The member-guest was made in America

Is there anything more distinctly American than a member-guest tournament? But for minor variations, you know the drill. Multiple days, multiple flights, cash pools, tee gifts, beverage stations galore, skills challenges, red meat for the stag dinner and more varied fare when the spouses come to dance under the moonlight, maybe a shootout to decide the overall champions, cigars, hugs, jokes, uninterrupted quality time with a person important to you. The member-guest is a golf carnival. As one regular partner of mine says, "Win or lose, we're going on all the rides."

There's no single club that can claim the member-guest. Most likely, the tradition developed organically and independently across the country after World War II. The emphasis on hosting and hospitality matched a boom in American business, and showcasing a club in its best condition fit an expanding private club model that relied on recruiting a lot of new members. Generally, British clubs have been staider and more exclusionary. One might argue that because British clubs have allowed and still allow anyone access to their courses under restrictions, the fact you could only get on most American private courses as a guest helped make the MG "the biggest event of the year" at so many.