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Golf package · Sunset Beach, NC

Big Cats package

Four courses on one plantation just over the North Carolina line. Lion's Paw, Panther's Run, Tiger's Eye and Leopard's Chase share the same gate at Ocean Ridge, so a group can play all four without a long drive on any morning. We quote the golf, the beds, carts and taxes as one price.

  • All 4 Big Cats courses, or any two or more of them
  • Villas at Sea Trail or Crow Creek, ten minutes from the first tee
  • One quote per golfer for the golf, the beds, carts and taxes
  • $100 deposit per golfer holds it, balance due 30 days before you arrive

The plantation

Four courses inside one gate

Lakes, waste bunkers and pine woods across the whole of Ocean Ridge, with the villas a short drive down Highway 17. Everything in the package is on this strip.

Why this one

Four different rounds, one parking lot

The Big Cats are the only four course cluster on the north end of the Strand. Tim Cate built three of them, Willard Byrd the first, and they climb in difficulty from a gentle opener to one of the hardest tests in the area. A group of mixed handicaps gets a round for everyone without anyone driving forty minutes before breakfast.

  1. 01

    Four courses that get harder as the week goes on

    Lion's Paw is open and forgiving, Panther's Run is long but wide, Tiger's Eye is the one golfers name as their favourite, and Leopard's Chase has water on nearly every hole. Play them in that order and the scores hold up.

  2. 02

    Sleep ten minutes from the gate

    Sea Trail Resort Villas in Sunset Beach and Crow Creek Villas in Calabash both sit a short drive from Ocean Ridge, with full kitchens, separate bedrooms and pools for the afternoon. Oceanfront rooms in North Myrtle Beach are further down the highway if the group wants the sand.

  3. 03

    One price, no surprises

    Send the dates and a head count and the quote comes back as one number per golfer: the rounds, the villa, the carts and the taxes. Nothing waiting for you at the counter and no platform fees.

The golf

Your week, one cat at a time

All four are par 72 and all four run past 7,000 yards from the back tees, but they play very differently. Here is the order most groups take them, and why. Ratings are from golfers who played and reviewed them.

  1. Day one

    Lion's Paw Golf Links

    Willard Byrd · par 72, 7,003 yards, slope 137 · 3.1 from 240 reviews

    The first of the four to open and the friendliest off the tee. Open, rolling ground, wide corridors and a creek valley down the middle. The round to loosen up on.

  2. Day two

    Panther's Run Golf Links

    Tim Cate · par 72, 7,089 yards, slope 141 · 3.2 from 286 reviews

    The longest of the four from the tips and the one with the most room to swing. Water down the closing holes and Tif Eagle greens that get quick in spring.

  3. Day three

    Tiger's Eye Golf Links

    Tim Cate · par 72, 7,014 yards, slope 141 · 3.9 from 294 reviews

    The best regarded of the four. Forty acres of water, waste areas the size of a fairway, sixty feet of elevation change and a par three played from an island tee.

  4. Day four

    Leopard's Chase Golf Course

    Tim Cate · par 72, 7,155 yards, slope 142 · 3.7 from 246 reviews

    The newest and the hardest. Water on nearly every hole, five par threes, five par fives and fast Bermuda greens. Save it for the day the group is playing well.

The four courses run off the same tee sheet, so a planner can space the rounds across your stay and keep the morning slots together for the whole group. Two or three of the four is still a Big Cats package. Conditioning varies more here than at most Strand courses, so ask the planner about recent reports and aeration dates for the week you are looking at.

Sunrise over a green and the lake beside the villas at Sea Trail
Open plan living room and kitchen in a Sea Trail villa
Room for the whole group Separate bedrooms and a living room to settle the day's bets in
Screened porch of a Sea Trail villa with sofas looking onto the lawn
A porch for the evening Screened and shaded, with the villas and the course beyond

Where you sleep

Villas on the same side of the state line

Both lodging options on the package keep the drives short. Sea Trail Resort Villas in Sunset Beach are about twelve minutes from every Big Cats first tee, with the three Sea Trail courses on the doorstep if the group wants a fifth round. Crow Creek Villas in Calabash are ten minutes from Lion's Paw and Panther's Run and beside Crow Creek's own course.

Calabash, with its seafood restaurants, is a few minutes from either villa, and the beach at Sunset Beach is a short drive from Sea Trail.

Pricing

What you pay and when

One quote for the trip

Rounds, rooms, carts and taxes on a single price per golfer. Nothing is added at the counter and there are no platform fees.

$100 holds it

A $100 deposit per golfer confirms the whole package, and each golfer can pay their own share.

Balance 30 days out

Book more than a month ahead and the rest is not due until 30 days before you arrive.

The number depends on the season, the beds and how many are in the group, so there is no single sticker price. Send the dates and a head count and the quote comes back with everything on it.

Pick the week. We will hold the tee times.

Call (888) 796-4652 with rough dates and a head count, or build it online and a planner confirms every tee time before anything is charged.