Panther' Run

Today I played Panther's Run with my good friends Gary, John and Randy. Designed by Tim Cates, like Leopard Chase, Tigers Eye and Lions Paw, this course is very similar to Lions Paw. It is a golf course located in a community, with beautiful homes built all around the course. Tigers Eye and Leopard Chase have superior architecture to the other two. Personally, I prefer Lions Paw to Panther's Run, mainly because I found the greens at Lions Paw to be in better condition. The starters for all the courses at Ocean Ridge do an impeccable job and are very efficient. The staff is very attentive to our needs. Our tee time, scheduled for 10:45, was moved up a few minutes. I was surprised because the parking lot was full when I arrived. This is a sure sign that the best time to play golf in the greater Myrtle Beach area is approaching. We played the 18 holes in 4 hours and 15 minutes, a very reasonable pace of play. Golf carts were allowed to drive on the fairways. We hardly waited. As with Lions Paw, I think the last 9 holes at Panther's Run are the hardest to play. The course offers a great challenge, it's best to be prepared. Several sand traps and water features make it difficult.

For playing conditions, the tees, fairways and sand traps were in very good condition. My only disappointment was the greens. On the second nine, 4 greens were in poor condition (greens 10, 12, 15 and 17) and at least 3 more on the front nine, but I didn't note them. There were areas on the greens that were unplayable, but it didn't affect our play because the flags were placed elsewhere on the green. All the greens were painted, and possibly over-seeded. In my humble opinion, the greens at Lions Paw are the best at the moment and that's for the 4 Big Cats courses. Please read my previous report on Lions Paw.

Overall it was a very enjoyable round of golf. Thanks to Gary, John and Randy for having me there. It was fun to play together. The sun was out and the warmth was starting to settle in after a few cold days. I think we can appreciate golf better, and possibly play better, when the weather is warmer, like today.