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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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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
Lions Paw Golf
Nice course at a great price. Green work repairs are in process to save them from last year's freeze.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again!
Always a great place to play
Played here 30 years ago when it was first started and always played here each time over the 30 years since.
Thank you so much for the nice Four Star review and for your continued support and patronage through all these years! We really appreciate it! We are working hard daily on all of The Big Cats courses and we strive to offer each of our guests a fun and memorable experience. We look forward to seeing you next time! Thanks again!
Nice course, but damage from winter and drought
Good fairway conditions and tee boxes not too bad, but several greens are in poor shape. Course management is working to get these in good shape again. Would play again.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback! We are definitely working hard and committed to offering our guests a fun and memorable round of golf on any of The Big Cats courses. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again!
Beautiful Course
This was a great course, they are just struggling with their greens. You can tell they are working hard to fix it.
Thank you so much for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it. We are definitely working hard and just need a little rain to bring the course back to more typical conditions. The extreme drought has hit our area hard, but relief appears to be in sight, according to the forecast. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Fairways and greens lacking grass. Had not been watered and half the greens skety.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We apologize for the dry conditions you experienced. Our area has been in an extensive drought the past couple of months and we have had to manage our limited water supply very carefully. With a little rain, which is forecast for the coming days, the grass will green back up quickly and we will have enough water to irrigate fully again. We expect the course to be in excellent condition for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. Thanks again.
Roar of the Lion
This was my first time playing this course and I’ve played other Big Cats courses, Leopards Chase and Tigers Eye. This course was very fun and for the most part wide open and good for we high handicap players. The pro shop discounted my rate further and apologized for the greens conditions as they are not up to standard. The green on 10 and 11 were really bad with 11 being almost unplayable, it looked like some sort of black rot. Since they discounted my rate more I couldn’t complain it was the right thing for them to do. The staff were incredibly friendly and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. In comparison the conditions on Leopards chase the day before were ok, much better than Lions Paw but not as good as the other courses I played in the area.
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 extreme drought condition that have kept Lion's Paw from greening up as it normally would this time of year. We are glad to hear the discounted rate was appreciated, just as we appreciate you playing our course.With a little rain, things will be back to normal quickly and hopefully that rain is right around the corner. We hope you will visit us again and see Lion's Paw in its full glory! Thanks again.
This has happened all three times I’ve played on of the Big Cat courses. Online they are listed in the $85 range and all the reviews are great, then I get there and have gotten the same message, “the greens are slow to come in so we’re only going to charge you $45. I wish they would just list the rounds at $45 and be honest until/if the greens come around. But for just $45 it’s a decent round, so really I guess I can’t complain … was just looking forward to playing a nice course in good condition. Good layout.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We apologize you did not catch us at our best. The course has been in very good condition over the past year or so, but the extreme drought conditions of recent weeks has delayed the course in greening up, as we have had to manage our limited water supply carefully during this drought period. With a little rain, Lion's Paw will quickly green back up and should remain in good condition as we move forward. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress and improvement.
Very poor conditions
Greens, tee boxes and fairways in poor shape. Cart attendant was pleasant. Pro shop acted indifferent at best.
Thank you so much for the awesome Five Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate it and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Thanks again!
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. Thanks again.
Par 3
The course starts out somewhat tight but ooens up later. The par 3 white all around 180 with water in play, what water ? is the thought according to other golfers. Some greens were in bad shape, a virus going around affecting a lot of courses, but a good challenging course.
Thank you so much for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize for the dry condition you encountered. Our area has been in an extensive drought, but it looks like relief is in sight soon. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Underwhelming
Very disappointed. Fairways were in rough shape and the greens were no better. Some of the holes were enjoyable to play but overall I did not get the sense of enjoyment that I anticipated. After every round I pay while travelling I always ask myself - "Would I come back and play this course?' The answer was a quick one - NO!
Thank you very much for the nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it and we hope you will visit us again soon. Thanks again.
Very Fun Course
Super fun layout. Excellent pace of play (Tuesday afternoon). Friendly staff was a plus
Nice Course Needs attention to detail
I wrote my review like that because I felt there was not much missing to be a really good course . The fact we were sent out with a score care from one of their other courses really bothered me. When we said something coming
back through the second nine the attendant seemed to chuckle.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize for the mix up with your scorecard. With two courses operating out of the same clubhouse and bag drop, unfortunately that can happen on occasion, but I will bring this matter to the attention of our golf director and he can work with his staff members to help keep such mistakes to a minimum. We definitely take all areas of customer service seriously and apologize again if this matter seemed to be taken too lightly. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw Golf Links. We really appreciate it. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Great Shape
The course was in great shape for the time of year but we did not realize the wrong card for a different course was on our cart until the second hole so it was not easy to figure things out until the back nine.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize for the mix up with the scorecards and I will make sure our bag drop staff is aware of this issue and of the need to be sure each guest has the correct scorecard. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
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Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. The snow and ice did set some of the greens back a bit but they have improved rapidly now that the weather has warmed up and we have received some much needed rain. The course is improving daily and will be in very good condition for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.