How to Run a Member-Guest
Players: Teams of 2, any field size
A member-guest pairs each club member with an invited guest to play as a two-person team, usually over two or three days. It is the marquee event on most club calendars: flighted by handicap, mixing formats day to day, with a Calcutta and plenty of side action.
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Teams are fixed for the event. Split the field into flights by combined team handicap so teams compete against similar abilities, then crown a flight winner and an overall champion.
Most member-guests run multiple sessions: a different format each round keeps it fresh and rewards all-around play.
Formats and side action
Common rounds mix best-ball, shamble, scramble, and a modified-Stableford session. A shootout or 'horse race' finale for the top teams is a crowd favorite.
A Calcutta auction the night before, plus skins and proximity prizes, turns the weekend into an event the whole club follows.
Running it cleanly
The hard parts are pairings, flighting, handicap allowances, and keeping a live leaderboard everyone trusts. A live board the clubhouse can watch — without an app or an account — is what makes a member-guest feel big-time.
The runway: six weeks out to the first tee
Six weeks out: lock the dates, formats per round, and entry details, and open signups. Three weeks out: close the field, collect handicaps, and build flights by combined team handicap. One week out: publish flights and round-one pairings, confirm tee gifts and proximity holes, and schedule the Calcutta night if you run one.
Day of: post live scoring instructions at registration (a join code beats an app install), brief the first tee on format and allowances, and keep one person owning the leaderboard. The events that feel professional are the ones where nobody has to ask what the score is.
Common questions
What is a member-guest tournament?
A club event where each member partners with an invited guest as a two-person team, usually flighted by handicap over two or three days with mixed formats.
How are member-guest pairings flighted?
Teams are grouped into flights by combined handicap so each division competes against similar abilities, with a winner per flight plus an overall champion.
What formats are used?
A mix across rounds: best-ball, shamble, scramble, and often a modified-Stableford session, with a shootout finale for the leaders.
How far in advance should you plan a member-guest?
Six weeks is comfortable: open signups at six, flight the field at three, publish pairings at one. The Calcutta, if you run one, happens the night before play.
Keep reading
In the app
Run this event on Skins Golf
Build the event once: format, flights, tee groups, and handicap allowances are handled, every group scores live from their phone, and the whole field follows a public leaderboard with no app and no account needed. Skins Golf tracks results for reference only and never handles funds.