Bear Trap Dunes was the vision of Joshua Freeman, who later developed Bayside Resort just down the road. Architect Rick Jacobson, a former associate of Jack Nicklaus, shaped it around the sand dunes and wetland grasses near Bethany Beach. The first 18 holes opened in 1999, and by 2001 there were 27, played as three nines: Grizzly, Kodiak and Black Bear. After Freeman died in a 2006 helicopter crash, his widow, Michelle Freeman, led the company. The course is managed by Troon.