By Joe Derus-NorthMyrtleBeachOnLine.com

Ocean Ridge, NC August 6, 2007--Good news!  Thanks to Myrtle Beach Golf Directors, who have been providing the golf rounds, the Hackers have been promoted.

Thanks to them, the group of us has had the privilege of playing and writing about some of the areas more challenging courses.

Our skill level has improved so much our editor decided we should be elevated from hacker to ‘Average Joe golfers’. So now the reviews will be “The Average Joe’s Reviews of area golf courses.”  

This week, we headed North on route 17 for nine miles from the SC border to Ocean Ridge Plantation to play their brand new course - Leopards Chase.

Just opened in spring 2007, Leopards Chase is the fourth of “The Big Cats” courses at Ocean Ridge. Tiger’s Eye, Panther’s Run & Lions Paw are the other three.  It is also the first course to open along the Grand Strand in six years.

Also note that Leopard’s Chase is not Angles Trace re-worked. That course will become another “Big Cat” and will be named Jaguar.

Our group was all excited about playing this brand new course and we all hoped to bring our best game – especially since we had just been promoted. This foursome combined our lowest handicapper, a couple of others capable of low scores and yours truly. We were ready…

We were not disappointed in Leopards Chase at all. The visiting golfer gets the impression from the friendly people at the course that they are establishing it as a “premium” facility where cost vs. value is well worth it.

Leopards Chase covers 220 acres and features bermudagrass fairways and bentgrass greens.

The course itself is a links style, with lots of sand and tough “love” grasses strategically placed.

Our starter calls them love grasses, but no Average Joe Golfer will love them, even though you are allowed to hit out. Bring your best sand game also and be prepared for a different putting experience.

You need to spend a lot of time warming up on the large putting green to have any hope of getting the right speed and brake.

I noticed most of the greens along the North Strand have little brake in them. A safe bet, most of the time, is to aim dead center of the cup.

Leopards Chase greens are a bit different. Just a hair off in speed or direction and the Average Joe is looking at four foot comebacks all day. The greens are like the top of a pool table, in that are extremely smooth, yet terribly tricky.

The course is 7100 yards and places a premium on placing the ball in the fairway.

The first hole is 303 from the white tees. Yes! An obvious strategy you might think is to  pump one out 200 yards, but, whoops, too much left and you are in the water; too much right and you are in the fairway sand trap.

Number four is the second of two par threes in the first four holes. It is 156 to an island green. The large rocks in front of the green are imported from Tennessee (I mention this only because my editor is from Tennessee and I am always buttering up to him.)

Number five, a par four, is also an island green. Only this green is surrounded by sand that stretches 90 yards into the fairway.

There are thee par threes on the front nine, and five on the course.

Number ten accentuates the need to keep the ball in the fairway. Sand follows the right side all the way to the green.

Hope you do not need to ride on the sand, but if you do, use the cement ramps to enter and exit.

Number eleven- par five - is a real challenge. Not one, but two grass waste areas cut the fairway, and they cut it a critical distances. Penalty shots are the norm on this hole. Our group took a combined 31 strokes. Ouch!

We did right by ourselves on the next few holes. But those ever tricky greens kept us from scoring much better.

Number 15 is another one of the where a premium is on tee shots in fairway trees, sand and water all come into play on this hole.

Number 18 can be hazardous for an approach shot, but also a soothing feature when completing a perfect golf experience. The hole moves slightly leftward to an elevated green guarded by an elegant man-made waterfall.  Their literature told us sixteen hundred gallons of water per minute cascade over the boulders.
 
The beauty of this course is only surpassed by its fantastic condition.

Again, thanks to Myrtle Beach Golf Directors for getting us promoted.