Lion's Paw Golf Links
Lion's Paw is a 1990 Willard Byrd layout later revised by Tim Cate, stretching to 7,003 yards near Ocean Isle Beach. Reviews are genuinely mixed, so it fits budget minded groups rather than a marquee round.
Designed by Willard Byrd
- Par
- 72
- Yards
- 7,003
- Slope
- 137
- Holes
- 18
- Opened
- 1991
- Greens
- Mini Verde
Live tee times
Play Lion's Paw Golf Links.
Checking the tee sheet…
Live rates per golfer, cart included. Booking opens in our tee sheet with your day and group size already set.
The golf
Two designers are credited at Lion's Paw, Willard Byrd and Tim Cate, on a traditional layout that opened in 1990 at Ocean Isle Beach. The scorecard reads par 72 and 7,003 yards with a slope of 137, though the course is generally rated an easier play than that number suggests, which usually means generous corridors off the tee and difficulty concentrated around the green complexes. Reviewers back this up. One group used it as an opening round precisely because it was not too difficult, and another player noted misjudging a hole after expecting a creek across the fairway that never appeared, a reminder that local knowledge matters more here than length does.
Conditioning is the story, and it is not a flattering one. The most common words in reviews include poor, terrible and worst, and the specific complaints repeat: fairways in poor shape, greens with very little grass, and greens in bad shape on the back nine in particular. The Mini Verde surfaces can clearly be good, since several reviewers describe conditions as great, but the variance between reports is wide enough that two golfers playing months apart may not recognise each other's description of the place. Practice space is limited to a driving range and a putting green, with no chipping area or practice bunker, so there is little chance to test the short game before heading out. Weather has also cost visitors rounds here, with reports of play switched to a neighbouring course because of frost.
The numbers are honest about all of this. From 240 reviews the average is 3.07, with only 38 five star ratings against 36 one star ratings and 45 at two stars. That is a third of all reviewers leaving unhappy, which is far worse than the Myrtle Beach norm. The counterweight is a group of defenders who say they do not understand why the course attracts so many bad comments, plus players who loved it and plan to return. What emerges is a decent design that has struggled with turf, priced and positioned accordingly. Anyone booking it should treat conditioning as a genuine risk rather than an unlikely bad day.
Lion's Paw Golf Links in pictures
Getting there
351 Ocean Ridge Pkwy SW, Ocean Isle Beach, NC 28469
Course reviews
What golfers said about Lion's Paw Golf Links
Every one of these was left by a golfer who booked through us and played the course. Nothing is edited and nothing is paid for.
- 5 star 16%
- 4 star 24%
- 3 star 26%
- 2 star 18%
- 1 star 15%
This was a great starting course for us on our first day. Not too difficult and again condition conditions were great.
Unfamiliar with the course and played wrong club on some holes. Clubbed down on one hole expecting a creek to run across the fairway but no creek across fairway.
Course was in a little better shape but still had to ride cart paths only for 9 holes when course was not wet. they may over seeded but course was not wet and morning was no different than the afternoon. Service was good on & off the course
In slightly better condition everywhere, compared to Panther's Run. However, the greens were more similar than not to Panther's Run, resulting in more frustrating putting situations.
Good Cond although below the standard when played in the past
Probably the worst greens (browns?) I have ever played. Some were hairy. Some were baked brown and shaved close. Some had bare sandy areas
Greens were inconsistent. Very slow! Best grill of all the courses.
Greens terrible and fairways had dead spots. We should have been compensated for the course conditions….
Course completely dried out including greens. No watering of the course. Will never return. Fairways were like cow pastures.
One of the worst courses I have played in Myrtle Beach, ever. I was so disappointed with the tee boxes, the fairways and the greens. The greens were punched weeks before, the tee boxes were horrible and the fairways atrocious. How can you hit middle fairway yet be in a space where there is NO grass. We had folks on this trip all the way from California and this is what we represented. Just the absolute worse.
Punched greens a week before we played. The staff was friendly and courteous. I will definitely be back
Green were aerated and the fairway looked like it had not be watered in months
Same part of the Strand
Pair it with
Put Lion's Paw Golf Links in a package
Tell us the dates and who is coming. We quote the golf, the lodging and the tee times as one price, and a $100 deposit per golfer holds it.