Thistle Golf Club - MacKay Course

This course was in excellent shape and should certainly be on everyone’s bucket list.

I am a golf course greenskeeper from New York. I played Thistle this past week and it was GREAT! The conditions for this time of year couldn't be better! Fairways and greens in excellent condition . Tee boxes as well. The rough is dormant so anywhere you hit it is playable. Nice layout not overly difficult not a lot of "hidden hazards" very enjoyable place to play. Staff very nice and restaurant as well.

Booked a tee time for two on the GolfNow app on Saturday and showed up the following day for a 1:26 PM tee time. The 4 or 5 individuals running thr bag drop and cart loading (volunteers/staff?)we frazzled. They were constantly stating to each other, "Wow, we sent out 80 carts this morning!". After asking what the next steps were for me to check-in they said I needed to go inside. After speaking with the attendant behind the counter, he gave me two slips of paper. Returning to the bag drop, I continued to be ignored. (the local members appear to get first priority) After asking yet again what is the "process" they had me a bag of range balls and tell me they will call me when they are ready. As out tee time gets closer and closer, we return to the bag drop, and continue to be ignored. Finally at 1:27 (one minute after our scheduled tee time) I have to flag down someone wearing a Thistle shirt and say what do I have to do to get on the course. I mention that my tee time was 1 minute ago. Suddenly they realize that my group is not on the hand-printed sheet in front of them, They ask, "Did you book online?". "Yes". "Oh, that's the reason. It's the guys fault inside". They hurriedly threw us in a cart. Definitely not the Southern hospitality you hear about.

What an amazing golf course we lived everything about it

Played oyster the day before… wish we had played thistle both days worth every penny!

Played on 12/29/22

Course is in great condition for December. Greens are fast and tricky. If your looking for an upscale course in the area book a tee time, you will be happy to play this Gem.

Always wanted to play Thistle...now I have...and will definitely be back!

My wife and I played on the way home from Hilton head. Blew away the courses in HH. Beautiful clubhouse, nice staff. Course was in great shape. Greens were nice and slick. Definitely a place to return to.

What can I say...The Thistle is one of the best courses in the area. From the drive up to the finish the 3 nines are the standard by which all courses in the area should aspire to. Clubhouse is a step into Scotland with the course being a great mixture of links and parkland styles. I have played all 3 nines multiple times with my personal favorite being the Stewart nine. I have nothing bad to say about comping and playing the Thistle. If they continue with the excellent conditions I will continue to come back multiple times a year to play at The Thistle.

Thank-you for being a great club with great links.

Highly recommended!! First time playing shot 78! Awesome layout, fast greens and forgiving fairways.

I would definitely play again and recommend a must play golf course! Great layout, awesome driving range, but a little too small for high volume golf course. The greens rolled true and fast. Beautiful scenery though out the golf course, staff was friendly and helpful when needed.

This course was in excellent condition. Golf carts were purple and the most comfortable carts ever! We played 5 other courses while we were on vacation in Myrtle Beach and this was our favourite. We also seen 3 alligators on the course. The staff were very friendly and helpful in the pro shop along with the staff outside organizing the golfers. Overall a great experience and will be back the next time we visit.

Lovely golf course with an interesting and challenging layout for the first time at the property. Very good condition in the October sunshine.

Great staff around the course in in the clubhouse and restaurant.

First time playing at Thistle and, in summary, we were impressed. The quality of the course conditions was simply excellent. In a week of playing various courses around North Myrtle/Sunset Beach/Little River areas, this was by far the best course we played in terms of conditions and interesting layout with great amenities. Played 18 holes on the Stewart and McKay courses, and enjoyed the challenging but still playable (for an intermediate golfer) holes. Enjoyed it so much we did a replay (which is a fantastic deal!) and played another 18 in the afternoon on the Cameron and Stewart courses. Weather was perfect which always helps, but even that aside, the conditions of the course were really great. The golf carts were the most luxurious I've ever seen and I really enjoyed the cushy seats. The cart GPS was fantastic and actually right on the money (we have played a few courses over this past summer where the GPS actually got 'lost' on the course or was 15-20 yards off) but at Thistle, the cart GPS was superb. The views of the marshy areas, river areas and the beautiful homes added to the overall experience. Homes are not too close for those who might hit the occasional shot off-course. Bathrooms along the course were better than those in some of the clubhouses at other courses we played. It seemed like everywhere there was effort to take care of the course which is really nice to play around. Altogether, if you want a quality day of golf, Thistle is the place from my perspective. Didn't get a chance to enjoy the food as we spent 8 hours on the course! Each 18 took us about 4 hours to play.