Thistle Golf Club - MacKay Course

Every year we come back and play here and we are never dissatisfied. Wonderful layout, great staff and decent price.

Played McKay/Cameron nines with a couple of locals who have played course before, and there were still times that we had a hard time figuring out the direction of holes. Hole layout on the tee yardage markers, or at least a general course layout on the scorecard would be a big help. Time spent figuring out which way to go led to a 4&1/2 hour round, and we were the first group out in the morning.
The layout is good, which I expected from a Tim Cate design. The fairways are fairly wide, water is plentiful but not overly in your face, though there are some forced carries.
Flag colors are green, white, purple instead of the usual red, white, blue. Many times it was hard to see the flags as they blended into the background of pine trees. Other times it was hard to differentiate between the dark green and the purple flags.
Overall I would play the course again, probably in season when the grass is growing and not dormant.

This is a beauty. Everything is perfectly maintained. Challenging course.

I have always enjoyed playing Thistle. The staff is friendly, the course is a good test, and pace of play is good.

Looking forward to the remaining greens being converted to Bermuda grass. That will help with pitch marks and improve the experience on the greens.

I played a lot of courses in Scotland and i never felt like i was in Scotland. Nice course anyway.

The Thistle Golf Course was in premium condition. All of the staff was polite, friendly, and courteous. Anyone would love to golf this course.

Thistle is a course I've been wanting to play for a long time, but due to pricing I haven't been able to afford. With golfnow hot deal of $39/player, this was the time to play.
The starter was very friendly and provided some helpful hints. We played the Cameron to Stewart combination but didn't have tme to play the McKay 9.
This course is pretty generous in fairway widths on most holes, but the greens were difficult to read. They were slick, but sometimes didn't break as I thought they would.
Playing off the blue tees as recommended by their tee/hdcp ratings, I had my hands full with the course. Be sure to take an extra club on Stewart #9 as it's a long par 3 to an elevated green over water!
You definitely need GPS device or yardage book to play this course. My golf logics app came in handy!
Very scenic course with lots of wildlife. It's easy to get distracted from the course.
I most definitely will go back and play.
Beautiful club house with artifacts from the original Thistle Golf Club in Scotland. Be sure to check them out after your round!

It is an easy course for women if played from red tees. À few challenging holes if played from white tees. We played the McKay/Cameron courses. Good value if booked on line through Golf Now, much better than walk in green fees.

Fairways and greens nearly perfect. Friendly staff.
Very clean.

Don't play here overpriced with a slow pace of play they overbooked the day I played all 3 9s packed to the gills...much better golf course in the area for pace and price 4th time I have played it. In last 8 years I will not come back and recommend any of the other courses in the area for pace and value . Final point have played a lot in Scotland and this is a American course with bag pipes nothing at all like Scotland...

Course was in great condition although the bent grass greens are starting to show poana on many greens. the McKay nine was just changed to tifdwarf but was still closed. A great course anyway.

Very playable and smart but challenging layout. You find a course in better condition. I could play this course everyday.

Nice layout, very good condition in general. Lots of unrepaired ball marks on greens. Pace of play was better than most (teed off at 8:00).
Staff was friendly, and food was pretty good.
Would play it again anytime.

What a beautiful layout. Each hole had it's own challenges with many near water. Well bunkered with receptive greens, making for malleable birdie putts. Clubhouse is a stone brick mix wi a friendly atmosphere. Will decently return.

Everyone assoicated with the Thistle treated us like we were members. Starting with the guard at the main entrance to Mike from Queens, NY at the bag drop to the staff behind the counter. All provided excellent service that was second to none!. The greens were the best we played on. and even with the rain earlier in the week the fairways were still in great shape. Make sure you take your camera, the finishing holes on the Stewart and MacKay make for great memories.

Generous fairways, well maintained greens and bunkers, a free bag of range balls with your paid green fees, excellent and knowledgeable staff all lead to a great golf experience. Highly recommended.

I guess the only beef with my experience was the lack of gps on the golf carts and the course itself lacked yardage markers I think a course of that caliber its a given otherwise great course and clubhouse friendly service

GREAT layout. Poor conditions due to rain 2 days before. Weather was REALLY cold! Made it tougher and turned a 4 hr round into a 5 hr round due to cold and wind.

I played a day after some on / off again rain. The course was basically unplayable. Wet & soggy with a LOT of standing water. Obviously expected it to be a bit wet but OMG... and was a warning or discount offered for the conditions??... NO. Besides all that, really nothing special. Just an average layout that has been tricked up here & there... Save your time and save your money as there are nicer courses and better values to be had elsewhere in the North Myrtle area.

Really enjoyed playing Thistle. Staff was helpful, Played 36 Good Valve, Great conditions for Mid December