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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
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Bar, Grill, RestaurantAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2021 #16)
Reviews
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Meh
not a great layout. fairways needed a mow but rough was out of control. you could miss a fairway by inches and lose your ball. ditto around the greens. I realize there are consequences to a less than perfect shots but the bermuda grass was way to thick and LONG to prevent way too much time searching and in many cases losing a ball that didnt deserve to be lost. Regarding the layout, many might like it. I found it pretty dull. fyi, pace of play was good because no one else out there. kind of sad.
Beautiful Course
The course was in great shape, especially the greens. Staff was very friendly.
Thank you very much! Yes, we have worked diligently to make sure this wonderful and original Big Cat course is in great shape for future guests and we are so proud of the recent results! We hope you will come again very soon.
Stay away from this one
Unfortunately, the owner of this course does not care about it. This whole year has shown that a great course like Lions Paw - and its sister courses (Panther's Run, Tiger's Eye, Leaopards Chase) have been in lousy condition for years. The owner is not putting the resources into the facility and simple things like food and beverage and course conditions have suffered. He needs to sell these before they get to a point where they cannot come back.
We are very sorry you feel that way. In reading your review, I'm not sure if you have actually played the courses lately, but all of the Big Cats are much improved this fall and that includes Lion's Paw, as evidenced by the more recent reviews on this site and others. This has been a most challenging year for businesses in our nation and golf in particular has been hard hit. Despite the tremendous loss of revenue from cancelled golf trips and government mandated stay at home orders, we have persevered and have kept our employees working so they can provide for their families, while taking great strides in making necessary improvements to the courses. The hiring of two new highly experienced greens superintendents and the aid of various consultants have helped us make tremendous improvements that will allow us to offer our guests an enjoyable and memorable golf experience for many years to come. We would love to have you come back out and see the improvements for yourself. Please contact me anytime to discuss this situation further. Just ask for Bill Long and I will be happy to work with you to show you our recent progress. I look forward to hearing from you.
Lions Paw
conditions at Lions Paw have improved dramatically lately... the winter rye has grown in beautifully and the greens are in very good condition...
Thank you very much for taking the time to review your recent visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your feedback. We agree, conditions are much improved and we are dedicated to making that trend continue as we move beyond the challenges of the difficult summer we faced in 2020. We hope you will come back again and see our continued progress. Thanks again!
Thank you for the review. Conditions at all The Big Cats courses are improving dramatically and we are excited about the remainder of 2020 and beyond.
Lion's Paw
It's too bad they don't take care of the course, it's such great layout, but just in D+ shape, maybe a C-
We apologize for the conditions you described above and want you to know we take your feedback seriously. We have hired a new Director of Agronomy and a new head greens superintendent and they have a plan that will greatly improve overall conditions on all of The Big Cats courses. Progress is already evident in just a few weeks and will continue through the remainder of 2020 and beyond. We hope you will come check out the improved Big Cats again soon.
Course was in horrible shape
This course was in horrible shape. The grass on the tee boxes was higher than my ball. Fairways and rough also needed to be mowed. If you missed a fairway you can’t find your ball. We lost several balls in the first cut.
For $65 dollars it is over priced. I could have plaid courses back home in much better shape of a third of the cost.
Do not play this course!
Lesson: always read reviews
Prior reviews say it all. Poorly maintained sad course. I booked without reading the reviews. Crab grass so bad you couldn’t find your ball. Beautiful homes surround the course. I bet their owners are disappointed.
Thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit to Ocean Ridge! We appreciate it very much and hope to see you again soon. There are some exciting improvements taking place for the remainder of 2020 and beyond!
Sell this place to an owner that cares
Played Panthers Run today. In the 39 years I have been playing golf in the Myrtle Beach area I have never played a course in worse condition than this place. Munys up north are in better shape. I played here 20 years ago and it was a premier course. Now it's a disaster. I have never seen so much crab grass on a golf course - tees, fairways and fringes. Numbers 7, 8 and 9 are particularly awful. I won't be back until they make some major improvements.
We deeply apologize for the conditions you experienced on your recent visit. Many external factors created a perfect storm of challenges that definitely impacted our course conditions during the the late summer and early fall. fortunately, that period has passed and we have made significant progress in a short period of time since then. The addition of a new Director of Agronomy and a stronger supporting staff has made a tremendous difference and we are excited about the improvements and progress that is to come for the remainder of this year and beyond. We hope you will give us an opportunity in the future to make up for your previous unsatisfactory experience.
Worst course ever played
This course is awful! 80% crab grass. Miss the fairway by a foot and you are lucky to find it in the weeds. Greens are slower than a shag carpet. Save yourself the time and money, PLAY SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!! #MyrtleBeachWorldAM should be ashamed of putting this course in the rotation.
Course Not Maintained
This course looked great on the website and has the potential to be a wonderful course near the beach. However, they need to invest in keeping this course in a better condition. The grass on the tee box, fairway, and rough were all unkept on most holes. You could hit a ball in the fairway and have to spend time looking for it. If I teed up a driver shot on some holes, my ball would barely be above the grass level.
The other aspect of the course condition was the wetness. I played at 8 am and it did not rain for probably 24 hours. They must've left the sprinklers on all night because the course was SOAKED. Obviously, this effects your game when hitting approach shots and putting.
Disgraceful
Played this course this morning. It was filled with grab grass and grass from the mowers was laying in the fairway. Tee boxes were disgraceful.! Can’t imagine the World Am playing this course or Panther’s Run. Mark Saunders put some money into your courses or sale them.!
Lions Paw
Lions Paw Golf links is an absolute disgrace to the golf community. The worst grass I’ve ever seen on a course.
grounds crew
We were the first group off and we were told we had to wait until the grounds crew crew got in front of us. We never saw one person or any tracks. Thus, the course especially the front line needs a boatload of work
Lions paw
The golf course is not in very good shape. The greens are very very slow. The rough was so long you couldn’t find a ball. To many courses around to play here!!
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Thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit to Lion's Paw. This legendary and original Big Cat course went through a tough stretch at the end of summer and early fall, but we have worked diligently to return it to form and the results are certainly evident to those playing recently. The rough is actually much improved from even a few weeks ago and we have a comprehensive plan that will keep the roughs and the entire course in excellent condition as we move through the remainder of 2020 and beyond. We hope you will visit us again soon and see the results for yourself! Thanks again.