Back
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
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Grill, RestaurantAccolades
-
Golf Advisor: Top 25 Most Improved U.S. Golf Courses (2021 #16)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
Appeared to have low rainfall
Challenging course with good assortment of bunkers and hazards. Bunkers needed racked, Most greens had some issues, Front desk seemed offended that I utilized the discounted GOLF NOW tee time vs calling in. Lots of poison oak and Ivey along the edges.
Great fun although…
My Dad and I had a great time at Lions Paw! Everyone is friendly and you can’t ask for a better golfing experience for the cost. Only thing I am ticked about is that there aren’t any 150 yard markers! They need to have some poles sticking out the ground for us players that might not have a great eye as others. Everything else though is top notch! I’ll be going again, you can bet on that! Dad and I both shot 90.
Dad: 48/42
Clay: 46/44
Absolutely worth playing!
The course layout was fantastic and the maintenance was excellent. The greens weren’t perfect, largely due to drought slowed recovery from punching, but I’ve played worse at nearly twice the price. Would definitely play again.
I played this course the day before you. Either this is a fake post or you normally play on terrible courses. I gave it a 3. Greens and tee boxes were horrible. Most bunkers were unplayable. I had a good time as I am sure you did, but the course was bad.
Thank you fro the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We certainly do need some rain, but the greens have healed up nicely from the aerification earlier in the summer and they will be improving daily now and should be in very good condition for the remainder of 2024 and beyond. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again!
Fun course
Glad we played. Will help to k on the layout next tome...
Poor green condition
The greens had been punched 7 weeks ago and had not recovered. There were bare patches on the greens and were playing very slow. The price was low so I guess that makes up for the conditions buy they were in bad shape. The fairways were very dry also and had not grown in.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw Golf Links. We apologize for the conditions you experienced on your visit. Our particular area has been in a significant drought, with practically no rainfall in over 60 days. We are using our water supply very strategically to ensure the greens stay healthy, as the other grasses will bounce back very quickly once we get some much needed rain. The greens were actually aerifed on May 29, so a little less than five weeks before your round, but that is typically more than enough time for a complete recovery. Unfortunately, the lack of rain has also hampered the healing process, taking longer than usual. As of today, July 9, we have finally seen some significant improvement in the greens on Lion's Paw, even as compared to a week ago, and we are confident they will be in very good condition for the remainder of 2024 and beyond (Assuming we at least get a little rain somewhere along the way..) Again, we deeply apologize for the unsatisfactory experience you described and we hope you will give us another opportunity in the future to better meet your expectations and golfing needs. Thanks again.
Not in good shape at all. Greens slow and looked to be aerated not long ago. Burnt up with no grass teeboxes and the bunkers hard as a rock. Very disappointed in the big cats. Hopefully the other 3 are in better shape. Unfortunately with as many people playing I don’t feel they care much about upkeep around the course.
Greens were…
Greens were not in good shape. Many of them were under repair with sand. Also, majority of the tee boxes are uneven.
Okay place in a pinch
Played an afternoon round with 2 others based on reviews here. Yes, the greens were "recovering from the aerating, but there were lots of bare spots on the greens.
Lots of "blind shots" off the tees if you don't have your own GPS.
The staff in the pro shop are not very friendly at all.
The driving range is a fairly long walk from the pro shop because, for some reason, you can't take a golf cart there. There are no free range balls, which has been a very nice addition to several nearby golf courses.
For the same $$ Rivers Edge and Sandpiper are a better bet.
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 unsatisfactory customer service experience you described in your review. It is our goal to offer every one of our guests a fun and enjoyable golf experience and we are sorry to hear we fell short of that goal during your visit. I will take your feedback to our front line staff and we will use this as an opportunity to offer additional training to help ensure that we continue to improve our customer service for future guests. We apologize again and hope you will give us another opportunity in the future to better meet your expectations and needs. Thanks again.
Thank you 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. Thanks again!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback and we hope to see you out chasing birdies with the Big Cats again very soon!
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We hope you will visit us again soon and be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well! Thanks again.
Fun Father’s Day Round
Fun course layout, not horribly challenging. Greens were punched a few weeks before we played so they were bumpy and did not run well despite being very receptive early in the day.
Very slow play greens where unplayable no water on the course. Never book again
We deeply apologize for the conditions you described. Your round took place right after the aerification of the greens on Lion's Paw, which is a necessary practice for all golf courses in this region. The greens will typically be bumpy and slow for a few days after this process. Our staff is always instructed to make all of our guests aware of this procedure before playing to allow them the opportunity to choose one of the other three Big Cats courses instead. If this was not the case for your group, please contact me at blong@oceanridge.com and I would be happy to work with you to resolve this issue and to make sure our staff on duty that day have further training in this regard, if necessary. Thank you and we hope to see you again soon.
Course was unfortunately getting aerated, couldn't seem to find one that wasn't during my stay down here. Staff was friendly and gave me a discount which I appreciated, didn't get the same treatment elsewhere. Fairly fun course, got in early and it was a speedy round, the long par 3's will test you.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize that your round fell on our aerification date. Tis the season, as they say, but it is a necessary procedure to keep the greens looking good year round. But hopefully the discount helped! We hope you will visit us again soon.
Greens in good shape, rolled true. Bunkers were not good, more like hard pan. Pace of play 4 hrs. Friendly staff. Nice layout. Course conditions would score higher except for the bunker conditions.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Just to follow up on the bunkers, we are currently in the process of a major bunker restoration project and we have restored/refreshed over 40 sand traps so far in 2024. This process will be continuing until all of the bunkers on all four Big cats courses have been rejuvenated. We hope you will visit us again soon and see our continued progress. Thanks again.
Sunday Golf PM
1st time on course. Tee's and Fairways not mowed in awhile. It has been very rainy so I'll give a pass on that. Greens were good. Played in 3 hrs 30 minutes!! Awesome
Thank you for the awesome Four Star review. You are correct, it was VERY rainy in the days leading up to Sunday, but fortunately we have been able to catch up with the mowing since then and everything should be very nice as we move forward through the summer and the remainder of 2024. Thanks again and 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. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Talamore Golf Resort Stay & Play Package
Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club Stay & Play Package
Mid Pines Inn & Golf Club Stay & Play Package
Francis Marion Hotel Stay & Play
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. You are correct, we have had only a trace amount of rain over the past 60 days (Until Today, thank goodness!!) causing the course to be much drier and off-color than it typically would be at this time of year. The much needed rain today should greatly improve that situation. We hope you will visit us again and see our continued progress. Thanks again!