A member guest is a golf tournament where a member of a private club invites someone who is not a member of the club to be their partner in a 2-person team event.
It’s generally a once-yearly event at all private golf clubs.
It is typically the year’s marquee event; almost all members want to play in it.
It’s usually so popular that many clubs have a very long waitlist to get in it, with some clubs even opting for a yearly lottery system.
Member guests are one of the greatest traditions in golf and some of the most fun you can have playing golf.
There’s gambling, drinking (usually far too much of it), side action, parties, and great dinners.
Schedule Of Events
Most member-guest tournaments are three or four-day events.
Here is a typical schedule:
Wednesday
- Practice round with an optional side game
- Calcutta
Thursday
- Round 1- typically shotgun start
- Dinner and a party
Friday
- Round 2
- Horse race
- Dinner and a party
Saturday
- Round 3
- Awards
- Dinner and a party
Member Guest Formats
Member guests can be either stroke play or match play.
Match play
Typically 9 or 18 hole matches of varying formats.
Stroke play
Usually a different version of best ball each day.
- Day 1: Shamble best ball
- Day 2: Best ball
- Day 3: Both balls count
Stableford scoring is commonly used.
Flights and Prizes
Stroke Play
The member guest overall champion is typically the overall net winner.
There will also be flights, or different divisions, in order to make additional, more equitable, competitions within the main competition.
Match Play
There may also be flights in a match play member guest where teams can choose to compete in the Championship Flight or in a separate division that is more appropriate to their skill level.
Since handicaps are almost always used, some member guests that use a match-play format will not use flights.
Golf Horse Race
Horse races are quite possibly the most fun you can have on a golf course.
A horse race is a two-person team event that involves cross-country golf and can involve upwards of 50 competitors at a time.
Typically, holes are made up by the tournament organizer.
For example, players might tee off on hole 1 and play to the 4th green. And then tee off by the 4th green and go to the 7th green. Holes can range from 100 yards up to 900+ yards.
Sometimes players must play straight through the woods to get to the designated green.
Anything is in play in a horse race.
How A Horse Race Works
Everyone tees off sequentially, with everyone else watching, heckling, and sometimes throwing things at the person teeing off.
Then everyone goes and plays the rest of their shots until they are on the green.
It’s absolute madness.
No one waits for anyone to shoot.
It’s on you to be aware of your surroundings and not get hit.
Nothing like trying to line up a shot while 20+ other golf balls are flying all over the course! (Not all horse races are played this way, but the ones at my club are).
Once everyone is on the green, everyone marks, cleans, and replaces their ball. Players then putt until they hole out, starting with whoever is closest to the hole.
A good score for a hole in a horse race can range from 2-8.
Horse races typically last 4-7 holes, depending on how many players there are and what the cut lines end up being.
