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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
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
Nice
Played after 5 inches if rain the previous day, so challenging conditions. Nonetheless, course played nicely for late December. Cordial staff.
Fair Layout
Course was fair to play but diversity of the layout was a bit lacking. Greens were smooth but very slow.
Thank you for recommending Lion's Paw Golf Links. We appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
Thank you so much for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw Golf Links. We are happy to see you enjoyed your visit and we look forward to seeing you again in the future. 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 Golf Links. We really appreciate your feedback and your patronage. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well.
Vacation golf
My friend and I decided to lay at Lions Paw when we saw the course on GolfNow. The bag drop people were very friendly, and loaded the cart quickly. The course was very well kept, and the sand traps were the best kept that I have seen in the last several years. The greens were in great shape and were consistent. It was a great time. We look forward to playing the other Big Cat courses in the future.
Thank you so much 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!
Lions Paw
Course was the longest of the big cats. Greens were also the smallest.
Layout was not quit as creative as the others but we enjoyed the course and will be playing it again. Conditions were good and well maintained.
Staff was friendly and helpful.
Thank you for the very nice four star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and feedback and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
Thank you for the excellent Five Star review of Lion's Paw. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again.
Lions Paw experience
When we arrived we were met by friendly staff at the bag drop. Check in was a quick and easy. The gentleman at the bag drop gave us a quick o/v of the course and we were off. The course was in great shape and the greens ran true. I will be back to Ocean Ridge to test the other courses.
Thank you for the awesome Five Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and feedback and we look forward to seeing you again soon!
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw Golf Links. I see that most of your ratings for the course were good or average. Could you give us any further details as to your decision to rate the overall experience at Two Stars? We would like to use this feedback to help improve our guests' experience in the future. You can send the information directly to me at blong@oceanridge.com. Thanks again.
Beautiful Course
Loved the layout. Greens were sparse and putts bounced offline. If greens were truer, I would have rated the course as excellent. Hot Deal through Golf Now made it a good value.
Thank you for the nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We have been doing some significant work on the greens and they have improved considerably, even in the past cou0ple of weeks. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress.
Horrible course
We were suppose yo play Lions Paw. When we got there we were asked to play Panther Run. We agreed. Well panthers run is absolutely horrible condition. Crab grass for tee boxes and also kn thr fairway. The greens were horrible also. No good roll. Patches if grass were missing from the greens. We never play any of the 3 courses in Ocean ridge again
Great layout
Fun course to play, nice layout, challenging, good condition and pace off play was very good.
Thank you for the nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We agree, it is a fun and enjoyable layout and we look forward to seeing you again soon.
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.
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.
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.
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Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate your feedback and your patronage. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again.