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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
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Course Details
Rentals/Services
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Policies
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Bar, Grill, RestaurantAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2021 #16)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Greens are rolling nice
Course is tight with trees, so bring some balls. Whites play a bit long. Greens are rolling nice. Sandtraps were hard with mud, not well kept so try to avoid. Overall, fun round.
Needs a ton of work.
Greens were ok but the rest of course was in rough shape. Rough hadn’t been cut in weeks and the bunkers were not great. Weeds all throughout the fairway and had workers weed eating in fairway while we were trying to tee off. Also had a ranger tell us we can’t drive our cart to range because people get lost and don’t know where to go. Makes zero sense when I can see it from clubhouse and there are spots to park your cart at range. Only good thing was pace of play because no one was on course but makes sense now because of course conditions. Def won’t be back unless they make some major improvements.
Dissapointment
Coming from Ohio i was told to play the cat courses. We tried Lion's Paw and to be fair it has been raining alot. Crabgrass everywhere, greens in rough shape and grass needs mowed. Looks like a great course at one time......just not right now.7
We sincerely apologize we fell short of your expectation on your most recent visit. Heavy rain and intense heat in the weeks prior to our visit certainly contributed greatly to the issues you described. Fortunately these conditions are very much temporary and are now improving daily. We are looking forward to a great remainder of 2023 and beyond.
Thank you for the positive review of your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and look forward to seeing you again in the future.
Thank you so much for the nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. The greens have healed up nicely and getting even better daily. We are looking forward to a great remainder of 2023 and beyond! We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress.
Lost Greens
Pulling up to the putting green, I saw I may be in for a rough day on the greens. We had to do 2 putt max, as there wasn't a single green that was 100% playable with a smooth roll. We (2some) were off first, and played in under 3 hours. 1 hole the sprinklers were on while we attempted to putt. Another hole, the flag wasn't put back into the cup. I mentioned these things, and the greens and the guy working said it was the weathers fault. I live 2 hours from here, and my club has almost perfect greens. So it's not the weather. 10 years ago, this course was terrific but I guess funding has decreased. Panther's Run looked the same.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw Golf Links. We apologize we fell short of your expectations on this visit. The weather certainly did throw us some curve balls this spring. Though Raleigh is only 3.5 hours away, in this region, even a few miles can make a big difference in the weather conditions you receive. Regardless, we apologize we were not in our best condition on this visit. We are currently doing an extensive renovation on these greens and they will once again be in excellent playing condition for our guests for the remainder of 2033 and beyond.
Greens were pathetic; but we warned, although not sufficiently. General lack of maintenance, but for $45, you can't expect a lot more in the heat of July.
Thank you for reviewing your visit to Lion's Paw. We appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We deeply apologize we fell short of your expectations on this visit. We are currently undergoing extensive greens renovations to ensure Lion's Paw is in great condition for the remainder of 2023 and beyond. We hope you will visit us again and see our progress and growth.
Poor Shape
Starting on the first hole, you notice that the greens are in poor shape along with overgrown rough and overgrown brush around every hole. The layout was fine. The staff were great but the course conditions were awful.
Greens in terrible shape
Did not find out until we arrived that greens were “aerated “. Greens with multiple dead spots, areas of irregular sod, massively inconsistent from hole to hole. Layout is great , management needs to invest in playable greens.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw Golf Links. We apologize you happened to play at a time we were doing some required maintenance to our greens. We did offer our guests a discounted rate for this period and gave them the option to play one of our other courses, if preferred. These conditions are very much temporary and the course will be in very good condition once again in the coming days. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued improvement and progress.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it and hope you will visit us again soon!
Greens
I would have to tell my friends that the greens are in really bad shape.
Thank you for taking the time to review your round at Lion's Paw. We greatly appreciate the nice Four Star review. Several unexpected factors have hampered our greens during the late spring, but with the rapidly improving weather conditions, the condition of the greens will be rapidly improving as well. We are looking forward to the remainder of 2023 and beyond and we hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Lions Paw fun
Enjoyed the round at a lLions Paw. Fantastic staff that was super friendly, honest, and helpful. Although the greens were terrible, the price adjustment helped. They were honest about the condition of the greens up front. I hope the greens improve as the layout, fairways, tees, experience were all great. Thanks for a fun day. I’ll return.
Rough Conditions
The greens were in very poor condition. Staff very friendly & accommodating. Course needs a year with no play to survive & begin to once again thrive like in the past.
Neglected Greens!!
Greens were very disappointing in comparison to the rest of the course. Very weedy, Burnt, and bumpy.!! They’re in desperate need of love! Rest of the course was nice, the tee boxes were level and the fairways are in great shape and well. For the price I give it 3/5 stars. First time there would not recommend until greens are repaired.
Thank you for taking the time to review your round at Lion's Paw. We apologize for the condition of the greens. We have been aggressively treating the issues you described and will continue to do so. We fully expect the overall conditions to continue to improve rapidly and for the greens to be in great shape for the summer. We also have a plan in place to use some newly available products to proactively treat these issues and make sure we do not experience a similar situation in the future. We apologize again and hope you will visit us again soon to see our continued progress.
Surprised
Surprised the greens were in such poor shape for this golf course.
We apologize we were not at our best during your visit to Lion's Paw. We have been aggressively treating the issues you described and we expect the conditions to continue to improve rapidly now and for the course to be in great shape for the summer. We also have a plan in place to use some newly available products to proactively treat these issues and make sure we do not experience a similar situation in the future. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress.
The Paw was alittle tired
Majority of the greens were in poor condition and number a fairways had rough spots.
Beware of looking for balls near the water… yiu might meet a new friend
Switched to Panthers Run
I wanted to play Lions Paw but a Member tournament took precedent and caused me to be bumped to Panthers Run. A much lower rated course.
This course was in horrible condition. Greens had little or no grass. Bunkers no sand. With gators and snakes abound, it wasn't the safest course either. Restrooms locked code didn't work. Icing on the cake, No Food or Water available.
I DON'T RECOMMEND THIS COURSE TO ANYONE PERIOD.
We apologize you were switched to a different course. I'm not sure of the circumstances on the day you played, but our staff tries to accommodate all of our guests to make sure they have the best overall experience possible. Panther's Run and Lion's Paw are very comparable courses. In fact, Panther's Run is often rated even higher than Lion's Paw in many listings, as it is newer and has some very unique design features. Regardless, we apologize you were not satisfied with your experience and we would like to work with you to help resolve the issue. If you can contact me directly at blong@oceanridge.com, I will work with you to find a solution. Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you.
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Thank you fro the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate it and we hope you will visit us again soon.