Panther's Run Golf Links

The course

The golf at Panther's Run Golf Links

Panther's Run is a par 72 running to 7,089 yards from the tips, the longest of the Big Cats courses on this list, with Tif Eagle greens and a slope of 141. Tim Cate opened it in 1996 and the routing itself is not the issue. Reviewers who liked their round tend to lead with the layout, one calling it a very nice layout worth playing again if the price is right.

Conditioning is where this course earns its reputation, and the review language makes it unavoidable. Among the most frequent words in real reviews are horrible, terrible, greens, condition and grass, which is an unusual and telling combination. The specific complaints repeat: greens described as brittle and bumpy and not rolling true, craters and bare patches on putting surfaces, and cart paths only restrictions imposed on dry mornings. One golfer with twenty years of trips to the area called it among the worst courses he had played and criticised maintenance from tee to green.

The split backs that up. From 286 reviews the average is 3.16, with 38 five star and 87 four star ratings set against 77 three star, 50 two star and 34 one star. That means roughly a third of reviewers rated it two stars or worse, which is a far higher proportion than most Myrtle Beach area courses carry. There is a counterweight worth stating. Several reviewers arrived expecting the worst and did not find it, one noting the course was in much better condition than reviews had led him to believe, and another rating the greens the best of any course played that trip. Staff come in for consistent praise as friendly and courteous. Aeration timing appears to explain some of the worst rounds, with one group playing a week after the greens were punched. The fair summary is a good piece of design whose surfaces are inconsistent enough that timing and price matter more than usual.