GOLF COURSE
REVIEW
Bear Trap Dunes:
These three bears
are just right
By Kiel Christianson,
Senior Writer
OCEAN VIEW, Del. (April 10, 2003) - In 1990, southern Delaware was not a golf destination at all. Tourists from nearby Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia would flock here for the superb beaches, but they left their golf clubs at home. By the end of that same decade, however, golf courses were springing up throughout northern Maryland and southern Delaware, offering golfers from New York to D.C. a golf destination alternative that will save hundreds of driving miles along with hundreds of dollars off the usual golf trip further south.
The best of the new southern Delaware courses is Bear Trap Dunes in Ocean View. This 27-hole facility has it all: Playable yet challenging holes, first-rate clubhouse, the best golf instructor in the state, and ocean breezes that can turn the sub-7,000-yard layout into a bear of a test for even the best players.
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Bret Marshall, head pro and the top instructor in Delaware according to Golf Digest, is also quick to point out the appeal of the design. "[This is a] very fair course," assures Marshall. "Rick [Jacobson] built it with no ego. He didn't want to make any hole unplayable. He was very creative, but there are no long forced carries. There's lots of trouble, but it's off to the sides, not in front of you."
Jacobson, one of Jack Nicklaus's course architect protégés, did indeed
incorporate lots of danger, but only if you don't keep your ball in the
fairways. On the original 18 holes (Grizzly and Kodiak nines), 13 holes are
studded tee to green with bunkers, and 11 holes bordered water. The new nine
(Black Bear) is similarly bedecked with sand and sea.
Despite the potential peril, fairways are wide and clearly framed. From each tee, players can begin immediately to plan their routes to the hole. The greens are majestic, swooping swaths of perfectly manicured bent grass, which allow for myriad pin placements and countless methods of approach. With run-up ramps to all greens, they are exceedingly playable for higher handicapped golfers. And with closely-mown chipping areas funneling off the greens on several sides, they also present a high degree of difficulty for scratch players trying to stick it close.
Although Bear Trap Dunes is an award-winning golf development, its 700 homesites do remain in view enough to lend it a bit too much of a "residential" course for those whose tastes run to stand-alone courses. On the positive side, before being transformed into an excellent course, the land was so flat and featureless that the houses are not in any way blocking out the scenery. And to be fair, the homes and yards generally do not come into play.
Black Bear
Though some fairways are obviously sloped, even those that appear level may be canted enough to produce unfortunate bounces. Fortunately, mounding along the track often acts as an equalizer, channeling balls back into play.
Bear Trap Dunes' newest nine is also the longest and arguably the best of the 27. No. 2 is a stern 441-yard par 4, the green complex of which brings to mind some of the inland holes at Kingsbarns. The 424-yard 9th is a memorable closer, whether it is the closer of your first nine or your second nine. A gaping trench of a waste area demands one of the few forced carries off all but the forward tees. The sand extends over half-way down the right side of the fairway, where water begins. There is also a pot bunker in the center of the fairway beyond the waste area. In a word, this hole requires precision - off the tee and into the green.
Grizzly
The Grizzly was the front nine of the original 18-hole layout. The opening holes are tough doglegs that require accuracy and some amount of local knowledge. No. 1 (434 yards, par 4) features a tree guarding the left side of the narrow fairway. Tee shots ending up on that left side could wind up stymied.
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One cannot say enough about the eye-catching bunkering and artistically executed greens. Sand traps are in turn functional and decorative. Some beyond the range of play simply provide aiming points or picturesque backdrops. Others promise to add penalty strokes to the cards of the careless.
Nowhere is the bunkering more pleasing than around the green of the easy par-3 4th on the grizzly. At only 163 yards from the tips, this hole won't give you nightmares. But if the bucolic, wild bunkers - reminiscent of The Irish Course at Whistling Straits - distract you from your mission, it might yield an undeserved bogey.
Kodiak
Nos. 7 ( 550 yards, par 5) and 9 (427 yards, par 4) are the two best holes on this original back nine. The 7th usually plays into the wind, and once again sand and water guard the right side of the fairway from tee to green. If the wind is howling, any - repeat, ANY - sidespin can be accentuated ten-fold, so slicers beware.
The long 9th requires muscle off the tee, and then more muscle over a veritable desert of a fairway bunker jutting out into the line of play. Lay-ups to the right of the sand must find a narrow ribbon of short grass between rough to the left and water to the right.
The Skinny
The "three bears" at Bear Trap Dunes stand as worthy quarries for any golfer, from weekend warriors to big guns. Jacobson's homage to his mentor The Golden Bear succeeds in providing playability along with formidable challenges, not an easy combination to achieve.
Located toward the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, and thus warmed by ocean waters, this is often the closest locale to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and D.C. without snow, so it is open all year most seasons. While winter rates are a steal at $40 weekdays and $45 weekends, even the peak summer rate of $90 (including cart) is very fair.
Aside from the surrounding land development, the only down side of Bear Trap Dunes is its popularity. According to Marshall, the 270 members and guests who are renting villas on site usually snap up all the weekend tee times during the peak summer season. "The best chance for non-members during the summer is on weekdays," advises Marshall.
Nevertheless, the top-notch clubhouse and restaurant, along with the professional-grade practice facilities and instructional program directed by Marshall, make Bear Trap Dunes one of the three true "destination" courses in southern Delaware, along with Baywood Greens, which is just 18 holes, and The Rookery, which is considerably easier.
If you do decide to bolt from the golf-trip pack and plan a jaunt to Southern Delaware, a reasonable and golfer-friendly lodging option would be the Holiday Inn Express in Bethany Beach ((302) 541-9200), which has golf packages arranged with 27 Delaware and Maryland courses. For a special evening of fine dining, Nantucket in Fenwick Island ((302) 539-2607) serves up the best filet mignon in the area. And if you've ever dreamt of finding buried treasure, do not miss the DiscoverSea Museum on Fenwick Island ((302) 539-9366, www.discoversea.com). Proprietor, owner, and curator Dale W. Clifton, Jr. is perhaps the most successful treasure-hunter in America. His collection is guaranteed to astound.
Just don't trade your clubs in for a metal detector, because you'll definitely want to play Bear Trap Dunes again.
Course Information
Bear Trap Dunes
Ocean View, DE (Three miles west of Bethany Beach)
Tel: (877) BEAR-TRAP
Web: beartrapdunes.com
Head Pro: Bret Marshall
Yardage/Rating/Slope (Black Bear/Grizzly, par 72):
Champ 6901/72.7/130, Back 6429/70.4/126, Club 5817/67.2/121, Forward
5094/NA
Rates: $90 peak season (incl. cart), junior, twilight, and off-season
discounts
Misc.: Walking allowed for same rate; banquet facilities; call for package
deals
