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Rating Index Rating
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4.7
661 Reviews (661)
5 Stars
378
4 Stars
222
3 Stars
49
2 Stars
6
1 Stars
6
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.4
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.8
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.5
97.6%
Recommend this course
623 out of 661 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
49 Reviews (49)
5 Stars
34
4 Stars
13
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.3
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.9
98.0%
Recommend this course
48 out of 49 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.7
58 Reviews (58)
5 Stars
40
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.6
Value
4.4
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.6
StaffFriendliness
4.9
98.3%
Recommend this course
57 out of 58 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Bear Trap's 27-hole layout delivers a genuinely challenging and well-conditioned course that consistently earns high marks from recent players. Exceptionally friendly staff and strong overall value make this a compelling destination for serious golfers.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6834 yards
Slope 126
Rating 72.1

Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club in Ocean View is conveniently located just three miles west of Bethany Beach along the Eastern Shore. The club offers 27 championship holes that are divided into three different nines, Grizzly, Kodiak, and Black Bear. The holes are played in three different combinations. Each nine has a unique character but every course shares winding bentgrass fairways lined with native wetland grasses and a landscape of sandy dunes and grassy hollows. The Grizzly/Kodiak Course is the shortest of the three combinations but it still has the same level of challenge. Strategically placed bunkers come into play along the oversized greens and water hazards also come into play on a few holes There is an interesting variety of holes that each require a different strategy.

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Bear Trap Dunes Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1999
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Rick Jacobson (1999)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS Yes
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Fivesomes Allowed No
Single Allowed No
Dress code Proper Golf Attire at All Times. Please, No Jeans or T-Shirts

Food & Beverage

Bar, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse

Accolades

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Reviews

4.7
661 Reviews (661)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 15
Patio Dining 14
Dinner 13
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 28
Water Hazards 23
Undulating Greens 15
This course/club is great for:
Playing Multiple Courses 21
Locals 20
A Weekend Splurge 19
This Course's Location is:
Near Local Attractions 19
At a Resort 15
Worth the Drive 14

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 67
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Cool

Very windy but the course was very good and staff was great.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart

Great day out

I played Grizzly and Black Bear as a single. I played with some members of the club all were friendly and made me feel right at home sharing tips and tricks. It was a bit windy right after hurricane Maria but still excellent round I had a great time.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Very pleasant day

Greeted enthusiastically by the outdoor guys. Treated quickly and professionally by the inside team. Practice area was nice, except for the chipping area - it was pretty chopped up. Not a dal breaker for me, though.

Course was in very good shape. Holes were fair with enough challenging features. Greens are HUGE, as evidenced by my 4-jack of number 18. (Something like an 80 footer. )

I was able to play with a member and if he was representative of the rest of them then this would be a great place to join if I lived here.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 28
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Not bad at all

Nice track; greens rolled pretty well despite having been aerated within the last two weeks. Bunkers were full of soft beach sand. Fairways in generally good shape. Did not see a cart girl after the first hole on a busy Saturday - strange. No marshals to keep pace of play up. All that said, a pretty good track for $70 on a weekend. We'll go back.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Slow play

The greens were recently aerated which made them very bumpy and inconsistent. The pace of play was very slow with no ranger in sight! Over 5 hours to finish in the dark!

Conditions Good
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Easy to navigate

Course in great condition. It was cart path only on front nine due to rain recently but changed to 90 drug rule for back nine which was helpful. Well stocked snack shack. Overall, a very enjoyable course to play. A bit pricey but there deals to be had if you are flexible about tee-times.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

A fun golf course

Though one of the hottest days for golf, our there's one had a very nice time. We played the 'blended' tees. The fairways were generous and the trouble was not too onerous. I will definitely play this layout again.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Over all course review

Very well maintained! Nice place to golf. Very skill challenged course! Fun

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

Excellent Amenities for an Average Course

First off, my overall 3/5 rating and my lack of recommendation of this course is relative to what it is (or purports to be). If this course were being compared to your local muni, it would certainly score higher. But given the competition within a 45-minute drive, it's difficult to recommend Bear Trap Dunes.

The amenities are outstanding, though. Everything from the clubhouse to the restaurant to the snack shack is top-of-the-line. The atmosphere surrounding the course gives one the feeling that it will be worth the $125 prime time rate.

The course, however, did not live up to that feeling. The greens and tee boxes were average at best, and at times, below average (compared to almost any course). The layout was not terribly interesting, and there were no memorable, picturesque holes as one may hope to find on a resort/vacation/destination course. Luckily, I received a $30 discount on my tee time, but even with the savings, it'd be tough to recommend this course to anyone visiting the OCMD area. I have only played three other courses in the area, but I would certainly recommend two of them before BTD (Lighthouse Sound and Baywood Greens), and given the choice, I'd play the other one (Man O' War) before returning to BTD as well.

If you can get on this course of $40 or less, it's probably worth it. If you are looking to drop $100+ on a round though, go play Lighthouse Sound (or any of the other course options in the area). I may have caught the course at a bad time, but when it comes to vacation courses, they usually only get one shot to impress the out-of-town visitors.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Grizzly, and kodiac

Excellent conditions, if you like speedy greens, this is the place. Test all aspects of one's game

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

Course is always well maintained

Played Bear Trap Dunes many times. Course is always in great shape and well maintained. The setup offers an enjoyable challenge. Staff was very accommodating in allowing us to move up our tee time significantly so that we could get in round before rain moved in.

Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good place for Mother's Day!

Pace of play was great! Staff was nice. Course had been aerated and we were not made aware but it was still ok for the money and we were there to enjoy the nice day!

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Beautiful course and great people

The only problem with the course itself was that the greens had just been aerated and sanded and were ridiculously difficult to putt on from any angle.

The score card lacked a course layout on it and I found that inconvenient since the golf cart "card" was not very handy to use. Also, for a course like this, there should be a GPS in each cart.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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Golf Packages

Talamore Golf Resort Stay & Play Package

FROM $137 (USD)
SOUTHERN PINES, NC | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Talamore Golf Resort and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Mid Pines Golf Course, Mid South Course, Tobacco Road Golf Course, and The New Course.

Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club Stay & Play Package

FROM $167 (USD)
SOUTHERN PINES, NC | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Mid Pines Golf Course, Pine Needles Golf Course, Tobacco Road Golf Course, and The New Course.

Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club Stay & Play Package

FROM $167 (USD)
SOUTHERN PINES, NC | Enjoy up to 5 nights’ accommodations at the Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club and up to 4 rounds of golf at your choice of Mid Pines Golf Course, Pine Needles Golf Course, Tobacco Road Golf Course, and The New Course.
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