Current Conditions: Thistle Golf Club
We caught up with Doug Donner, general manager at Thistle Golf Club on the Grand Strand’s north end in Sunset Beach, N.C., for an update on how visitors have been enjoying his 27-hole layout this spring.
Speaker 1: Doug, we’re out here at Thistle Golf Club on a beautiful day in the spring. Just tell us what kind of a spring season it’s been for you guys here.
Doug: It’s been great so far. Luckily we’ve had great weather this spring and all the players are enjoying the great weather we have, and we’ve been getting a good bit of play out here this year.
Speaker 1: What’s some of the feedback you’ve been getting from visiting golfers as far as the conditioning of the course. It looks tremendous out here.
Doug: Yeah, they’ve actually, we’ve had nothing but compliments coming in. We’ve had a lot of people real happy with this year. They’ve been happy.
Speaker 1: Tell us a little bit about each of the signature holes on each of the three nines here.
Doug: Sure. The first one that I really like is a par 5, real risk-reward. It’s actually on the Stewart nine. There’s water all down it, and your drive you cut off as much as you want. You could have anywhere from 250 in to 150 in on your second shot.
Another one, it’s actually one of my favorites is on the Mackay course, number seven. Another par 5, you have to actually drive over wetlands and then you have a good layup or you have to hit over wetlands again to get to the green, if you want to try to reach it in two.
The par three on the Cameron course, which is actually number four as well. It looks from the tee like an island green, and actually overhead it looks like an island green. It’s a great little, short par three that can really get you.
Speaker 1: You guys are one of only a select few three nine-hole facilities here, especially on the north end of the Grand Strand. What kind of advantage does that give visiting golfers when they come to Thistle compared to other places?
Doug: Well, what’s great is, it gives us the opportunity to actually offer packages out there for 27 holes. We have a special one where you play all 27 holes, get lunch – and that’s actually getting a whole day of golf, get your lunch, and just get to enjoy the day and then go sit on the beach after having a great time playing golf.
