Lion’s Paw Still Makes Golfers Roar With Delight
Awards continue to pile up for Lion’s Paw Golf Links and the other three Big Cats at Ocean Ridge Plantation, one of two four-course facilities on the Myrtle Beach golf scene.
In June, Where to Retire Magazine selected the Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., facility as one of America’s top places to retire. It was the seventh time Ocean Ridge Plantation was chosen for the honor.
Lion’s Paw opened in 1991 as the first “Big Cat’’ course. A top 50 selection in the Myrtle Beach golf market by Golf Digest, Lion’s Paw is especially unique because of its wide variety of challenges and spectacular scenery. Lion’s Paw has something for every golfer: spacious, well contoured holes allowing players the freedom to swing away, noticeable rustic wetlands, and white sandy bunkers to test ability under pressure.
In fact, all four Ocean Ridge courses – Panther’s Run, Tiger’s Eye and most recently Leopard’s Chase are the others – are distinct in their own way.
Lion’s Paw and Panther’s Run share a 23,000-square-foot clubhouse, home to a pro shop that annually is selected among the country’s best, and are Grand Strand golf vacation favorites.
Most experts say Lion’s Paw is among architect Willard Byrd’s best works. Byrd is a familiar name to folks who regularly make a Myrtle Beach golf trip. His designs along the Grand Strand include: the Byrd course at Sea Trail Plantation, Farmstead Golf Links, Heather Glen Golf Links, the Hummingbird Course (nine holes) at Wild Wing Plantation, Indigo Creek Golf Club, Heron Point Golf Club and Meadowlands Golf Course.
One of Lion’s Paws’ signatures is the countless oyster shells decorating the banks of Nos. 3 and 17, both par 3s.
On Aug. 31, Lion’s Paw reopened after installing new MiniVerde ultradwarf greens, the same putting surface used on Panther’s Run and at the home of The Players Championship, TPC Sawgrass.
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