer or anhyzer throws. I managed, but a more skilled player will have an easier time.

Allaire requires that the player be intentional and precise. There are very many tunnel shots. And even the wider holes feel somewhat narrow because of the low-hanging branches and/or towering trees forming a wall on the edges of those open areas, which may turn off some players who would rather unleash their full power.

For me, Allaire's most memorable moment is their par 4 hole 9. It is a narrow uphill tee that banks to the right and then straight ahead for a bit before ending at a death putt. Angle control plus an incline throw make for quite the tricky tee-off, indeed. And of course a precariously placed pin adds a nice basting of drama to an already eventful hole. It fills me with eager dread each time!

Come to Allaire expecting a challenge. Hills, trees, and angles come into play in different amounts at virtually every hole. Not strength but skill will be asked of players here. Do yourself a favor and set aside a day to enjoy the serene setting of Alliare State Park, and prepare to be tested.

- Variety of low ceiling, high sealing, left turning, and right turning holes. Not too many lefty holes or too many righty holes.
- Great pavers, built really well and they are a good length
- Great tee signs with lots of description about the hole. Also next tee signs. Simple and obvious paths to the next hole.
- Lots of tough greens and death putts, makes it challenging to run lots of in the circle putts on certain holes
- Great use of elevation, holes that are uphill, dowhill, and flat
- Variety of length, some short holes and some par 4's

- Some of the tee boxes are raised so longer run ups can be hard, luckily long run ups aren't needed on most holes
- Very small parking lot that makes fitting people for tournaments hard
- Some holes still need a few trees to come out or underbrush needing to be cut, but those can be taken care of once the course breaks in and lines will become more defined

Can compete with the top courses in New Jersey and is a great addition to Ocean County. I really enjoyed the course and plan to go there a lot more.

-Course navigation is a breeze through the combination of clear tee signs, lined fairways and paths and next tee signs. First timers shouldn't worry at all about finding their way
-great use of available terrain, every hole felt like it had elevation come into play one way or another
- Gorgeous piece of property to play through
-fairways while technical definitely played fair
-definitely a a "use every disc in your bag", with a nice variety of shots needed
-Death putts! I love when pin placements aren't taken for granted and force you to think about going to long or short to end up on the wrong side of the slop or added that extra but if pressure where a miss means you are sailing down a hill. Holes 6, 9, 15, and 16 in particular were very well done as far as adding that extra level of challenge with the pin.

-with 4 holes under 230 ft it definitely feels a little on the shorter side. Hole 17 definitely feels the most egregious at 178 feet, while it's slightly up hill, I'd like to some additional level of challenge in play if they can't lengthen the hole. Raised basket (edit 4/16/18 #17 now plays as an island hole + elevated basket, much improved)
-I can see hole 8 and 9 in particular being a beast to play in the summer when the underbrush is fully leafed out. An errant shot is going to mean a lot of sifting through blueberry bushes with all the unwelcome pests that come along with that.
-No water (this might be a pro for some but I always like the additional element of risk)
-For a top notch course, hole 18 felt like a let down. If it feels a little more poke and pray that the previous holes so maybe it just needs to get beaten in a little more, but ideally with a course like this you'd like to end on a high note.

I believe this is the first disc golf course installed in a NJ state park and hopefully an indicator of more to come. It's well designed and while challenging it's not punishing. You can definitely save par on many of those holes even if your tee shot is errant or comes up short.

For a brand new course the usual complaints are about signage and navigation, not so here with all of that in tip top shape. The aesthic is very similar to Stafford woods on the other side of the state and I definitely think this course has the potential to get close to Stafford level. As time goes on and fairways get more beaten in, and more pole saw work commences I expect to see this course edge close to a 4, especially if some of the holes get some longer pin positions and some extra finishing touches like benches, steps or foot bridges start to show up over time.

It's obvious a tremendous amount of work went into this course and I can see as time goes on it working its way into that top tier of courses in the state joining Stafford, Greystone and Thompson.

Update 1/2022 - the crew maintaining this course really goes above and have showed they are committed to constantly improving this course. Since the last time I updated my reviews they have added a handful of alternate tees, lengthen a par 4 to a great par 5, and done a host of upgrades with elevated baskets, steps and all the nice finishing touches. It still is a shorter course compared to a top pro level one but it's a fun round and everything about it keeps getting better.