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 You might think Tim Cate would be bored by now. Following on the success of his co-design of Lion’s Paw with Willard Byrd, then solo creations Panther’s Run and Tiger’s Eye, which were increasingly honored by golf critics, what could he possibly do for another encore? Like any great musical talent of our generation, Cate’s hits just keep on coming. There’s no cat-nap at Ocean Ridge Plantation for him.
His next Big Cat, Leopard’s Chase, has just come on-line after its owners at Ocean Ridge Plantation did what few developers do anymore, let the course sit, settle down, mature, pick your phrase of restraint, before letting us all take it on.
A recent tour of the layout-to-be indicates it will be well worth the wait. Tiger’s Eye sat idle for six months after it was ready for play and is currently ranked 41st in the nation in Golf Digest’s rankings of America’s Top-100 Public Courses. Cate has set a goal to have Leopard’s Chase leap ahead of Tiger’s Eye on that list and take its place as Ocean Ridge’s Top Cat.
The first big difference is the amount of dirt moved to create the lakes, the mounding and the elevation changes on the naturally flat terrain. Much more dirt than was moved to create the other Big Cats, explaining a good portion of the $15-million budget for the 7,200-yard par-72 layout.
There are more forced carries off the tees at Leopard’s Chase. Players will, from time to time, need to carry between 100 and 175 yards of marshes, wetlands and ponds, depending on your choice of tees. The good news is that after you carry the trouble, Cate has designed the same generous landing areas he designed into the other Big Cats. To get from the tees to the landing areas, and in some cases from landing area to green, hundreds of yards of bridges were built to aid in your routing.
The trek around this track is another distinguishing characteristic of this Cat. There are no parallel fairways, and the homesites are set back even further than you’re used to in many residential/resort routings. Obviously, the golf course came first at Leopard’s Chase.
Visually, Leopard’s Chase figures to be Cate’s crowning achievement at Ocean Ridge. Already acclaimed for his incredible landscaping, Cate’s use of coquina rock around many of the water hazards will provide distinct views from different places around the hazards. Wait till you see the island green at the par-3 fourth hole. The differences in the rock formations around that green, and around the tee when viewed from the green, or the nearby tee at #5 are unforgettable.
Equally incredible are the finishing holes on each nine. The ninth hole is a slightly dogleg-left par-5 with water left off the tee, strategically placed bunkers and almost tree-top mounding all the way down the right-hand side and around a green that’ll tempt you to try to reach it in two. The 18th is a long dogleg-left par-4 with water and a waste area down the right side off the tee, and more water to the left of the landing area, requiring a forced carry off the tee to an elevated fairway, before the turn for home over more well-placed bunkers to a receptive green sloping up from front to back with a waterfall behind it.
The “Wow” Factor figures to be very high at Leopard’s Chase. And it's "Now” at Ocean Ridge Plantation’s newest, and likely most elegant, Big Cat.
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