Hey man welcome to NC. I’m in Wilmington and have played almost every course you listed (I don’t play them well haha)
I’ll give you my top choices from each of your lists. Obviously peoples opinions will vary but for the most part, the courses you listed are really fun.
I love Shaftesbury. I played yesterday and despite all the rain we’ve had, the course was in great shape. Runner up would be Glen Dornach. Same owners as SG and it’s right on the water.
I love Thistle but last time I played course was just in ok shape. Hopefully it’s improved, but about two months ago or so, it was just ok condition wise. When it’s good, it’s an awesome, awesome course.
Same for Oyster Bay, it’s a really, really fun layout and the scenery is beautiful, but it’s known to be hit or miss with conditions. Played it about a month ago and it was just ok, but didn’t take away from the enjoyment. All of this rain we’ve had is probably wreaking havoc on a lot of courses.
If you can get on Bald Head it’s a no brainer. Otherwise, I’m a member at Cape Fear and they just aerated the course and sanded the greens but it should be just fine by the time you play. If you do play CFN, make an early tee or twilight tee time, the course gets real slow around 11-1 pm. And it is pricey, but I love the course and I can report back with conditions once this rain stops and I can actually play.
Wilmington Muni is fun and either go online to get a tee time or just call. The guy at the pro shop is a kind of a dick, so don’t be turned off if he is rude with you
Magnolia has 27 holes and it seems to be popular but isn’t really my favorite course. The rates are a bit high for the course in my opinion. Sister course is Compass Pointe and is likely to be in better shape.
I hit Thistle and Carolina National last spring and really enjoyed both. Thistle was in great shape and was a nice layout, the rate was a little hefty but seemed reasonable for vacation golf. I don’t know if vacation golf and quarantine golf have different pricing considerations though
Definitely Kings North then Glen Dornoch and get dinner in Little River or Calabash.
We always play Kings North on our buddy trip probably due to tradition but it’s a fun course. The Gambler (island fairway option to cut the distance) is gimmicky but fun.
Oh make sure you are ready to flight it low at Glen Dornoch it’s just off the intracoastal and the wind picks up in that area
few pics from Holly Ridge on Saturday…if you have never been, they’ve got some of the best greens around the triad and their chicken wings are silly good as well
apparently i managed to get a big smudge on my lense during the round…shows up on the left side of the 4th pic below and hangs out for the rest which is a shame
also, played Gillespie with the ole lady yesterday afternoon…showed up at like 215, it was $20 to ride 18 for men, $15 for women which was less than the $22 we were gonna pay to play 9 at the usual go to course.
9 hole course with 2 sets of tee boxes on each hole, so you get 18…its a muni in the truest sense. bunch of people in tshirts, quite the colorful cast of characters out and about, everyone was super friendly, course was in pretty good shape overall, but as you can imagine the pace of play was very slow.
i wouldnt want to play out there regularly and fight the crowds and pace, but it was real nice to take the lady out there and let her play without feeling rushed on every hole as this was her third time playing as opposed to just hitting some balls at the range.
course layout was interesting, lots of doglegs and a few blind shots…definitely not just a bomb and gouge course, but there were some really cool green complexes and it was quite interesting getting to play a Perry Maxwell from the 1930’s
short game and practice area are top notch. ill definitely go back.
highly recommend it, but cant stress the pace of play expectation enough…youre probably going to have to wait on just about every hole if you play on a weekend
Without a doubt the most impressive thing about the course is the history behind it. Perry Maxwell design that played a part in the civil rights movement…
How have I never heard of this place!! Would love to get out there and give it a go.
Heading to Pinehurst area for a boys trip this weekend with some sticks, playing Mid-South, Talamore and Legacy. Will def post some pictures when we get back.
Welcome! Just a heads up, Glen Dornoch is punching within the next couple weeks so they might not be all the way back for the weekend of the fourth.
I’m going to Sunset with my family that weekend and I plan on getting a round in. Since Glen Dornoch is aerating so close to our trip I’m thinking River’s Edge, but was also looking at Farm Stead - thoughts?
