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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
Couldn’t lick the Lion’s Paw
Friendly and efficient staff. Played in the afternoon and course was virtually empty. Got paired with a couple and they preferred I play ahead.
Course was maybe a bit ragged round the edges in places but eminently enjoyable. Fairways and greens were good and what else really matters.
Playing on your own with iffy eyesight has its challenges so lay a few balls I thought I would find.
Course is recommended especially for the price.
Thank you so much for the Four Star review of Lion's Paw! We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We work hard daily to provide our guests with a fun and memorable golf experience. We hope you visit again soon. 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 it and we hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
I apologize, Lion's Paw. My mistake. Thank you again!
Thank you so much for the Five Star review of Leopard's Chase! 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 so much 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. Thanks again!
Course was ok, but with all the water that fell in the area in the past few weeks the fairways and greens should have been more greener
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it. We apologize for the weather related conditions you described. The immense overabundance of rain actually causes grass roots to "drown" and turn yellow or brown in some areas, and the hot damp conditions are a breeding ground for turf diseases that can turn the grass off color. IF we can get a more normal weather pattern for just a few days, conditions, particularly color will improve rapidly. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress.
Conditions
The layout was fun with water outlining almost every hole. The tee boxes were not well maintained, there were many weeds along with really long tee boxes. Around the greens there were many patches of weeds that made short game really difficult. After 17in of rain it is understandable for the bunkers to be washed out. However it should have been raked or marked as GUR.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize you did not catch us at our best on this visit. The unprecedented and relentless rainfall we have experienced in the preceding weeks has made maintenance on the four Big Cats courses very difficult for our crew. We need dry enough conditions to get the big mowers out without doing damage to the turf. The rain and heat also resulted in an explosion of unexpected weeds that must be eradicated carefully, as to not damage the bermuda turf in the process. With all that being said, we have made great progress in recent days and all four Big Cats course are getting better daily (Despite continued rain!) We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Needs some TLC
Fairways are basically all crabgrass. Bunkers full of water. Greens patchy with bare spots. Distance markers were scarce.
Thank you for the nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again!
Lion's Paw
Good course. Challenging. Small greens and lots of traps. The traps were not well maintained. Seemed more like hard pan. We finally just pulled the ball out and hit from the grass behind it for the rest of the round. The staff was nice. We were first on the course and played in about 3.5 hrs. Will definitely play there again.
Thank you so much for the awesome Five Star review of Lion's Paw Golf Links. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Wet greens
The course is a good layout and was in good condition overall however we had a 7:15 tee time and the greens were not mowed, rolled, or anything. As a result the greens actually had standing few on them for the entire front nine. It made putting very difficult as the ball would pick up water and not roll. It really took away from the quality of the course. Maybe that sounds like nit picking but I have never had that happen for nine holes. Other than that the course was fine.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw Golf Links. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize for the wet conditions on the day you played. The heavy rains from the night before made rolling and mowing the greens very difficult that early in the morning, but this is a very unusual circumstance for sure. I will pass your feedback along to our Director of Agronomy so they can consider any adjustments they might be able to make to their practices to help with any similar issues. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Thank you so much 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. Thanks again.
Good value
Started at 925 am. Pace was a little slow to begin but was fine after the turn.
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 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.
This course has changed
I’ve played this course a few times over the last couple of years, but this year felt different. The course maintenance has diminished. The fairways play like rough where there is grass, the greens are quite patchy and have been left quite long. I have really enjoyed this course in the past and that why I chose to take my mom on her first visit to eastern North Carolina. Will not be back anytime soon unless I hear of improvements.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We deeply apologize you did not catch us at our best on this visit, but fortunately course conditions are improving rapidly, now that we have received some much needed rainfall, and we expect all of The Big Cats courses to be in very good condition for the remainder of 2025 and beyond. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress.
The greens needed work, there were rough spots on them, probably wear her related.
Overall a good deal for the price, overall the course needs a little work on the greens and fairways, but nothing that make it unplayable.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We really appreciate it. Now that we have received some decent rainfall, the course is greening up quickly and weak spots are filling in as well. We expect the course to 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!
Not worth it
The course has gone downhill in the last few months. The greens were mostly terrible, a few were okay. Many of the tee boxes were over used as well as the markers were set off center, not facing down the fairway. The fairways were not bad. The cart girl was covering 3 courses, so we only saw her once on the 13th hole. The guy inside was very nice but did not mention the greens being in bad shape. The bag drop guys were great and the starter kept everything moving. A ranger or maintenance guy on the course said the greens has been punched recently and there was lots of sand, but the many dead patches is inexcusable. There are several courses within 15 minutes and 15 dollars that are in great shape. I will spend my money elsewhere next time.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We deeply apologize you did not catch us at our best on this visit. The greens experienced some winterkill issues from the heavy snow of the late winter and then the annual Rye to Bermuda transition was disrupted by a severe drought. Fortunately those issue are behind us now and the extensive measures we have taken to improve the condition of the course have helped dramatically. With the significant rainfall of the past two weeks, things have improved even quicker and we expect the course, including the greens, to be in very good shape as we move through the remainder of 2025 and beyond. We also apologize for the pin placements on that day. I will make our director of agronomy aware of this issue immediately and he can direct his staff to take more care with the placement of pins on any greens with lingering issues. Thank you again and we hope you will choose to visit us again sometime and see our continued progress.
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Thank you so much for the 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!