Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club - Black Bear/Grizzly Course

This was the 2nd time I have played this course in the past month using GolfNow.com. I got a very good rate and a convenient tee time. The staff was friendly and efficient. The course was in very good condition and the greens were excellent! The Blackbear 9 was particularly interesting. This is the closest course to Bethany Beach and well worth the money with the GolfNow discount. I hope the participating GolfNow.com courses understand that golfers like me will only play their higher priced courses with the GolfNow discount. I guess they realize that a reduced green fee (along with monies paid for refreshments before, during and after a round) is better than a vacant tee time and no revenues!

Super friendly staff, terrific greens and fairways and challenging layout. 27 holes and we played kodak and black bear nines with my family. Traps are going Au natural but that did not bother us. The only issue was that range closes on Wednesday from 11-2 each week to mow the grass so we did not get a chance to warm up. Still puzzled over why they choose that time and also why they don't let you know on its website. Still, staff was understanding and gave us a month to use our allotted range balls.

I have had the opportunity to play all the DelMarVa courses multiple times. Bear Trap ranks among the best courses. I was pleasantly surprised when I booked a $65 rate for a mid-morning tee time in late July. This was a great value.

Course is in excellent shape. A must play for anyone staying near Bethany Beach.

Fantastic conditions, friendly staff, driving range, chipping area make for an overall great experience. Greens roll fast and true - best in the area! The Golfnow discount rate make this a steal.

I played this course in 3 hours and a half and great staff!

I played last week. The course is in great shape. Greens were a nice speed. A good variety of holes. If you hit the ball straight definitely can score well at this course. Easy course to walk if you choose. Definitely would recommend using Golfnow as the rate was reduced. Our foursome enjoyed the midday round. I liked the fact they gave you range balls with the price, as it should be. We did not use the restaurant or any food service.

Haven't played here in years, course was in excellent condition, greens were rolling true. Paired up with very social partners, enjoyable company. Beverage cart only came by once, at third hole, would like to have seen more of it. I got a deep discount on green fees, making it a much better value, at full price, still a nice course, but not as good a value.

It was the first visit for each person in our foursome, and we now understand why we got such a discounted rate (< $60). First and foremost, 50% of the course is in deplorable condition. The bunkers and waste areas are in horrendous shape, with acres and acres of semi-permanent standing water and/or mud and/or hard-pan. When this course was designed, I imagine all the enormous sand traps and hazards and waste areas were probably the best around. Now it's easily the worst I've ever seen. I played a course near my home a few years ago that had all but closed down, and even it had better sand traps and waste areas than this course. The roughs were generally horrible throughout the course, and have obviously been neglected for years. The tee boxes were okay, and the fairways were mostly okay. In all fairness, the greens were generally excellent. The trend these days seems to be, with both cheap municipal courses and expensive resort courses, to focus almost all maintenance efforts and resources on the fairways and greens, which I happen to think is a huge mistake for the game. In fact, one player in our group suggested that this course may be intentionally going more Crenshaw/natural, but we eventually all agreed that it wasn't an intentional transformation, but just one of neglect. Another complaint about our experience would be the lack of a beverage cart. On the most beautiful day of the year, we never did see a beverage cart from 1:30 to finish. We got food at the turn, and it was very good. The sandwiches and wraps were big and very good. But no beverage cart on a beautiful summer afternoon at a beach resort course? Really? And other than the elderly gentleman who served as starter, I can't say that the staff was particularly friendy. In fact, when we reached about the 15th hole, the Marshall made a beeline toward us from the distance, right up to the other cart in our group, with a scowl on his face, and said, "Do you have something in your cart that doesn't belong to you?" We were shocked and confused by his accusatory tone, and said we didn't think so. He said someone left a pair of sunglasses in a cart from the previous day, and then he drove off. Seriously?? As for the rest of the facilities, it was a mixed bag. There doesn't seem to be nearly enough parking, but we finally found a spot on the street in the adjacent community. When we dropped off our bags, there was no one to take the bags or put them on carts, so we walked back from parking and took care of our own bags. The clubhouse is beautiful, and the pro shop is better than average, for whatever that's worth. The driving range is adequate, but there is a nice putting green and a separate chipping green. Of course, when we finished our round, there were a couple of guys right there to go through the motions of cleaning our clubs for tips, but they were nowhere to be found when we started our day at Bear Trap. All in all, it was a mixed experience here, but because of the horrendous conditions of much of the course (minus the greens), this was a very disappointing experience for us, and we probably won't be back soon.

The course is kept in great shape, staff is wonderful , definitely recommend to anyone

Great course with lots of challenges. Staff was very friendly and had a great time at the course.

I really enjoyed playing this course and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Plenty challenging and strategically placed bunkers lining the fairway require accuracy off the tee to score well. You'll use most clubs in your bag. The greens were in great shape and a pleasure to putt on, not ridiculously fast, but fast enough to require solid reads and speed control. We went off early in the morning and pace was very comfortable; only ran into a few holes we had to wait on after the turn.

Even though the course was extremely busy for the holiday weekend, we played in under 4.5 hours. Course is in great shape. The greens are some of the finest at the shore.

It is challenging and fun. Well groomed. Fast greens. Open fairways. A course to add to anyone's bucket list. A must play

course was good but i was expecting a little more for the money. if you are in the area do not play Baywood Greens first because Bear Trap will be a letdown.
good course but certainly not great.

We played as two couples (scramble). We are very average golfers but were able to stay out of trouble and enjoyed our round. You won't be disappointed playing this course.

course was very enjoyable and condition of the course was fantastic

Overall it was a very good day of golf
Staff is helpful and friendly
The sand traps need work

We as usual enjoyed Bear Trap. We liked the course, and we had no wait.

I play this course 10 or 12 times a year and love it every time. The course is as good or better than any in the Ocean city area. The staff is great and I never seem to wait very long for the beverage cart.