Course Review - Bear Trap Dunes

Course: Bear Trap Dunes (Grizzly & Kodiak)
Date Played: November 5, 2007
Score: 85
Website: www.beartrapdunes.com

First, just wanted to make the overall comment that I love to play golf in the fall. OK, lets get to the review. Bear Trap Dunes is a very nice course and the people are just great. I played with my nine year old son and they set it up so we could play as a twosome. I can't say enough about the staff and how accommodating they were to us. My son played the whole course from the forward tees and counted all his strokes and shot a 123.

On the other hand, Dad played from the blue tees (6,426 yards) and got it around in 85 (42 on the Grizzly and 43 on the Kodiak. The course was in fantastic shape from tee to green. The greens looked a little bit shaggy but they putted very true and were quite slick if you were not paying attention.

The defense on this course is not the length, but rather the wind. If the wind is blowing and you are not hitting it pure, you could be in for a long day. On the day I played, the wind only really came into play on a couple of holes. Most of the holes have lots of natural grasses on the edges of the holes which really frame them nicely. However, most of the tee boxes are placed at an angle to the holes and with the bunkering it makes it a little difficult to always determine the best line for your tee shot. For the first time player, the best way to attack the course is to take the total distance of the hole and subtract 150 yards and then hit whatever club will carry that distance and aim for the barber poll sitting in the middle of the fairway. For example, if the hole measures 367, you need to hit the tee ball 217 yards right at the barber pole. They put these nice little black and white poles in the middle of the fairway and that is what I aimed at most of the time. Sometimes I got a little greedy and hit driver and did I pay for it. It was always better to hit a shorter club off the tee and be right next to the barber pole and have a nice full 8 iron into the green.

I would highly recommend this course to any one visiting the Delware shore for both the condition of the course, layout and the very nice staff. Also, they put a business card with your scorecard that guarantees that you will shoot par. They then go on to offer you a 72 cent draft after your round. Any one willing to sell me a pint for 72 cents is high up on my list.