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Lion's Paw at Ocean Ridge Plantation
Rating Snapshot
About
Lion's Paw Golf Links is an open, hilly course that treats the golfer to spectacular views of a beautiful creek valley and its adjoining wetlands. A wild and untamed layout, Lion's Paw features deep sugar white sand bunkers and MiniVerde greens.
A stunning 23,000 square foot clubhouse serves both Lion's Paw and Panther's Run golf courses and offers residents and visitors the perfect place to ready themselves for the upcoming challenge on the links. Designed with a safari theme, the clubhouse includes a full-service pro shop, a snack bar and Tamers Restaurant and Lounge, an elegant dining room serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Lion's Paw has been described as Willard Byrd's finest work. Part wild, part rustic and quiet, this magnificent course presents a lion's share of adventure and breathtaking scenery.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | 72 | 7003 yards | 74.0 | 132 |
| White | 72 | 6457 yards | 71.3 | 128 |
| Gold | 72 | 5872 yards | 67.5 | 118 |
| Gold (W) | 72 | 5872 yards | 71.0 | 126 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5363 yards | 69.0 | 121 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue M: 73.5/137 | 417 | 517 | 204 | 428 | 415 | 228 | 402 | 520 | 386 | 3517 | 400 | 202 | 383 | 527 | 418 | 445 | 384 | 185 | 542 | 3486 | 7003 |
| White M: 71.0/131 | 387 | 477 | 178 | 385 | 399 | 175 | 364 | 495 | 352 | 3212 | 375 | 188 | 372 | 493 | 396 | 408 | 353 | 154 | 506 | 3245 | 6457 |
| White/Gold M: 69.2/126 | 351 | 477 | 128 | 385 | 366 | 136 | 364 | 495 | 352 | 3054 | 375 | 172 | 322 | 493 | 393 | 382 | 353 | 131 | 506 | 3127 | 6181 |
| Gold M: 67.3/115 W: 72.7/133 | 351 | 433 | 128 | 361 | 366 | 136 | 332 | 478 | 336 | 2921 | 349 | 172 | 322 | 431 | 393 | 382 | 319 | 131 | 457 | 2956 | 5877 |
| Red M: 64.2/108 W: 68.8/124 | 335 | 416 | 108 | 326 | 353 | 125 | 303 | 455 | 305 | 2726 | 307 | 110 | 300 | 413 | 321 | 366 | 286 | 121 | 406 | 2630 | 5356 |
| Handicap | 1 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 18 | 12 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 1 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 14 |
Hot Deals at Lions Paw
1-4
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Grill, RestaurantAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2021 #16)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u835220769 on 07/17/2026
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Photo submitted by u950416169 on 05/16/2026
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Photo submitted by u950416169 on 05/16/2026
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Photo submitted by u950416169 on 05/16/2026
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Photo submitted by logancriss on 04/13/2026
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Photo submitted by logancriss on 04/13/2026
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Photo submitted by logancriss on 04/13/2026
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72 year-old with good swing form! Photo submitted by PKStamm2418 on 01/18/2026
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Carlos was a great welcoming committee Photo submitted by james9852821 on 10/14/2025
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Photo submitted by u000007843074 on 06/13/2025
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Photo submitted by u000007843074 on 06/13/2025
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Photo submitted by u000007843074 on 06/13/2025
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Photo submitted by Richard1399167 on 05/16/2021
Greens were…
Greens were not in good shape. Many of them were under repair with sand. Also, majority of the tee boxes are uneven.
Okay place in a pinch
Played an afternoon round with 2 others based on reviews here. Yes, the greens were "recovering from the aerating, but there were lots of bare spots on the greens.
Lots of "blind shots" off the tees if you don't have your own GPS.
The staff in the pro shop are not very friendly at all.
The driving range is a fairly long walk from the pro shop because, for some reason, you can't take a golf cart there. There are no free range balls, which has been a very nice addition to several nearby golf courses.
For the same $$ Rivers Edge and Sandpiper are a better bet.
Thank you for the wonderful Five Star review of Lion's Paw! We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback and we hope to see you out chasing birdies with the Big Cats again very soon!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We hope you will visit us again soon and be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well! Thanks again.
Fun Father’s Day Round
Fun course layout, not horribly challenging. Greens were punched a few weeks before we played so they were bumpy and did not run well despite being very receptive early in the day.
Very slow play greens where unplayable no water on the course. Never book again
We deeply apologize for the conditions you described. Your round took place right after the aerification of the greens on Lion's Paw, which is a necessary practice for all golf courses in this region. The greens will typically be bumpy and slow for a few days after this process. Our staff is always instructed to make all of our guests aware of this procedure before playing to allow them the opportunity to choose one of the other three Big Cats courses instead. If this was not the case for your group, please contact me at blong@oceanridge.com and I would be happy to work with you to resolve this issue and to make sure our staff on duty that day have further training in this regard, if necessary. Thank you and we hope to see you again soon.
Course was unfortunately getting aerated, couldn't seem to find one that wasn't during my stay down here. Staff was friendly and gave me a discount which I appreciated, didn't get the same treatment elsewhere. Fairly fun course, got in early and it was a speedy round, the long par 3's will test you.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize that your round fell on our aerification date. Tis the season, as they say, but it is a necessary procedure to keep the greens looking good year round. But hopefully the discount helped! We hope you will visit us again soon.
Greens in good shape, rolled true. Bunkers were not good, more like hard pan. Pace of play 4 hrs. Friendly staff. Nice layout. Course conditions would score higher except for the bunker conditions.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Just to follow up on the bunkers, we are currently in the process of a major bunker restoration project and we have restored/refreshed over 40 sand traps so far in 2024. This process will be continuing until all of the bunkers on all four Big cats courses have been rejuvenated. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Sunday Golf PM
1st time on course. Tee's and Fairways not mowed in awhile. It has been very rainy so I'll give a pass on that. Greens were good. Played in 3 hrs 30 minutes!! Awesome
Thank you for the awesome Four Star review. You are correct, it was VERY rainy in the days leading up to Sunday, but fortunately we have been able to catch up with the mowing since then and everything should be very nice as we move forward through the summer and the remainder of 2024. Thanks again and be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion’s Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Great Experience
The staff was very friendly and helpful in the clubhouse and on the course. The greens rolled true and were quicker than expected. The course is a bit older, but is holding up well. Overall, we had a great time.
Thank you for the AWESOME Five Star review of Lion's Paw! We truly appreciate it and we hope you will visit us again soon. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
Thank you for the awesome Five Star review of Lion's Paw! We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion’s Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Sunset
Pace of play needs to be monitored and improved. Staff is outstanding!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion’s Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. I will pass this along to our golf staff and we will do everything in our power to make these improvements. Thanks again and be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
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Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize for the unsatisfactory customer service experience you described in your review. It is our goal to offer every one of our guests a fun and enjoyable golf experience and we are sorry to hear we fell short of that goal during your visit. I will take your feedback to our front line staff and we will use this as an opportunity to offer additional training to help ensure that we continue to improve our customer service for future guests. We apologize again and hope you will give us another opportunity in the future to better meet your expectations and needs. Thanks again.