Kevan Moore, the son of Larry and Patsy Moore, long-time owners and operators of The Thrifty Market on East Market Street, and the Moores, long-time supporters of Greensboro COLT Baseball back in the day…Larry and Kevan were assistant coaches for the Southeast Guilford HS baseball team for several years, and Kevan was part of a start-up, and the coach of quite a few Youth Travel Baseball Teams, back when that was all just getting going…
Kevan’s son Clint played baseball at Southeast Guilford and at Grimsley HS, and Clint played college baseball at West Point, for the Black Knights of Army…Clint was drafted by the San Diego Padres organization, and played some minor league baseball…
Kevan took over and ran the Thrifty Market after the passing of his dad and mom, and Kevan would financially support local youth sports projects, including GreensboroSports.com, in the Greensboro area…
Knew we had a lost a good one, when he and his wife Sharon moved away Greensboro, and down to near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, but did not know he had gotten into the Golf Industry, and had become very successful in that area/field…We will miss Kevan, and the folks around Sunset Beach, N.C. also are in mourning, after his passing…Gone, but not forgotten, Kevan Moore…
RIP-Kevan Moore, and Thank-You for your support over the years…
Kevan gone, at just age 63…..
**********Here we have the info on Kevan Moore, and I just learned of his passing today, when a nice lady at the CITGO station on South Elm-Eugene told me about Kevan’s passing….***********
Myrtle Beach golf market loses GM with a vision
Thistle Golf Club general manager Kevan Moore has passed away
from Alan Blondin, with ON THE GREEN MAGAZINE:OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR MYRTLE BEACH GOLF NEWS
CLICK HERE, for some excellent Kevan Moore photos….
Following his final chemotherapy treatment on March 20, Thistle Golf Club general manager Kevan Moore asked his wife, Sharon, to drive him through the course’s parking lot on the way home.
That day marked the unveiling of an elegant standing clock between the clubhouse and driving range, and it was the culmination of Moore’s vision for and transformation of that portion of the property.
“That clock was the ending, exclamation point for that area, and he just wanted to see it,” Sharon said. “And he cried like a baby and so did I, because . . . it meant so much to him that Thistle had a clock, just like the elite golf courses.”
That was Moore’s final visit to Thistle. He died at the age of 63 on March 31 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Moore’s passing occurred on the nine-year anniversary of his hiring at Thistle. He worked as a pro shop employee for less than two years before being promoted to GM.
Moore had a vision to elevate the 27-hole facility in Sunset Beach, N.C., that he implemented over the past several years.
It included building a bar in front of the driving range that golfers could access while making the turn, adding a fire pit court with seating fronted by the four-sided clock that illuminates at night, and adding a rock waterfall to the side of the clubhouse that matches one at the front clubhouse entrance.
“This whole area was a vision of his for the facility that really came together,” five-year Thistle head pro Brian Eckley said. “The last piece was that clock. It’s a beautiful clock. It’s cool.”
The area with the range bar, starter shack that he had built, fire pit, clock and waterfall will be renamed and dedicated in Moore’s honor with a plaque, Eckley said.
Moore was diagnosed on Nov. 7 and spent several weeks in hospitals battling the cancer, including Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington and Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C.
The club already held a small remembrance gathering for staff members and has planned a larger celebration of Moore’s life at the club at 5 p.m. May 17 that will include pastors from Seaside Methodist Church and a bagpipe player.
The club is also planning an annual invitational in his honor to raise awareness for pancreatic cancer research. “He loved Thistle, he loved the people there, he loved the community and just being a part of it,” Sharon said. “It was family, and he was a family man.”
Moore entered the golf industry in his 50s.
He ran his family’s convenience store in Greensboro, N.C., for many years before selling it, moving to Sunset Beach, N.C., and getting involved in the golf business, part time at first.
He started at Sea Trail Golf Resort, moved to Thistle as a pro shop worker in 2017 and was promoted to general manager by owner Jack Davis.
A fire pit court and four-sided clock are recent additions to Thistle Golf Club in Sunset Beach, N.C. (Alan Blondin photo)
The club has undergone many improvements under Moore.
Thistle is nearing the completion of a three-year renovation project that includes the replacing of all greens and other improvements on each nine, one at a time over three summers.
The Stewart nine is closing June 1 for its renovations and could reopen as early as mid-September, while the Cameron nine temporarily closed in 2024 and Mackay nine closed in 2025.
Also over the past few years, Thistle has built stacked sod faces into its bunkers throughout the course.
“It was all about the customer service and the customer experience, so when they left Thistle they felt good about playing golf there,” Sharon said.
Thistle Golf Club has built stacked sod bunkers, like this one in the short game practice area, throughout the course over the last few years. (Alan Blondin photo)
The club had special events under Moore, including nine-hole captain’s choice shootouts every two weeks on Tuesdays that grew to 144 players with waiting lists. Thistle hosted a par-3 shootout that is now called Kevan’s Par-3 Shootout on Wednesday – the same day as the Masters Tournament’s par-3 event. The shootouts are $45 and include dinner, golf rounds as prizes, and a raffle for merchandise and equipment.
The menu for the par-3 shootout was Augusta National inspired – at Moore’s behest – including Pimento Cheese sandwiches.
Moore hired Eckley as the club’s head pro in 2001.
“We didn’t look back. We put together some good teams and outside services,” Eckley said. “He’s been a big part of really getting this facility turned in the right direction.”
Sharon is a retired school teacher who taught exceptional needs children for 36 years and now works the beverage cart and range bar at Thistle. She returned to work Thursday.
They were married for 38 years and have a son, Clint, daughter, Megan Moore Hughes, and five grandchildren.
Both children are West Point graduates. Clint was in air defense and is now an executive with American Orthodontics, while Megan is a major in the Army in explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
“He was just an extraordinary person, very caring, very compassionate, a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, friend,” Sharon said. “A super leader who could read a room very well and just knew people. He led with his heart but was also a very keen businessman. . . . He was very much a visionary person. He saw the potential in Thistle and how it could grow and become the extraordinary golf course it is today.”
The Moore family motto, set by Kevan and Sharon, is GFFG: God, Faith, Family, Goals.
Moore is an anatomical donor to Elon University, so his body will be used for research at the school. “The ultimate gift that he is giving back is really giving up himself in that capacity,” Sharon said. “That’s just another example of the type of person he was.”
In lieu of flowers, the Moore family is requesting donations be sent to either Seaside Methodist Church in Sunset Beach, N.C., or pancreatic cancer research.