Hadn't noticed any recent reviews and the clubhouse is finished. Felt the need to update.
This place was great. Clubhouse is fantastic, staff among the best I've encountered. Course was the best I've played in a long time. Bent grass greens on the coast. Ball sits up in the fairway better than I've ever seen on bermuda. Pace of play is good. Tee times 12 minutes apart. Almost felt like you have the whole course to yourself. Has some good elevation changes to be so close to the ocean. Different sets of tees can present challenges for all levels. Can score on it but bad shots are punished. Good mix of fun and danger. Visually appealing and great conditioning. Highly recommend adding it to your list of Myrtle Beach area must plays.

Customer Service

Exceptional in every way

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Most Myrtle Beach area courses. This one ranks very high.

Declaration of bias: I consider Thistle the best course in the entire Grand Strand. However, that opinion is based on numerous visits and consistently great service and conditions.

To quote a friend of mine, every time you've played a course what do you evaluate or remember more than anything else? 9/10 times the answer is "the greens." Thistle's are as close to immaculate as you will get unless you happen to be a member at an Oakmont or Augusta National. Consistent speeds, not too fast or too slow and lovingly cared for (they even use a device to fix ballmarks every morning).

Right then – simply put the greens are fantastic. What about the layout? For openers there are three nines. There has been some scuttlebutt about sacrificing one of the nines for yet more housing development but for now there are 27 glorious holes. There are courses nearby with equally or more challenging layouts but many have experienced large swings in quality control especially with regard to greens.

The tees and fairways match the greens for quality and consistency. The flat coastal land makes a links-type course almost compulsory for a designer but there are plenty of mounds and subtle gradations everywhere that keep the course interesting visually and from a shotmaking perspective. Except for some nerve-wracking par threes most forced carries aren’t forced at all but instead offer a fair, fascinating risk/reward proposition.

From the developers’ perspective, quality courses and layouts such as Thistle are designed to be magnets for homebuyers. Although the course has been open for some time the housing on-site has not significantly impacted the sightlines and overall beauty of the course (so far).

The 12-minute tee time intervals may sound over-the-top and you may question being held at the clubhouse by a ranger until the magic 12 minutes are up but the wait is well worth it in terms of overall pace of play. Even the slowest groups do not hold up groups behind them; at worst you will see the group ahead putting out on a par-4 when you arrive at the tee box. Slow play plagues almost every course in America but especially resort courses such as those on the Grand Strand. Thistle’s solution is so simple that it remains a complete mystery why other properties have not at least tried it. Well, perhaps it’s not so mysterious – 8-minute or even 6-minute tee intervals mean more groups sent off in the morning and more money in the till. The dirty little secret is that most courses would like you to play in 4.5 hours but aren’t really bothered if it takes longer than that. In a final irony the 12-minute tee intervals at Thistle almost always result in a 4.5-hour round (or less!).

I write this not yet having visited the new clubhouse which was still being constructed during our last visit. I am looking forward to seeing it and my favorite track again very soon.

The staff have been uniformly fantastic every visit – genuinely friendly and helpful without being obsequious. Sure they appreciate a gratuity but unlike some other properties they certainly earn it.

I can’t recommend Thistle enough whether it’s part of a holiday package or you visit expressly to play the course. But be warned – after playing Thistle other properties will almost certainly disappoint you in some department.

Customer Service

Excellent from start to finish. Don't know if it's hiring good people, luck or an excellent training program but they have the right recipe!

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Almost all premium MB/Grand Strand courses.

I loved this course. Played in mid-March and condition was great. Wonderful links layout with interesting varied terrain (sand,water,tall grasses and mounds). A Tim Cate design (Panther's Run). Not cheap but well worth the extra $.

Customer Service

Service was friendly and helpful.

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Almost every upscale course in Myrtle area.

decent course

staff- lee hanson

these people think that they are better than the average joe. they are not! sea trail is a great course and i dont need to hear lee hansen say bad things about my home course. they work in a trailer! who are they kidding?

Customer Service

poor

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no clubhouse, it has been a long time!

Great, fast greens.

Flat, open course land where you can see the entire course from anywhere on the course.

The conditioning of the course was very good. The greens were very fast even in early spring. My problem with the course was one of preference. This course is on flat land and I like hills. This course is wide open in the sense that you can see nearly the entire course from anywhere on the course. It was very seaside like without being near the water. I prefer hilly courses that move through the woods and surprise you with new views and this course didn't have that. My playing partners loved the course, however, so I guess it's different strokes for different folks. There wasn't a clubhouse when I was there either.

Customer Service

The customer service was outstanding and very friendly.

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No clubhouse

Course condition. Greens roll true. Eighteen solid holes.

Lack of chipping area and practice bunker for preround warmup.

First of all, I want to make a comment regarding there cart policy and walking. They allow you to walk after 1:00 PM. This to me is outstanding. Very few courses in the Myrtle Beach area allow this and I say hats off for this aspect. I asked the owner how many people actually walk and he sadly said I was only about the tenth person to do so.
The course is one of the better ones in the area. It is fair to all levels of play if you choose the correct tees to use. The par fives are solid with at least one of the three shots, and in most cases two to three, requiring some thought and good shotmaking. The same can be said for the par three's.
The condition of the course when I played it,October 2000, was excellent. The fairways were firm and the ball sat up nicely. The greens rolled around a 10 on the Stimp but held properly played shots. The greens had subtle undulations so you had to take a good look at the putt to get it going the right way. If you had a long putt, odds are you'll have some major undulations to contend with.
All of the bunkers were in great shape and were very playable.
The tee boxes were also in good shape.
This course has a links feel to it. Although I have found few courses in the states that are similar to the great links courses of Scotland, this course has a nice feel to it with the bunkering and scrubby rough.
The course has few memorable holes but the course as a whole is memorable. This to meis a sign of a well balanced and properly routed course.
I highly recommend this course if you are in the area.

Customer Service

The service was superb. From the time I called to make a tee time to when I left. Everyone was friendly and provided plenty of information.

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Provided a free bag of range balls which was a nice touch. However, there was no area for chipping as the putting green had a sign stating "no chipping".