The roar is being restored on the greens at Ocean Ridge Plantation’s original Big Cat. Lion’s Paw Golf Links is installing new Mini-Verde greens this summer.

The first of Ocean Ridge’s four layouts, Lion’s Paw began making the conversion the second week of July and is scheduled to reopen on August 30. The greens have already been conditioned and sprigged and the process is off to a fast start.

The work at Lion’s Paw comes on the heels of Panther’s Run installing Mini-Verde last summer, a transition that went exceedingly well.

“It was time for the renovations,” Bill Long, Ocean Ridge’s director of marketing, said. “The question was what we wanted to do. Bentgrass has its pros and cons, but in this area, with the heat we’ve had the past couple of summers, we decided it was time to look at an ultradwarf grass.

“The success of Panther’s Run made us to decide to go with Mini-Verde. The greens at Panther’s Run are very smooth and are doing great.”

In addition to new greens, Long said Lion’s Paw is also receiving a light face-lift, tidying up the course to make sure it’s in superb condition once it reopens.

The Mini-Verde is replacing the bentgrass greens Lion’s Paw has had since its 1991 opening. New generations of Bermuda grass, led by Mini-Verde, have been able to mimic the best qualities of bentgrass, and the Bermuda thrives in South Carolina’s summer heat.

A Willard Byrd design, Lion’s Paw has earned 4 stars in Golf Digest’s prestigious Best Places to Play guide and it features elevation changes and abundant water.

Tiger’s Eye and Leopard’s Chase, Ocean Ridge’s youngest layouts, continue to feature bentgrass greens and there are no plans for them to make the conversion.

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