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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
Nice courae
The layout I'd great, but the course conditions were horrible!!! The greens needed to be cut, the fairways were tall, the tee boxes needed to be cut and the course needed some serous care in some areas.
Thank you for the very nice four star review of Lion's Paw! We truly appreciate it. 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. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Consistent
Lions Paw is fantastic, right along with the rest of the Ocean Ridge courses. The staff here are always some of the nicest people. Love the challenge everytime I play any of the 4 courses here.
Not bad
Course conditions were pretty rough because it was really wet and the course doesn’t drain well. Would enjoy playing it when bunkers don’t have puddles and the greens much faster
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. Yes, the now more than one foot of rain we have received over the past two weeks has really made maintenance difficult, but it looks like things are finally starting to dry out and we can get all the bunkers back up to par and catch up on the mowing as well. We expect the course to 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.
Good course
The fairways were a little drowned; maybe rained a lot prior to our visit? So the grass was in rough shape in a few places. Greens and tee boxes in pretty good shape. 14th hole had a gator, osprey nest and a fox. Pretty challenging course. Enjoyed it!
Thank you for the very nice four star review of Lion's Paw. Yes, we had a huge downpour just prior to your day of play, so we apologize things were a little "wetter" than usual, but our area desperately needed the rain. Thanks again and 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. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We look forward to seeing you again soon!
Great time
Course was fun to play and challenging at the same time. Will play again.
Thank you for the very nice Four Star review of Lion's Paw. We are so happy you enjoyed your visit. Be sure to check out the other three Big Cats courses as well. Thanks again!
Badly Maintained
Greens were shaggy and slow with pock parks causing the putted ball to bounce. Fairways were fried. Several have pea gravel trench drains crossing them. Multiple tea boxes were sandy and lacking grass. Would not make the top twenty municipal courses if located in my home state.
Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We truly appreciate your patronage and your feedback. We apologize the course was not at its best during your visit. We have had only a trace amount of rainfall in the past 60 days, which has caused the grass to be off color and has hampered other maintenance practices. Fortunately we finally received some much needed rain today and it looks like more is in the forecast for the next few days, which will cause the grass to green back up very quickly and will help with the healing of the aerification holes on the greens. We apologize again for these temporary conditions and hope you will visit us again in the future to see our continued progress and improvement. Thanks again.
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.
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!
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.
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Thank you for taking the time to review your visit to Lion's Paw. We apologize for the conditions you described. That would be a very unusual circumstance, as you can see by the other very positive recent reviews for the course. I will check with our Director of Agronomy and see what might have happened that day and we will take whatever steps necessary to correct this issue. Again, we apologize and we hope you will give us another opportunity in the future to better meet your expectations. Thanks again.